Reply #21: every candidate needs to be heard...because all will be on a ballot. [View All]

What needs to change are the debates themselves. A two-hour debate is plenty of time for all nine candidates to discuss in depth a single issue. We should demand that the DNC holds debates on each of these issues healthcare reform, education, democracy in America, foreign policy, consumer rights vs. corporations, and environmental policy.

In a 90-minute debate each candidate usually has a total of around 12-6 minutes. If debate time is increased to two hours then each candidate will have closer to 15-10 minutes. And if the debates are limited to single issues, each candidate will be forced to discuss the details of the issue rather than giving the same one-liners for each question.

On democracy..candidates would address issues like campaign finance reform, IRV, term limits, the future roles of the FCC and FEC, recall elections, and their positions on abolishing the electoral college. On consumer rights candidates would discuss their positions on privacy rights from insurance companies, whether personal info should be exchanged by financial institutions without a person's knowledge, what role the feds should have in regulating utilities, and what privacy rights should people have from their employers regarding health and other matters...

If we have a set of debates which focus on single issues only, then the details will come out. Rather than seeing petty personal fights, we will then see real policy differences...which is what true debates are suppose to reveal!