Posted originally on the CTH on December 8, 2023 | Sundance 

When CNN announced they were hosting two debates for the GOPe candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire, the supposition was that the RNC had given two debates to the network.  The assumption was because the RNC, and the four remaining first-loser candidates, had previously held an agreement that only RNC sanctioned debates would be permitted, and the candidates would only attend RNC sanctioned debates.

However, it turns out that fake news CNN went rogue in organizing the unsanctioned debates.

There are multiple facets worth considering, and considerable ramifications within the entire construct.

First, the RNC didn’t even know about the plans of CNN.  “The respective debates, set for Jan. 10 in Des Moines and Jan. 21 just outside Manchester, aren’t sanctioned by the RNC, which has organized the first four debates, including Wednesday night’s broadcast in Alabama,” according to Politico.  Additionally, “campaigns have continuously complained about current RNC rules, which say a candidate who participates in an unsanctioned debate is barred from future RNC-approved gatherings. But the RNC’s debate committee is expected to meet Friday to discuss officially removing that rule, according to three people with knowledge of the group’s plans.”

Fake News CNN lived up to their nickname by not even informing the debate venues of their plan prior to yesterday’s announcement.  It’s all very weird and curious:

(New York Times) – […]  With great fanfare this week, CNN announced it would host the network’s first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign, gathering the Republican candidates for a marquee event on Jan. 21 at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.

There was only one problem: Saint Anselm had no idea what CNN was talking about.

“We were surprised to be included on a press release by a network about a debate which we had not planned or booked,” Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm, said in a statement on Friday.

The chairman of New Hampshire’s Republican Party, Chris Ager, went a little further.  “The CNN thing came out and everybody’s like, ‘What the heck?’” Mr. Ager said in an interview. “I’m still scratching my head. And I still haven’t been contacted by CNN at all.” (more)

By midday on Friday, CNN was being battered with questions from Republicans, candidates and other media outlets.  It’s all just seemingly bizarre.

The RNC made an official statement today saying the RNC is no longer hosting debates for the 2024 GOP primary.   This is a little funny considering that Donald Trump never participated, and the candidates who aligned with the RNC debates have lower support numbers now than before the debate series began.

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee is pausing its participation in 2024 GOP primary debates, the organization decided Friday.

The RNC’s decision, made by a 16-member internal body, means that any forthcoming debates will be hosted by networks independently of the committee. Two outlets — ABC and CNN — have announced plans to host future debates in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of early state voting. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis already said he will attend CNN’s planned Iowa debate before next month’s caucuses and ABC’s planned New Hampshire debate.

“We have held four successful debates across the country with the most conservative partners in the history of a Republican primary. We have no RNC debates scheduled in January and any debates currently scheduled are not affiliated with the RNC,” the RNC’s Committee on Presidential Debates said in a statement. “It is now time for Republican primary voters to decide who will be our next President and candidates are free to use any forum or format to communicate to voters as they see fit.” (more)

Essentially, it all boils down to this.  The RNC initially thought they could stop Trump; however, the RNC debate series intended to generate that narrative has failed miserably.  Donald Trump is supported more now than he was when the field of first-loser candidates assembled against him.  Having failed, the RNC backs away slowly.

The CNN announcement, and the gleeful almost immediate acceptance by DeSantis et al, reflects a general desperation.  The effort to stop Trump now falls on the leftist corporate media, who are aligned with the remaining four GOP candidates: DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy and Christie.

The agreement and alignment between the remaining candidates, and the corrupt media apparatus, only highlights the fraudulent reason those candidates were assembled in the first place.  The ‘stop Trump’ effort was/is the purpose of their candidacy; actually, winning the GOP nomination was/is irrelevant.   This non-pretending reality exposes the strings on the four remaining marionettes.

It is serendipitous the events rolled out the way they did.  Fraudulent men had plans, but God has a sense of humor.  The implosion of a heavily controlled GOP field is only spotlighted more by the few remaining candidates continuing to compete for first-loser status.

Why would any Republican agree to a CNN debate knowing the nature of the lies and fraud CNN has pushed for the past several years.  Any normally minded Republican candidate would never agree or participate, and therein lies the point.  These are not normally minded politicians; their agenda is something else entirely.

President Donald Trump is unlikely to participate in any debate.  The premise of the debates themselves is silly, and the only reason the candidates are agreeing to more debates is that the corporate and billionaire donors to them are demanding every effort be exhausted.  At this point it is pathetic.