Last Friday, George W. Bush and John Kerry faced off in a display of mediocrity perhaps unrivaled since Bush faced off against Gore four years ago. The debate was punctuated by Bush endorsing the Patriot Act and Kerry’s shocking revelation that India and China, countries with four times America’s population, have more technology graduates than the United States.
Afterward, pundits and journalists had their own debate about who had “won” the debate. Mostly, they leaned toward Kerry, though it seems to me that Bush gave a better presentation overall. In the midst of their discussions, some mentioned in passing that Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik had been arrested after breaking through the police barrier surrounding the debate and peacefully giving themselves up to police.
Wait a second. There was a presidential debate Friday. The purpose of a debate is to allow voters to see a direct contrast between the candidates’ positions and to allow candidates to critique their opponents’ platforms. Yet two established candidates were arrested for attempting to even enter the debate premises. Something is very wrong here.
The party behind this travesty of democracy is the Commission for Presidential Debate, an organization created by the Republican and Democratic parties to organize and host the presidential debates. On its Web site, the organization claims to exist to “provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners.” However, its actions show otherwise.
The CPD is a private organization that acts in the interests of the Democratic and Republican parties. Only once has it permitted a third party candidate to participate in the debates-Ross Perot in 1992. After Perot received some 12 million votes, threatening the positions of both established parties, the CPD changed its requirements to participate in its debates. In addition to the reasonable requirement that a candidate must be on enough ballots to potentially win the election, CPD added the hurdle that the candidate must also be supported by 15 percent of people participating in five major polls. Of course, the polls often ask which of the major party candidates poll-takers support before asking about any third party candidates, essentially leading the surveyee to select one major candidate or the other. This excludes candidates like Badnarik, who is on the ballot in 48 states.
Besides, polls are not necessarily good predictors of the election-just ask Harry S. Truman. Given CPD’s requirements, Jesse Ventura would have been denied his successful bid for the Minnesota governorship. He pulled only 10 percent of a poll taken in September 1998. By denying smaller candidates a voice by claiming “they don’t have a chance,” CPD creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
America’s government is intended to be a government “of the people,” not just the majority. In our society, third parties drive important social movements. The election of senators, income tax and women’s suffrage all are results of third party pressures.
The actions of the CPD are shameful in their attempts to silence the voices of the third party candidates. Worse still, the CPD is not the only way through which the major parties defend their hill. The Democratic Party has filed suit to keep Green Party candidates off the ballots in several states.
The Republican and Democratic parties, the power players in American politics, care nothing for the ideals of the American electoral process. They-afraid of smaller candidates-are ruthlessly playing to win. Because such actions pose a grave threat to the very foundations of democracy, the electorate, you and me, must be aware both of their methods and the people they don’t want us to hear.
Nathan Alday is a senior aerospace engineering major. He can be reached at [email protected].