Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Tuesday that his Democratic presidential rivals Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Hillary Clinton are in agreement that the current primary debate schedule is sufficient.
“I asked Senator Sanders. Senator Sanders doesn’t want to do more debates either,” O’Malley said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “He kind of liked where it is. But hey, all of that is what it is.”
{mosads}O’Malley has long criticized the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for limiting the 2016 presidential primary with its current debate schedule. He argued Tuesday that voters will eventually tire of the political establishment influencing the electoral process year after year.
“The concentration of power and wealth in our economy, that same concentration of power and wealth is happening in the Democratic Party,” O’Malley said. “And you know what? I don’t care.”
“I believe that people understand that just as their economy is rigged, so, too, sometimes can be their politics, and I’m going to continue to call forward the goodness in the hearts of Americans,” he continued.
The most recent Democratic debate was the Saturday evening before Christmas, which critics say was designed to minimize its impact.
“I believe the people are going to surprise the pundits and the bigwigs in Washington who thought they were being cute by trying to limit these debates, hide them behind football games and ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ We’re going to let the people decide,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley criticized DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) of aiding Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton.
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz is doing a terrible disservice to the public,” he said. “Look how many debates the Republicans have had.”
The Democrats have six debates scheduled for this election cycle,
“We are the Democratic Party, not the Undemocratic Party. We should be having at least as many debates as they’ve had.”