Debate Meeting Facilitator Ginsberg: RNC Lost Leverage With Networks

The Republican National Committee lost leverage when it agreed ahead of time to the nine debates it would allow, says Ben Ginsberg, one of the facilitators of Sunday's meeting of several GOP presidential campaigns.

In past cycles the campaigns themselves talked to the sponsors, Ginsberg, who was part of the 2012 Mitt Romney campaign said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." 

"If you issue a schedule beforehand and promise debates to news media organizations you've lost some leverage," he said. "So that loss of leverage is something that the campaigns want to talk about."

After Republicans were subjected to an exhausting 20 debates in 2012, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus made the move this year to keep the number down to a manageable level. Only nine debates were sanctioned by the party, with penalties for any candidate who participates in an unsanctioned one.

After last week's contentious debate between the CNBC moderators and the candidates, Priebus announced that a scheduled debate with CNBC's parent NBC News will be scrubbed.

Ginsberg said he'll be sharing his experiences negotiating during the past four elections at the meeting.

Republican Rep. Marsh Blackburn of Tennessee said voters want to see how candidates react to each other, not the moderators.

"I think that they just need to realize the media is not going to be with them. They need to go over the top, talk directly to the American people, reconstruct their answers, and just kind of get over it and move on," she said.

Related Stories:

• Carson's Camp Wants Fewer Debates, Streamed Over the Internet
• With Strong Debate Showing, Cruz Hopes to Build Momentum