RNC Releases Letter to Committee on Presidential Debates
The Republican National Committee (RNC) sent the following letter to the Committee on Presidential Debates (CPD), following the correspondence we initiated in June.
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Dear Mr. Fahrenkopf and Mr. Wollack:
The RNC responds to your letter of December 14, continuing the correspondence we initiated in June. The RNC has shared our concerns with the CPD in good faith, carefully documenting why the party and its voters have lost faith in your organization, and we have proposed commonsense reforms that would restore trust in the debates process. Unfortunately, neither the tone nor substance of your latest response inspires confidence that the CPD will meaningfully address the serious issues which the RNC has raised.
For reference, a brief timeline of our communications is as follows:
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Beginning with phone conversations on March 22 and, April 5, 2021, and continuing with an in-person meeting on May 6, the RNC raised its concerns through discussions between CPD Co-Chair Fahrenkopf and RNC Member David Bossie, who serves as Chair of the RNC’s Temporary Presidential Debates Committee.
- June 1 the RNC wrote to the CPD outlining its serious missteps and the partisan actions of its board members, explaining that these actions have damaged the RNC’s faith that the CPD can provide a fair and impartial forum for presidential debates, and proposing reforms to address these concerns.
- On July 12 David Bossie, RNC Chief of Staff Richard Walters, and I met with CPD Cochair Fahrenkopf via Zoom to discuss the RNC’s concerns.
- On July 15 the CPD responded, stating that it would keep the RNC’s concerns “in mind” during its internal review of the 2020 debates but declining to address any of the specific issues raised, other than stating that it would be “mindful” of the “early voting issue” as it schedules presidential debates for 2024.
- On October 1 the RNC responded asking if the CPD intended to adopt any of the proposed reforms. Noting the lack of transparency in the CPD’s internal decision making, the RNC further requested that the CPD adopt a policy permitting any political party whose nominee participated in the previous election cycle’s debates to appoint a nonvoting observer to attend CPD Board meetings.
- On November 15 I hosted CPD Co-Chair Fahrenkopf at the RNC to discuss these issues in person. The meeting was cordial but yielded no firm indication that the CPD is committed to addressing the RNC’s concerns.
- On December 14 the CPD responded again declining any firm commitment toward reform, while stating that it “answers to no political party or candidate” and “does not negotiate the terms or conditions of [its] operations with anyone.” The CPD did state that it will consider scheduling issues related to early voting, the partisan activities of its board members, and moderator selection processes as part of its internal “quadrennial review.” However, the CPD also refused to allow nonvoting observers to attend its Board meetings, claiming that doing so might jeopardize its status as a nonpartisan organization.
The RNC’s concerns strike at the core of whether the CPD credibly can provide a fair and impartial forum for presidential debates. The CPD’s failures, which the RNC has outlined, are fundamental. These include:
- Waiting until after early voting had already begun to host the first presidential debate.
- Making unilateral changes to previously agreed-upon debate formats and conditions, in some cases without even notifying the candidates.
- Selecting a moderator who had once worked for the Democrat nominee, a glaring conflict of interest.
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Failing to maintain the organization’s strict nonpartisanship, with a majority of its Board Members publicly disparaging the Republican nominee.
The CPD must address these glaring failures if the organization is to have any credibility with the Republican Party and its 74 million voters moving forward. To do this, the CPD should enact the following much-needed reforms:
- Adopt term limits for its Board of Directors, several members of which have served for more than a decade.
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Commit to holding at least one debate before the start of early voting, and in no case after the deadline for states to mail absentee ballots to uniformed and overseas voters.
- Enact a code of conduct prohibiting CPD officers, directors, and staff from making public comments supporting or opposing any candidate, or otherwise engaging in partisan political activity in connection with the presidential election, with meaningful consequences for violations.
- Establish transparent criteria for selecting debate moderators that would disqualify individuals from consideration who have apparent conflicts of interest due to personal, professional, or partisan factors.
