Originally
posted by
LittleItaly:
i dont understand why the debates and such dont include the independent party too.
Simple, really. The three "major" televised debates were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. While that sounds like some oh-so-"official" organization, what it really is is a private organization that was set up by the Democrat and Republican parties in the 1980s. Prior to that the League of Women Voters organized Presidential debates, but they walked away in disgust because the demands of those two parties would "perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."
So the Republicans and Democrats stood up the CPD (which is run by former leaders of -- you guessed it -- the Rep/Dem parties) and every election cycle they negotiate a contract that spells out the terms of the debates. They include in that agreement a clause that says each candidate will refuse to participate in any debates other than those put on by the CPD, and then the CPD puts in place criteria designed to keep third-party candidates out of the "major" debates. For example, this year, the requirements were:
* Must be Constitutionally eligible to win the Presidency (e.g., natural born, 35-years old, and so on). OK, makes sense.
* Must have qualified for ballot access in enough states to have the potential to capture 270 electoral votes. Yes, this is a good idea! This criteria alone would have narrowed the field to 4. Barack Obama (D), Mitt Romney (R), Gary Johnson (L), and Jill Stein (G).
* Must have received at least 15% in 5 "selected" national polls. WHOA. Hit the brakes! Aren't those the same polls that almost always ask about only two candidates? Why gosh yes that would seem to be the case.
And there you have it. It works exactly the way they planned it to work.
fluff the Republicans and Democrats.
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