To: Sam Feist, CNN Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Vice President
CNN: Prioritize Foreign Policy at the debates next week
Foreign policy touches on almost every issue, from climate change to immigration to peace, diplomacy, and war. This is no time to be running away from the elephant in the room. Debate questions must ensure the next Democratic candidate is able to take on Donald Trump when it comes to Foreign Policy.
Why is this important?
In the 2016 primary debates, Democrats were asked on average approximately 2 questions per debate on Foreign Policy. On the other side, Republicans were asked on average over 5 questions per debate on Foreign Policy.
Foreign Policy is a core fear-mongering tool of the Republican Party––from ignoring climate change and its global implications to demonizing immigrants and Muslims or instilling the fear of "terrorism" and war.
If we want a Democratic president in 2020, Democratic candidates must learn how to answer and argue on behalf of progressive foreign policy principles and stances.
Just this week, Donald Trump said that he could kill 10 million people in Afghanistan if he wanted to. In previous months, he has cut off humanitarian aid to Palestine, threatened Iran with war, and increased military presence at the US-Mexico border.
Democrats, media, and debate hosts can't keep pushing this issue under the rug in the hopes that it will go away. It won't.
Sign the petition to CNN if you agree that it's time to seriously address Foreign Policy and all the implications it brings to our domestic policies––including increasingly militarized police and a bloated pentagon budget––on the debate stage next week.