- Enact a transparent code of conduct for moderators in conducting debates, including guidelines for appropriate interactions with the participating nominees, with meaningful penalties for violations.
These proposals are common sense solutions for an organization whose unique, nonpartisan role in American elections requires it to stand above the political fray. Indeed, we believe that Page 3 of 3 most neutral observers would be shocked to learn that these overdue reforms are not already CPD policy.
Unfortunately, the CPD’s responses so far seem designed to delay any reform until it is too late to matter for the 2024 election. The RNC initiated this dialogue on behalf of its future nominee, who will undoubtedly meet any debate participation criteria. As you know that individual will have little opportunity to have this dialogue with the CPD given the short window between his or her nomination and the first debate. By then the CPD will have already completed its “quadrennial review,” structural changes will be impossible, and planning for the 2024 presidential debates will essentially be complete. The RNC therefore cannot simply “wait and see,” as the CPD seems to suggest, but must act now. To do otherwise would forestall any meaningful reform and conveniently leave the CPD unaccountable for another election cycle.
We are especially frustrated with the CPD’s refusal to enact reforms aimed at ensuring nonpartisanship by claiming that doing so would somehow render the organization more partisan. The RNC has made clear that it understands the need for the CPD to be nonpartisan, and in fact has initiated this dialogue toward that end. As the RNC has proposed, one easy measure to restore trust would be to allow a representative from parties that have participated in past debates to observe CPD Board meetings, not on the basis of partisan affiliation, but on a party’s respective candidate having met the previous cycle’s debate participation criteria. We fail to see how that specific proposal, or any of the RNC’s other recommendations for that matter, would jeopardize the CPD’s nonpartisanship, as you suggest. Instead, the Commission appears more concerned about the supposed “partisanship” of allowing recent participants to observe its Board meetings than it is of its own partisan actions and those of its members and moderators.
The RNC has a duty to ensure that its future presidential nominees have the opportunity to debate their opponents on a level playing field. So long as the CPD appears intent on stonewalling the meaningful reforms necessary to restore its credibility with the Republican Party as a fair and nonpartisan actor, the RNC will take every step to ensure that future Republican presidential nominees are given that opportunity elsewhere. Accordingly, the RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates.
Sincerely,
Ronna McDaniel
Chairman, Republican National Committee
RNC Challenges New York City Legislation Giving Voting Rights to Noncitizens
The Republican National Committee (RNC) issued a statement after filing suit against Mayor Eric Adams, the New York City Council, and the New York City Board of Elections in state court for illegally allowing noncitizens to vote in city elections.
“American elections should be decided by American citizens. If Democrats can subvert elections this flagrantly in America’s largest city, they can do it anywhere. The RNC is suing to protect the integrity of our elections, and we stand ready to do the same wherever Democrats try to attack the basic security of your ballot.”
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
For Background:
- This radical scheme passed by New York Democrats to allow foreign citizens to decide American elections is a blatant attack on election integrity and violates the state constitution which requires New York voters to be U.S. citizens.
- The RNC is joined in the suit by the New York Republican Party and several concerned New York officeholders and voters, including city council members who voted against the legislation.
- In addition to violating the state constitution, the suit demonstrates how Democrats’ legislation violates New York election statute and the state’s Municipal Home Rule Law.
- The suit also raises important concerns about how the law will be implemented and whether non-citizens will end up on the same voter registration list used for state-level and federal elections.
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The legislation could add about 900,000 non-citizens to New York City’s voter rolls.
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This is much larger than the margin in last year’s New York Mayor Democrat primary, meaning these non-citizen votes could have swung the race to another candidate.
RPOF CHAIRMAN JOE GRUTERS' MESSAGE
Biden again fleeces Floridians in favor of blue states
The Biden administration announced Florida would get significantly less money than other states for bridge repairs!
Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted this week how Florida is receiving less than $245 million for bridge repairs out of the almost $27 billion for bridges nationally through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The formula used to calculate the amount given to states penalizes Florida for doing its job and successfully maintaining the infrastructure that Floridians require to live and work every day. But even then, Florida’s small amount still does not add up.
