While the Republican presidential candidates mount a mini revolt against the Republican National Committee and work to seize control of their debate formats away from the RNC and the television networks, Fox News is getting a pass.

As Politico reported, the candidates want to negotiate debate format and let the RNC negotiate logistics and/or handle disagreements.

After the two-hour meeting, held at a Hilton in Alexandria, Va., top advisers to the GOP presidential campaigns — angry over how the first three debates have gone — said they were prepared to negotiate critical formatting issues with networks that will be broadcasting the future debates, a matter that until now had been overseen by the RNC. The campaigns said they were preparing to send a letter to TV networks informing them of their collective view of how future debates should look.

…It was a stunning development for a party committee that entered the election cycle determined to take greater control of a debate process that, four years ago, went badly off track. And it was evidence of a national GOP that is struggling to oversee a large and rambunctious field of primary candidates.

But despite Donald Trump’s whining about his treatment in the first debate, moderated by Fox News, the candidates will not be sending Fox any list of demands.

From The Washington Post:

The campaigns reached an early consensus on one issue, according to several operatives in the room: the secure standing of Fox News Channel. Any changes would be applied to debates after next week’s Fox Business Network debate. Among the reasons, according to one operative in the room, was that “people are afraid to make Roger [Ailes] mad,” a reference to the network’s chief.

Just in case you wondered who really rules the Republican Party these days.

Crossposted at News Hounds.
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