Will Leitch, an author and blogger who is more noted for his writing on sports, here comments on the Fox News rules for the August 6, 2015 Republican presidential debate. His piece is on Bloomberg Politics. Leitch writes, “Allowing pollsters and television networks to choose who gets to be a candidate long before any actual voter gets to see them is profoundly undemocratic in the purest way.”
The value of polls is highly over-rated! The value of presidential debates is highly over-rated! When was the last time you participated in such a poll or watched such an event?
Hmmmmm…..
How about each presidential candidate has to collect a certain # of signatures to obtain “access” to the debates?
Each petition being affidavited by the circulator and then notarized and then submitted manually to a governmental authority for certification a minimum of 3 months in advance of each debate. Petition signatures will be subject to scrutiny and dispute by other candidates. Disputes by any candidates will require $ deposits.
Costs for each petition will be solely born by the candidates themselves and not by their campaigns or PACS or Super PACS.
What do you think?
Petitions are obsolete. They originated shortly after the invention of writing and paper. Given modern technology, the whole idea of massive numbers of signatures on pieces of paper expressing something should be forgotten.
Sponsors of televised debates (in races with quite a few candidates) should go through a two-stage process. Each candidate should get a few minutes of free air time, a week or so before the debate. Then the debate sponsors could set up an on-line procedure for viewers to give feedback as to whether the candidate belongs in the upcoming debate. If Americans Elect can set up a web page in which only registered voters can vote once, the debate sponsors for presidential debates ought to be able to do the same thing.
Richard,
I was hoping to elicit a response of support from commenters to my joke agreeing that the Republican candidates would get a taste of their own medicine. I.e. that the petitioning process is a pain in the ass and would make them re-think their respective state’s onerous rules surrounding minor/third parties’ and independent candidates.
I like your pragmatic idea.
Aren’t elections obsolete as well?
Richard: From what I’ve heard, I don’t think that Americans Elect did successfully set up a web page in which only registered voters can vote once. The campaign manager for Buddy Roemer (one of the most active candidates for AE’s 2012 nomination) said that more than half of their supporters were unable to get their votes in.