The first Republican presidential debate is approaching — Aug. 6 in Cleveland — and GOP candidates who are likely to miss the cut for the nighttime debate are stepping up criticism of the system.

First Curt Anderson, a veteran Republican strategist, former top official of the RNC, and now an adviser to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled, "Let all 16 Candidates Debate." Anderson's argument is that the RNC plan to limit debates is backward-looking: it's a solution to a problem that plagued the poor-quality 2012 GOP field but is not present in the high-quality 2016 field. The RNC plan relies on irrelevant national polling, Anderson writes, giving unfair advantage to candidates with pre-existing name recognition — "retread candidates and political dynasties," as well as "personalities and circus acts."

"The Republican Party should be looking forward instead of backward," Anderson writes, "and seeking every opportunity to feature its roster of excellent candidates, rather than trying to find ways to constrict the field."

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