While the recent Presidential debates have given millions of Americans strong insight on which candidate they may choose to lead them come October, a disgruntled Ralph Nader has been slighted by the Commission on Political Debates’ refusal to permit third party candidates to participate. Writing for US News & World Report, he argued that the Commission was created by the two major parties and the 15% of support that is required to participate is not feasible for a third party candidate before he or she can even get the exposure of a prominent debate. Nader is correct; perhaps far more people would support third party campaigns if they knew more about their stances and their candidates. It seems for months that media exposure has been all over John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton and has given little or no attention to Nader, Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr, and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney.

Third party candidates feel their views are legitimate and could garner
support nationwide. In addition, they feel Americans deserve to hear
from more than two different parties, if the other candidates are
capable of making a respectable showing. Sure, not every single minor
party and politician can be included, but as Nader is on the ballot in
the vast majority of states, it is clear that he at least should be
allowed a chance to speak and address the masses.

According to Nader, a 2002 poll indicated that one in three Americans
would consider voting for him if they believed he had a chance to win
the election; anyone with this considerable of a chance needs to be
included in our major debates in order to provide Americans with the
most popular views, and give them a wider breadth to choose from. Many
issues facing America today have more than two routes of action, so why
limit ourselves to hearing only two sides of the story? Furthermore,
more diversity in political leanings and moderation could force the two
major party leaders to either relax or strengthen their stances. I feel
that the more competition our debates can have, the more productive the
winning candidate will be as he or she will be forced to adhere to what
different groups of people want. If a third party candidate is able to
receive positive feedback on just one of his views, the major
candidates will have no choice but to change or reform their arguments
to react to the momentum of the other’s idea.

Overall, any individual with not just the chance to win an election,
but also the nationwide appeal to at least sway some voters and
positions of other candidates, needs to be included in our most
prominent debates. As Nader wrote, “the abolition of slavery, women’s
suffrage, Social Security, fair labor standards, and protection of
farmers were all first championed by third parties.” While, today’s
third parties may not be able to make contributions of this gravity and
prominence, the fact that they may be able to dramatically shape an
election at certain levels should definitely be recognized by America
and dealt with appropriately. This fall presents many strong and
varying political backgrounds and ideals. The most vital of these
should be allowed on the main stage.

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bob barr, cynthia mckinney, libertarian party, third party candidates, third party debate, vanderbilt