The New York Times has this letter from former Connecticut Republican Congressman Christopher Shays, in support of expanding who can be included in the general election presidential debates. Shays was in Congress for 22 years.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
They’re trying to make room ‘for one, only one’ independent candidate on the Presidential Debate stage next fall?!?!! Really?
They begin to sound like the leftists who met in Chicago a couple weeks ago who are trying, yet again, to coalesce into ‘a single mass-based party of the left’.
Both of these ideas are examples of the lack of understanding of democratic concepts among our political leadership and our leftist opposition.
Hint hint: they want that one & only one extra candidate to be their candidate. It’s Americans (didn’t) Elect.
However, assuming the American Elect people do not actually take steps to back their own presidential candidate (outside of the major parties) in 2016, the irony is that if their specific proposal is put into place, it would still probably end up helping the Libertarian Party, or possibly the Green Party or the Constitution Party, depending on which group collects the most ballot access signatures in 2015-2016. This assumes that no big name independent candidate will arise and run.