“The Biden Administration continues to punish states that are succeeding,” Governor DeSantis said. “Despite obstacles created by the Biden Administration, the State of Florida continues to thrive and foster an environment that draws new residents and tourists every single day. By doing so, Florida has continued to grow, and our infrastructure must be able to keep up the pace. The Biden Administration though is short-changing Florida yet again.”
The federal government claims the funding is based on the number of bridges in disrepair. But states with a similar or fewer number of bridges in disrepair are frequently receiving more than twice as much funding as Florida. Florida has more than 12,500 bridges statewide, and the Bridge Formula Program has identified 408 bridges that are in poor condition and provided $245 million for those.
Under the same formula, Washington State has 416 bridges identified as in poor condition, similar to Florida’s 408, but Washington State is set to receive $605.1 million from the federal government. Connecticut has 248 bridges identified as in poor condition and is set to receive $561.4 million in funding, over twice as much as Florida is receiving with 160 fewer bridges to repair. Biden’s home state of Delaware will receive $225 million, just $20 million less than Florida, but has only 19 bridges to repair according to the formula.
This is just another attempt to harm Floridians because our leaders have rightly criticized the Biden Administration’s reckless policies, and Florida stands out as a leader in job creation and economic growth while the nation, as a whole, suffers under Democrat mismanagement.
Americans see it all. Destructive Democrat policies have created a wave of new Florida arrivals. Between July 2020 and July 2021, Florida added 220,890 new residents from other states, the largest net gain in the country. People are fleeing other states for the free and growing state of Florida, and all of them will need access to quality infrastructure that was not available in the states they left.
Defense spending in Florida has nearly $100 billion impact
Governor DeSantis announced Thursday that Florida’s military and defense industry supported more than 860,000 jobs in 2020 and Florida experienced a 12 percent increase in direct defense spending from $44 billion in 2018 to $49.3 billion in 2020.
According to the recently published 2022 Florida Defense Industry Economic Impact Analysis by the Florida Defense Support Task Force (FDSTF), defense spending in 2020 generated more than $96.6 billion in value-added economic impacts, or 8.5 percent of the entire Florida economy.
“My administration has worked hard to make Florida the most military friendly state in the country,” Governor DeSantis said. “Creating a military friendly environment has not only benefited veterans and current military personnel, but also our economy by creating civilian opportunities in a thriving defense industry.”
Lt. Gov. Nuñez on Fox News: Hispanics 'flocking' to Republican Party for freedom, opportunities
During an interview on Fox & Friends Weekend, Lt. Gov. Nuñez slammed President Biden’s disastrous policies that are leading more Hispanics to join the Republican Party, according to recent polls.
“When you look at these numbers, it should not be a shock to anyone. We have seen the disastrous policies across the board from Biden since he took office. You have seen that Hispanic voters are flocking to the Republican Party,” Lt. Gov. Nuñez said.
“We are the party that will provide them freedom, that will provide them opportunities for their families. And when you see children that are being indoctrinated in the schools and that Biden and his cronies are calling their parents domestic terrorists, those are things that really have an impact on the voters. And that's why I strongly believe that the midterm election and beyond is going to be an incredible turn of events for the president and for the party.”
Senator Rubio smacks down Chuck Schumer on filibuster
Senator Marco Rubio smacked down Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Megyn Kelly Show for playing to his New York base over the filibuster in hopes of not being primaried by someone like AOC.
“I think a lot of Democrats, particularly Chuck Schumer in a state like New York, see that over the last few years you've had longtime incumbents taken out by people from the far left, and they're concerned about it,” Senator Rubio said. ''Maybe he thinks he's still going to win but doesn't want to go through that process.''
Rubio told Kelly that Schumer is looking only at his own political fortunes and not what is good for the country or even considering the constituents that other senators must answer to at election time.
