Democracy Debatable as Judge Rejects Third-Party Bid to Share Stage
Published on
Saturday, August 06, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Democracy Debatable as Judge Rejects Third-Party Bid to Share Stage
Federal judge said lack of popular support drives scant media coverage, but
what about the reverse?
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, on left, and Libertarian Party
candidate Gary Johnson, on right. (Photos: Gage Skidmore here and
here/cc/flickr)
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by the Green and Libertarian
parties seeking a space on the debate stage alongside the
Democrat/Republican "duopoly."
The complaint, launched last fall, presented an anti-trust argument against
the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying that a "cognizable political
campaign market" is being corrupted by the commission's rules, which bar a
candidate from debating unless they are polling at 15 percent or higher.
And while observers were not surprised that the court dismissed the
challenge, the judge's rationale raised some questions about the role that
the media plays in crafting the current two-party system.
"Plaintiffs in this case have not alleged a non-speculative injury traceable
to the Commission," wrote (pdf) U.S District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer,
an appointee of former President George W. Bush.
"Plaintiffs' alleged injuries are wholly speculative and are dependent
entirely on media coverage decisions," Collyer continued. "The alleged
injuries-failure to receive media coverage and to garner votes, federal
matching funds, and campaign contributions-were caused by the lack of
popular support of the candidates and their parties sufficient to attract
media attention."
In response to the ruling, presumptive Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein,
who was arrested in 2012 for trying to attend one of the debates, said: "We
always expected that the courts were likely to side with the two corporate
parties in trying to limit inclusion in the debates. Ultimately this will be
decided in the court of public opinion. The public needs to demand that
Clinton and Trump agree to debate all the candidates that are on the ballot
in enough states to win the election."
The news came amid the Green Party National Convention, which is being held
this week in Houston, Texas.
And while the campaigns of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican
nominee Donald Trump dominate headlines, voters continue to express record
dissatisfaction with the two frontrunners.
"There is clearly an unprecedented desire for alternatives to the Republican
and Democratic nominees, and voters deserve an opportunity to see and hear
that there are, in fact, other credible, serious choices," said Ron Nielson,
campaign manager for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.
What's more, the latest polling shows that when third-party candidates are
factored in, Clinton's lead over Trump has consistently shrunk, creating
what Politico described as a potential "third-party headache" for the former
secretary of state.
The first general election debate is scheduled for Monday, September 26th at
New York's Hofstra University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
Skip to main content
//
. DONATE
. SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER
Sunday, August 7, 2016
. Home
. World
. U.S.
. Canada
. Climate
. War & Peace
. Economy
. Rights
. Solutions
. Rev. William J. Barber
. Bernie Sanders
. Jill Stein
. Hillary Clinton
. Donald Trump
Democracy Debatable as Judge Rejects Third-Party Bid to Share Stage
Published on
Saturday, August 06, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Democracy Debatable as Judge Rejects Third-Party Bid to Share Stage
Federal judge said lack of popular support drives scant media coverage, but
what about the reverse?
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
. 154 Comments
.
. Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, on left, and Libertarian Party
candidate Gary Johnson, on right. (Photos: Gage Skidmore here and
here/cc/flickr)
. A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by the Green and
Libertarian parties seeking a space on the debate stage alongside the
Democrat/Republican "duopoly."
. The complaint, launched last fall, presented an anti-trust argument
against the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying that a "cognizable
political campaign market" is being corrupted by the commission's rules,
which bar a candidate from debating unless they are polling at 15 percent or
higher.
. And while observers were not surprised that the court dismissed the
challenge, the judge's rationale raised some questions about the role that
the media plays in crafting the current two-party system.
. "Plaintiffs in this case have not alleged a non-speculative injury
traceable to the Commission," wrote (pdf) U.S District Court Judge Rosemary
Collyer, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.
"Plaintiffs' alleged injuries are wholly speculative and are dependent
entirely on media coverage decisions," Collyer continued. "The alleged
injuries-failure to receive media coverage and to garner votes, federal
matching funds, and campaign contributions-were caused by the lack of
popular support of the candidates and their parties sufficient to attract
media attention."
In response to the ruling, presumptive Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein,
who was arrested in 2012 for trying to attend one of the debates, said: "We
always expected that the courts were likely to side with the two corporate
parties in trying to limit inclusion in the debates. Ultimately this will be
decided in the court of public opinion. The public needs to demand that
Clinton and Trump agree to debate all the candidates that are on the ballot
in enough states to win the election."
The news came amid the Green Party National Convention, which is being held
this week in Houston, Texas.
And while the campaigns of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican
nominee Donald Trump dominate headlines, voters continue to express record
dissatisfaction with the two frontrunners.
"There is clearly an unprecedented desire for alternatives to the Republican
and Democratic nominees, and voters deserve an opportunity to see and hear
that there are, in fact, other credible, serious choices," said Ron Nielson,
campaign manager for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson.
What's more, the latest polling shows that when third-party candidates are
factored in, Clinton's lead over Trump has consistently shrunk, creating
what Politico described as a potential "third-party headache" for the former
secretary of state.
The first general election debate is scheduled for Monday, September 26th at
New York's Hofstra University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
