In 2012, “Governor Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein obtained their ballot access the hard way - via petitions in states across the country. They were the only two candidates beside the Democrat and Republican who appeared on enough state ballots to get elected as the President of the United States by the Electoral College. Yet, both Johnson & Stein were excluded from the "official" televised presidential debates.”
“So, why did only TWO of these FOUR electable candidates appear on the debate stage?
Well, the most bizarre thing happened...
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has a rule that candidates must average 15% in popular polls. The catch is that it is virtually impossible for any candidate without the free publicity and exposure provided by the two major parties, the media and, of course, nationally-televised debates, to reach 15%. It's a classic "Catch 22". Even with his millions of personal wealth, the last third party candidate to appear in a CPD-sponsored debate, Ross Perot, would not have qualified under the 15% rule. Ironically, after he DID appear, polls showed a majority of Americans believed Perot won the debates.
The official-sounding and acting Commission on Presidential Debates is, in reality, a private organization created by the Republican and Democratic parties and funded by special interests whose goal is to protect the status quo. Thus, it is no surprise that the Debate Commission has adopted “rules” that make it virtually impossible for an independent or third-party candidate to ever participate in the all-important Presidential Debates.”
If you are frustrated and angered by these facts, you are not alone
“The CPD lost three sponsors in 2012 due to their bipartisan-exclusive-to-democrats-and-republicans- political-theater. And recently, a 2014 Gallup poll found that Americans are fed up with the two major parties. "A majority of U.S. adults, 58%, say a third U.S. political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic parties 'do such a poor job' representing the American people." - Jeffrey M. Jones
Most Americans have no idea that the official-sounding and acting CPD is a private organization created by the Republican and Democratic Parties. But now YOU KNOW. So get involved. With polls showing that “independent” voters now constitute a majority of the American electorate, this duopoly simply isn’t fair -- and must be changed.”
Here’s the
link to the entire website including even more information and hyperlinks to the sources used.
https://www.fairdebates.com/
Also, since I am working with Gary Johnson, founder of the Our America Initiative and Fair Debates, and even interviewing him for my Thesis, he has no problem with me sharing information off of the website. However, I did have to cut portions of the page out though to and reword a heading (without changing the meaning) to avoid an infringement infraction.
Texans always win!
It's definitely a problem when millionaires fund the candidates. It should be up to the people who gets to run, get nominated, etc - not millionaires.