Americans have not only a right to vote, but a right to know who we can vote for.
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The requests come as the usual chicken-and-egg scenario plays out between these candidates and the media.
“I haven’t made a decision yet between Clinton, Gary Johnson or writing in a candidate”, Bradshaw told CNN.
However, putting third-party candidates in the national debates elevates them to a level that they simply are not at yet. It’s actually a corporation controlled by Democratic and Republican parties.
“The Libertarian Party requests that Fox News immediately pull all misleading ads, and refrain from making any public statements, which give the impression that only two candidates will be in the debates”. Clinton has led in most polls since early May, leading by as many as 14 points. But this time around, two third-party candidates have slid into the spotlight and some Penn students are opting for those alternate choices.
A pro-Johnson super PAC aired over $550,000 in television advertisements last month, but is now not on the air.
This is a little bit sad because this is an election that could have used a serious third-party challenger to sharpen the debate, if for no other reason.
NPR can and should do more. “We may not have billions to spend but thanks to sites like Facebook we’ve been able to reach millions of disgruntled voters with our message and they’ve responded in resounding numbers”.
A sampling of the listener letters (some excerpted) is below.
That’s what will always bring third-party candidates down.
He also said that he likes that Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld have the most governing experience, and that they have good records of balancing the budget and bringing bipartisanship to their respective states. “And the simplest way to make those options viable is for the media to take them seriously”. “But I find his pragmatism refreshing”.
Johnson’s main problem is that he’s unlikely to be President-and both campaigns have, at least subtly, tried to make the case that a vote for Johnson (or any third party) handicaps their chance to win. Seven percent said they’re undecided in the two-person race.
Forty seconds or so is not nothing in TV time but in a 55-minute broadcast it would seem to me to have been worth finding those seconds somewhere else so as not to cut the first and perhaps only interview with Dr. Stein and to let her finish answering-and let NewsHour television viewers see and hear-one of the more provocative questions Woodruff asked.
The state’s junior senator, Jeff Flake, who had endeared himself to many Libertarians while serving in the House, won his bid for Senate that year, too. Negatives like those make one wonder if Americans would consider supporting an alternative candidate. Green Party nominee Jill Stein is on the ballot in about half.
Political science professor Dan Hopkins offered some insight into why third-party candidates are so appealing in this election, but said he believes there will be a decline in the number of people planning to vote third party as the election approaches.
While Faucheux appears willing to allow both Johnson and Stein to debate, Johnson has the most likely route to becoming more than a fringe candidate – which is why we’ve focused on his chances.
The folksy Libertarian, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, is on the ballot in 50 states.
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Right now, Johnson is polling at about 9-percent in national polls. Without getting coverage they can’t rise in the polls.
