A socialist and two former government officials currently under criminal investigation walk into a South Carolina theatre…

January 17, 2016

No, that’s not the setup to a bad joke, it’s the first Democrat debate of 2016! Self-described socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State (and current FBI focal point) Hillary Clinton, and former Maryland Governor, alleged furniture thief, and sleeveless shirt aficionado Martin O’Malley will meet in Charleston, South Carolina tonight for their final debate before voters in Iowa and New Hampshire go to the polls.

Tonight’s debate comes as the media continues to criticize Democrats for hiding their candidates from average Americans by scheduling debates in timeslots that guarantee low viewership.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has come under fire for scheduling only six debates for the cycle and her lack of objectivity. Liberal activists have called for her to be removed as chairwoman of the DNC for not remaining impartial in the primary, and the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have demanded that more debates be added to the current slate.
It’s unsurprising that Democrats are going to such lengths to hide their candidates given the growing unpopularity of National Democrats.

o President Obama’s job approval remains underwater, with a Real Clear Politics average of only 45.7% job approval as of Friday afternoon.

o Recent polling has seen Hillary Clinton’s favorability ratings continue to plummet. The Real Clear Politics Average as of Friday afternoon shows that only 42.8% of Americans hold a favorable view of Clinton.

Endangered House Democrats have begun to distance themselves from the Obama-Clinton agenda before they face voters back home in November.

NRCC COMMENT: “House Democrats will have to answer to voters for their support of the deeply unpopular Obama-Clinton agenda in November. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC can’t protect their candidates by hiding their primary debates from the American people.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

The Socialist Senator. “Sanders calls himself as a “democratic Socialist.” When I asked him what this meant, as a practical matter, in capitalist America circa 2007, he did what he often does: he donned his rhetorical Viking’s helmet and waxed lovingly about the Socialist governments of Scandinavia.” (Mark Leibovich, “The Socialist Senator,” The New York Times, 1/27/07)

Former U.S. Attorneys Predict Criminal Charges in FBI’s Probe of Clinton Server. “’I expect the FBI to conclude the investigation within 60 to 90 days and make a recommendation to the Justice Department, and I believe they will recommend a series of charges involving the classified information,’ said Joseph DiGenova, who was U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration.” (Alana Goodman, “Former U.S. Attorneys Predict Criminal Charges in FBI’s Probe of Clinton Server,” Free Beacon, 1/15/16)

Prosecutor investigates Martin O’Malley furniture sale. “The Anne Arundel County state’s attorney is investigating former Gov. Martin O’Malley’s discounted, tax-free purchase last year of taxpayer-owned furniture from the governor’s mansion in Annapolis. The probe began shortly after a Baltimore Sun investigation found in September that the Democratic presidential candidate paid $9,638 for 54 mansion furnishings that originally cost taxpayers $62,000. The discounted sale was authorized by outgoing O’Malley administration officials after each item had been classified as ‘junk.’ Most of the furnishings now adorn the O’Malleys’ $549,000 home in Baltimore’s Homeland neighborhood.” (Doug Donovan, “Prosecutor investigates Martin O’Malley furniture sale,” Baltimore Sun, 1/13/16)

EDITORIAL: Democrats hide candidates in weekend debates. “Even left-leaning publications such as The Nation have pointed out that the DNC’s poor strategy has kept its candidates out of the limelight, and says the party ‘needs to schedule more debates on more nights when more Americans are watching.’ That won’t happen in time for the next Democratic debate, in Charleston, S.C., on Sunday night. That day features two NFL playoff games and is a full month before the South Carolina primaries. After looking at the debate calendar, the only plausible conclusion is that Ms. Wasserman Schultz and the DNC are playing ‘hide the ball’ with their candidates — because they don’t want people to see their candidates. (Editorial Board, “EDITORIAL: Democrats hide candidates in weekend debates,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1/14/16)

DNC’s schedule guarantees low debate viewership. “But not only will this debate air at 9 p.m. on Sunday, in the middle of a three-day weekend, but it will also run during National Football League playoff games and — dare we say — a new episode of PBS’s popular series, Downton Abbey. It’s not new for debates to run on a busy weekend night. But this is by design: Of the six DNC-sanction debates, three take place on a weekend night. The last one took place on a Saturday night six days before Christmas.” (James Pindell, “DNC’s schedule guarantees low debate viewership,” Boston Globe, 1/15/16)

Debbie Wasserman Schultz must go, and the case Bernie Sanders must make tonight. “That at least is the view of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the Clinton campaign, from which she takes her cues. They wanted the fewest possible voters to see the fewest possible debates. So we went from 26 debates in 2008 to six debates in 2016, three of them on weekends. It’s called the Democratic Party, but no one other than Clinton and Schultz had any say in the matter.” (Bill Curry, “Debbie Wasserman Schultz must go, and the case Bernie Sanders must make tonight,” Salon, 12/19/16)

Fire Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “And speaking of the debate, why did Wasserman Schultz schedule it for the Saturday night before Christmas, at one of the least-watched times on television, virtually guaranteeing low ratings? As I previously wrote, the DNC under Wasserman Schultz wants to guarantee that as few people as possible actually watch the Democrats’ own debates!” (Miles Mogulescu, “Fire Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” Huffington Post, 12/18/15)

Bernie Sanders pleads for more debates. “In a letter to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Vermont socialist argued that the candidates “should engage in a series of debates beginning this summer,” in order to increase voter turnout. Inter-party debates could also be used to convince registered Republican voters that they would be better off voting for a Democrat, Sanders said.” (Dylan Byers, “Bernie Sanders pleads for more debates,” Politico, 6/1/15)

Martin O’Malley Campaign Pushes for Five More Debates. “’Specifically, we are asking for two additional weeknight, nonholiday peak season debates in Iowa and New Hampshire respectively, and one additional weeknight, nonholiday peak season debate in South Carolina and Nevada, respectively,’ he said, asking for those to fall before Feb. 1, 2016.” (Maggie Haberman, “Martin O’Malley Campaign Pushes for Five More Debates,” The New York Times, 9/14/15)

Moderate Dems run from Obama. “Democratic lawmakers in Congress, statehouses and governors’ mansions have lost in staggering numbers during the Obama years, and entire states’ Democratic parties have atrophied. The remaining House and Senate moderates each have their own designs on how to position themselves via-a-vis Obama and keep their jobs… The opposition was stronger in the House: 25 Democrats opposed the Iran deal there, including endangered Democrats like Graham of Florida and Ashford of Nebraska. Liberals said their stance amounted to ‘war-mongering.’”

Real Clear Politics – President Obama Job Approval RCP Average: 1/1-1/14

Real Clear Politics – Clinton: Favorable/Unfavorable RCP Average: 12/3-1/10