Aren’t you just bursting with excitement!?! The Democrat Party decided to announce what their primary debate schedule would be, just in time for Christmas! Who is ready for hours and hours of watching candidates out-left each other?

And when I say “hours and hours,” I mean HOURS AND HOURS. All starting in… June 2019.

Brace yourselves. You might not be able to take this much excitement.

To accommodate a potentially vast field of presidential candidates, the Democratic Party will hold a total of 12 primary debates and is prepared to split the first two debates, scheduled for June and July of 2019, into two consecutive nights, with each lineup set by random public draw.

The debate plans, outlined on Thursday by Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez on a call with reporters, reflect an ongoing effort by the party to respond to widely felt concerns about the fairness and transparency of the 2016 nominating process.

Perez, the former labor secretary who stepped in as DNC chair almost two years ago, told reporters that he and his aides consulted former candidates and campaigns during more than “100 hours of conversations” for advice on revising the debate process ahead of 2020.

“Our north star principle is to give people a fair shake,” Perez said on Thursday.

The DNC is still finalizing the metrics that will be used to determine the candidate eligibility threshold for debates. Officials said they will include more factors than just polling — including grassroots fundraising and “other objective measures that reflect a candidate’s support.”

The debate season will begin in June 2019 and end in April 2020, with six debates in 2019 and six in 2020.

TWELVE. DEMOCRAT PARTY. DEBATES. Are there enough strategic popcorn reserves available in the continental United States to get us through such a number?

DNC officials are preparing for a field similar in size to the Republican primary in 2016. The GOP designed a debate format that split the candidates into two groups — a so-called undercard debate with low-polling contenders, broadcast earlier in the night, and a main-stage primetime debate with the perceived frontrunners. Critics said the structure limited access to lesser-known candidates and imposed a “junior varsity” and “varsity” dynamic on the race.

It’s a format that DNC officials wanted to avoid as they crafted their debate plans late this year.

The solution they came up with will only apply to the first two debates, scheduled for June and July 2019. Depending on the size of the number of candidates who meet the threshold to debate, the DNC will split the first two debates into a sort of double-header, held on two consecutive nights. The lineup for each night will be determined at random, by “public draw,” Perez said.

“We expect that large field and we welcome that large field,” the chair said. “The more voters that see our candidates, the more voters that will vote Democratic.”

Yes, Mr. Chairman Perez, the problem most definitely is that the American public is under-exposed to the Democratic candidates.

The pundit class is happy.

The debates are good, and probably a better way to let voters sort through candidates than most of the alternatives (e.g. cable news clips and media narratives). https://t.co/WQ5nSZucJl

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 20, 2018

Plus, we'll get great Bad Lip Reading videos out of debates.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) December 20, 2018

Okay, there is ONE bright lining. Those Bad Lip Reading videos are GOLD.

Still, I don’t believe that anyone was hoping for a primary debate schedule that starts six months from now, with a field so old, white, and male currently polling on top. Stop trying to make “Beto” a thing, DNC, it’s not going to happen!

Everyone enjoy your early Christmas present from the Democrat party chairman. Remember to ask Santa to bring you lots of wine and popcorn. Looks like we’re going to need it.

Featured image via Pixabay