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Vicki Kennedy rejects Sen. Brown demands

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute is inviting Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren to discuss the terms of a tentative debate, but said it would not meet Sen. Brown's demands that MSNBC not air the debate and that Vicki Kennedy, Ted Kennedy's widow and president of the institute's board, not endorse either candidate.

(UPDATE: Sen. Brown will not attend Kennedy debate)

Yesterday, Brown's campaign sent a letter to the institute stating that the senator would only debate if MSNBC dropped out as sponsor and if Kennedy, who invited the candidates to the debate, promised not to endorse either candidate before the election. As it turns out, MSNBC was never approached by the institute about airing the debate, though Brown's assumption wasn't necessarily misplaced — in the invitation to the two campaigns, Kennedy said the debate would be broadcast by local NBC affiliates and/or MSNBC.

In letters sent to both campaigns today and shared with POLITICO, the institute announced that "we still have flexibility in this area."

"Subject to discussions with the moderator [Tom Brokaw] and since we would very much like to have the debate reach the widest audience possible, we would be very happy to have the debate on a feed to all Massachusetts stations and networks," wrote Lisa McBirney, the institute's chief operating officer, and the University of Massachusetts's Christopher Hogan. "If any cable outlets would like to air it as well, we would be supportive of this."

Kennedy also rejected Brown's demands regarding her neutrality: "This non-endorsement pledge is unprecedented and is not being required by any other persons or entities," McBirney and Hogan wrote, noting that newspapers often host debates and then go on to endorse candidates. "We can assure both campaigns that the debate will be fair, just as the one we co-hosted between Senator Brown and Attorney General Coakley in 2010 was fair."

And therein lies the rub for the Brown campaign.

In 2010, Kennedy endorsed Coakley just four days before Brown and Coakley met for their debate at the institute. Four days after the debate, she appeared in an ad with Coakley called "With Her."

I have reached out to the Brown campaign to ask for their response to the institute's letter. Updates here if and when I hear back.

UPDATE: Sen. Brown will not attend Kennedy debate