There Are Other Options Than Obama or Romney... Do You Know About Them?

 By Kenny Brown

This Wednesday, October 3rd, we will be able to watch the first Presidential Debate of the Election season. President Obama and Mitt Romney will stand up in front of the country and try and make their case for their need to be the President for the next 4 years. Unbeknownst to many there will be something missing. That something, many say, will be the lack of balance and true democracy on the stage. Sure, both of the candidates from the two major parties will be up there for all to see and hear. Something many seem to forget is that there are not just two candidates in this election. Missing from the stage will be multiple other multiple candidates from other parties. Two of the more popular third party candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein will be missing from the conversation.

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson

Clearly it would be hard for the debates to accommodate all potential Presidential candidates but the credentials for entrance into Presidential debates seems to be a little hard for any third party candidate to fulfill. A common credential needed is 15% in the national polls. While this seems like a simple thing for candidates to achieve if they are truly serious about a Presidential run, the problem seems to lie within how these candidates are able to get their names out there. If the mass media wishes for the candidates to enter the debates by a fair number of 15% they should cover the candidates fairly. How would an electorate fairly give candidates a chance in the polls if they do not know what they stand for or if they even exist?

When the likes of CNN, NBC News and Fox News blatantly ignore third party candidates they tweak the system to the advantage of the two major parties. They skew the poll results and some may say they do it because of their own bias towards specific major party candidates. NBC News is biased towards President Obama, Fox News is biased towards Gov. Mitt Romney, and CNN is biased towards absurd and unnecessary technology. All joking aside the problem could be considered a serious one.

Many write off third party candidates as schmucks just trying to detract from the issues at hand and waiting for their moment in the spotlight. But if one considers the potential change of conversation that can come from just one third party candidate taking part the consequences of not allowing them too could be monumental. People seem to forget that these other candidates can bring to the stage a differing point of view that many potential voters may actually share.

Green party candidate Jill Stein

It seems that the American electorate does not truly understand the great potential from a differing point of view. When you want medical advice you generally feel safer receiving it from many different people and points of view. So why should this not be the same for the outcome of the country and future legislation? If the citizens were allowed to hear answers from more than two candidates it is possible that they may realize their beliefs align more with candidates outside of the current two party system that dominates the stage.

It has been 20 years since a 3rd party candidate took part in the Presidential Debates. No matter if you support Obama or Romney, if you believe in a true democratic process, it would only seem necessary to widen the stage for more points of view. When you watch the debates on Wednesday just remember, you are not getting the full story. I suggest doing some research for yourself, I doubt you will regret it.



-If you want to check out either Gary Johnson or Jill Stein's website, click the links below-

www.garyjohnson2012.com

www.jillstein.org