On March 8, the Federal Election Commission issued this press release, saying the FEC won’t appeal the February 1 decision of a U.S. District Court in Level the Playing Field v FEC. That is the decision that ordered the FEC to closely examine whether the Commission on Presidential Debates is breaking federal campaign finance law. Thanks to Shawn Griffiths for the link.
So the end game is…what?
Yes, we (the FEC) will “closely examine” and then we’ll summarily disregard?
I predict the Commission on Presidential Debates will give in and improve their rules, even without the FEC having to rule.
For some inexplicable reason :] I’m reminded of a scene from _Once Upon a Mattress_ (the “Princess and the Pea” musical).
Our hero, Prince Dauntless the Drab, has gotten his mother Queen Aggravaine to promise that our plucky but not so polished heroine Winifred will get a test to prove whether or not she’s a REAL princess and worthy of marrying her son. As she ponders what to do, she says: “[T]he worst of it is that foolish boy actually seems to like the girl, so we must think of a test that looks fair, and sounds fair, and seems fair, and *isn’t* fair.”
The FEC needs to make debates open to all political parties. There is more than the two major parties to be heard.