On October 6, U.S. District Court Judge Norman Moon refused to require the University of Virginia Center for Politics to invite independent Virginia gubernatorial candidate Russell Potts into its gubernatorial debate. Since the debate sponsor is a branch of the state government, Potts should have won the case. The US Supreme Court said in Arkansas Educational TV Foundation v Forbes, 523 US 666 (1998), that government-owned entities must include all candidates with a real campaign, when they hold debates. Potts has a very substancial campaign and a large campaign budget, and has his own TV ads.
The debate will now include only the Democratic and Republican nominees, and will be held October 9.
Judges appointed by the state do the will of the state. Judges elected by the people do the will of the people. I think that is what happened here.
I have observed (in the Last Forty Years) that a whole lot of ‘independents’ and ‘smaller party types’ are just Democans and or Republicrats on vacation. Certain reflectors (especially INFORMAL and UNOFFICIAL ReformTalk@yahoogroups.com!) have posters who rage against one side of the two party establishment machine with out hardly ever speaking out against the so-called ‘other’ party.
Stealth Bible thumpers are amoung the worst. Any way, no matter their official party designation, reformers every where pretty much agree that it is both ballot access organizations that have brought the globe’s one and only superpower to the point of being the world’s laughing stock.
Real smaller party types might want to investigate http://www.WeThePeopleCoalition.com and or http://www.ezboard.com (We The People Coalition) as less and less potential voters register D or R.
Donald Raymond Lake
Contact Person
The Once Golden State of Collie Fornia
http://www.WeThePeopleCoalition.com