Mitch Perry
While the political world focuses on Thursday night’s seventh Republican presidential debate in Des Moines (or the candidate hosting an event at nearby Drake University), it’s still to be decided whether a Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire will be held in a week.
Hillary Clinton — in a must-win situation against Bernie Sanders for Iowa — has had a remarkable change of heart when it comes to debates, and has seized the opportunity to participate in such an event, even going as far as calling in again to Chris Matthews show Wednesday night to say so.
(Incidentally, how weird is it to see and hear this new found friendship between the former first lady and the notorious MSNBC host? You know, the guy who eight years ago said the only reason she became a New York senator and presidential candidate was because “her husband messed around“).
When news broke on Tuesday that there was momentum for MSNBC to host a debate, immediately Clinton and Martin O’Malley said they were in.
Strangely, Sanders held off.
That’s because he was concerned about the dictum laid down months ago by DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz that any candidate who participated in a unsanctioned DNC debate (like the proposed event next week would be) could be banned from further debates down the road.
But if Clinton is going to be in it …?
Last night, the Sanders campaign issued a statement said that he would participate.
“Sen. Sanders is happy to have more debates but we are not going to schedule them on an ad hoc basis at the whim of the Clinton campaign,” said Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver. “If Secretary Clinton wants more debates that’s great. We propose three additional debates. One in March, April and May and none on a Friday, Saturday or holiday weekend. And all of the three Democratic candidates must be invited. If the Clinton campaign will commit to this schedule, we would ask the DNC to arrange a debate in New Hampshire on Feb. 4.”
Now it’s up to Wasserman Schultz. Who has still maintained that such a debate will not happen. Stay tuned for that.
Meanwhile, the polls look like South Carolina will be Clinton’s “firewall” if in fact she loses both Iowa and New Hampshire to Sanders. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll out Thursday morning shows Clinton up, 64 percent to 27 percent.
In other news …
GOP Senate hopeful David Jolly‘s Stop Act that would ban federal office holders from dialing for campaign dollars is wildly popular with the public, according to a St. Pete Polls survey released Wednesday.
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One of his opponents, Todd Wilcox, has announced his finance team.
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A bill that would prevent state funding from flowing to organizations that boycott or have divested from Israel on human rights grounds passed unanimously through a House appropriations committee.
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Immigration activists protesting proposals in Tallahassee held events throughout Florida yesterday. In Tampa, the activists want Mayor Bob Buckhorn to publicly declare the city a sanctuary city.
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A Senate Committee advanced a proposal to remove the statue of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, but not without drama.
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And Eric Lynn’s finance team say things were looking bleak last week, but their fundraising totals in the CD 13 race for January should be OK when it’s all said and done.
