US voters have overwhelmingly said they want a third candidate in presidential debates. As we look ahead to 2020, it seems the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates will deny them the opportunity once again..
IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths and contributor Wes Messamore go into the history of the debate commission, which has made it all but impossible for candidates outside the Republican and Democratic Parties to appear on the public stage -- all in the self-serving interest of protecting the major party nominees.
The discussion comes on the heels of a district court decision that dismissed a lawsuit against the FEC, the federal agency charged with administrative oversight over the Commission on Presidential Debates. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the FEC is willfully ignoring a mountain of evidence that the debate commission is violating federal law with debate entry criteria that make it impossible for a third candidate to appear on the stage.
Shawn and Wes discuss the implications of the lawsuit as well as the potential appeal. Stay tuned for an in-depth story on IVN.us on the full history behind the debate lawsuit and the rigged debate rules.
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