Tag: Commission on Presidential Debates

Did The Debate Commission Provide the Election’s ‘Galvanizing Moment?’

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
118
 

If you had the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates framing the issue that voters may well take with them into the voting booth on November 3 (or before) on your 2020 election bingo card, congratulations. Who thought an obscure, 33-year-old nonprofit organization might provide the potential galvanizing moment just weeks before Election Day?

As former GOP presidential nominee and ex-Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole has confirmed, the Commission is in the tank for Joe Biden, or at least against President Trump.

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Member Post

Kelly D Johnston
Kelly D Johnston
137
 

Debates are one of the great traditions of American elections. Having been involved in some 35 congressional elections in 25 states over my 43-year career, I’ve been involved in dozens of them. I negotiated debate formats with opposing campaigns and media organizations. I prepped and peppered candidates with issues and questions. And I even played […]
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Johnson, Stein, McMullin Locked Out of Presidential Debates

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
9918
 

jill-stein-gary-johnson-evan-mcmullin-green-party-2016The system is rigged. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced today that the only candidates to be invited to the first scheduled debate are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. While claiming to be non-partisan, the CPD has again demonstrated that it is instead bipartisan — a racket designed to protect the interests of the Democratic and Republican parties against the threat of other options.

CPD’s official selection criteria are as follows:

  1. Candidate is constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President of the United States.
  2. Candidate has achieved ballot access in a sufficient number of states to win a theoretical Electoral College majority in the general election.
  3. Candidate has demonstrated a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate, as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recent publicly-reported results. These polls are from ABC-Washington Post; CBS-New York Times; CNN-Opinion Research Corporation; Fox News; and NBC-Wall Street Journal.

Libertarian Gary Johnson has been endorsed by four major newspapers and is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This means he obviously meets the first two tests but fails to achieve the arbitrary third test. The banning also applies to his running mate Bill Weld who will not be allowed to attend the first vice presidential debate. Johnson expected this result, but remained disappointed:

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