Libertarian candidate Michael Bedanrik and Green candidate David Cobb were arrested
at the site of the second debate. They were attempting to serve papers to the
Commission on Presidential Debates. The story makes for an interesting read. (Thanks,
Slashdot)
Supporters of the two-party system have argued that minor candidates shouldn’t be
allowed to participate in debates. The problem with that reasoning is that’s it’s
circular. As long as third party candidates get shut out of mainstream events, they
will remain minor. If people get a chance to see them in action, they might actually
change some people’s mind. *Gasp* The horror!
If Al Sharpton participated in the democratic primary debates, we can certainly let the third party guys into the circle. I’m with you.
There is an interesting point in Badnarik’s argument about the CPD proceedings constituting an illegal campaign contribution.
Of course most people only think of campaign finance reform in terms of the two largest parties, but I can’t figure any way that the campaign finance reform laws aren’t supposed to apply to (and therefore, protect) any other party.
It seems, in this case, that since the the two major parties agreed to something, the campaign finance laws no longer apply. Interesting…