Re: should the rules be changed to make it easier for one or more candidate into the
That's all fair comment - but where do you propose to draw the line? Are you going to require independent polling organizations to poll for all "parties"? If not, who polls or how is public opinion determined with regard to independent parties? Perhaps an independent party is polling 20% in one state but negligibly nationally - does that count?
Here in Canada we have three main parties and a couple of regional or minor parties. In debates, the three main parties are involved and if the debate is in Quebec, as an example, the national party that operates only in Quebec is included in the debates. The Green party wasn't allowed to participate until it elected a member to parliament. So maybe that's a good way for independents in America to start the participatory process - get a party member elected to the House or Senate and then your party leader gets to participate.
well, i think it all needs to start with ballot access laws.
there is a balance to strike here, of course, i mean, it shouldn't be a matter of just "sign up and you're in"... but it also shouldn't be insurmountable to gain access either.
I think if a party makes it on the ballot in the majority of states, it should automatically be allowed in the debates.... there should be no further thresholds to overcome.
there's no good reason why a party can be on the ballot in the majority of states, but not be allowed to debate.. not one.
as for filtering out the outliers and extremes, well, that's where the "majority of states" thing comes in... if you can gain access in 26 states, you're probably not some wacko party.
we have independents elected in Congress.. Bernie Sanders is a notable one..... and the independent party, or even independent candidates, is still not allowed to debate if they don't exceed the thresholds put in place by the CPD (polling above 15%.. nationally)
the Commission on Presidential Debates is not a government organization.. it's a private non-profit set up and entirely controlled by the RNC and DNC.. and they hold a monopoly on "official" presidential debates.
3rd parties can set up their own debates, but as we have seen,but the mainstream media will not cover it whatsoever.... few people even know there was even a 3rd party debate that actually happened .... I suspect collusion between the major media outlets and the CPD, but that's just a theory, as far as i know
so yeah, having people elected and in office doesn't mean anything when it comes to debates... it's entirely irrelevant in our corrupted system.