THEY'VE BEEN DEAD FOR YEARS; DRIVE A STAKE INTO THEM:

It is an argument without merit. The current presidential debate format--in which moderators are discouraged from interrupting even the wildest statements and in which an appearance of neutrality is privileged over any rigorous application of facts or, for that matter, journalism--is heavily tilted towards Republicans. More to the point, these arrangements serve the interests of cable news: These debates privilege partisan conflict over substantive discussion. They also consistently reward the trivial and superficial over the substantive--the better to manufacture some cheap controversy to fill up the next day of cable news chyrons. While the RNC's turn against the debates may be seen as part of its larger authoritarian drift, this contretemps over debates largely exists as a distraction from more important anti-democratic actions on the right.

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