Debate shuns third parties

Say what you want about third parties. Spoilers or saviors, they're here to stay.

When the presidential debates censored third parties in 2000 and 2004, I didn't focus much on the issue because Bush's daily gaffes were such a distraction. But now - as was true then - there's no excuse for excluding independents and third parties from the debates.

So they go ahead and do it anyway.

Because he was excluded from the debate that looms this Friday, Ralph Nader is bipping mad. So is Bob Barr.

But the matter underscores a much larger problem: The forums are governed by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Who runs the CPD? The CPD has conducted the debates since the 1988 campaign, and it was founded by the Republican and Democratic parties. Leaders of the 2 major parties continue to head the commission. There is no input by third parties.

In 2000, the CPD decreed that candidates couldn't be in the debates unless surveys showed that they were getting at least 15% of the vote. It was kind of a chicken-or-egg problem: How could candidates gain that much support if they got no debate exposure? Nader quite correctly sued the CPD because its ukase violated the Federal Election Campaign Act.

With the GOP/DLC coalescence, the forums have been referred to as mere news conferences rather than real debates.

If third parties are as out-of-step as the corporate media claims, why not let them participate in the debates so the voters can see for themselves? As long as the debates shun them, the media expects the public to view third parties as unworthy based solely on blind faith in the media's say-so.

With free air time given to the major parties by the CPD, we should demand that TV networks and stations give equal time to third parties.

Not like I expect that to happen. TV stations (I'm thinking of WIVB in Buffalo right now) are more interested in cheering for school uniforms than in providing unbiased, fair coverage.

(Source: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7162196)