The nation has now seen 4 presidential debates on national television this year. Two Republican debates each had 10 candidates; two Democratic debates each had 8 candidates. The June 5 debate was two hours long. These debates are successful. They give all of the participating candidates a chance to set forth a message. There is no longer any excuse whatsoever for the general election debates to be confined to candidates who poll 15% at the polls. It is hoped that the organization Rock the Debates (www.rockthedebates.org) will succeed in its mission. Its mission is to put the leading Democratic and Republican presidential contenders on record for more inclusive general election debates.

On the evening of June 4, Congressman Ron Paul was on “The Daily Show” with host Jon Stewart. Stewart asked Paul about his choice to run for president as a Republican instead of any alternate path. Paul said, “I ran in 1988 as a Libertarian candidate for President, but I’ve been in Congress for 10 terms always as a Republican, including currently…You don’t get in the debates when running outside the major parties. We’re overseas spreading the message of democracy, but here, if you’re in a third party, you can’t get on ballots…you spend all your time getting on ballots…you have to be a Ross Perot to get on all the ballots…The two parties are very much in control of the system, and they exclude individuals who aren’t in that mold.”

This post is being written on Tuesday morning, June 5. It will be interesting to see of any of the other Republican presidential contenders make reference to Paul’s remarks, in the Republican presidential debate tonight.

On May 31, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 583. It sets up a discriminatory public funding program for state elections. It will probably receive a vote on the Assembly floor on Wednesday, June 6.