The Democratic National Committee changed the qualifying criteria for presidential debates again, eliminating Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).
The committee (DNC) said Friday that participants in the next debate must have at least 20 percent of the pledged delegates. Gabbard, 38, has earned only two delegates so far.
Under the new rules, the March 15 debate in Phoenix, Arizona, will feature Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78, and former Vice President Joe Biden, 77.
Gabbard is the only Democratic candidate left in the race besides the men. Gabbard would have qualified for the debate under previous rules. She has not qualified for the past five debates.
Gabbard took to Twitter Friday night after the new rules were announced, writing: “To keep me off the stage, the DNC again arbitrarily changed the debate qualifications. Previously they changed the qualifications in the OPPOSITE direction so Bloomberg could debate.”
The DNC previously removed one half of the qualifying criteria, enabling former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 78, to make his first debates.
Bloomberg and a slew of others dropped out of the race in recent days.
Gabbard appealed directly to Biden and Sanders, telling them: “I’m sure you would agree that our Democratic nominee should be a person who will stand up for what is right. So I ask that you have the courage to do that now in the face of the DNC’s effort to keep me from participating in the debates.”
DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said Tuesday that the thresholds to qualify for future debates would go up.
“By the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has,” she said in a statement.
The previous criteria have centered around poll results and unique donors.
Hinojosa also retweeted a post about Bloomberg appearing on the debate stage that asserted the move “was misinterpreted as somehow helping Bloomberg, as opposed to leveling the playing field for his rivals in terms of the [money].”
Bloomberg, one of the richest men in America, spent over $500 million on his campaign before announcing his withdrawal and endorsing Biden.
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59, also withdrew in recent days before endorsing Biden.
From The Epoch Times
