Well, the election has finally happened and looks like we’re gonna be stuck with what’s-his-face as our President for the next four years. Pundits say this has been the closest presidential race since the Stone Age.
Of course, it’s not a bad thing to have close contests in a system that is supposed to be competitive. Still, this contest could have been lots more competitive. Only the two major candidates were allowed to participate in the nationally televised presidential debates. Third party candidates with a different view to offer were shut out of the conversation. Candidates like the Green Party’s Ralph Nader. The Reform Party’s Pat Buchanan. The Libertarian Party’s Harry Browne.
Things weren’t quite as rigged in previous years. Remember John Anderson? Well, okay, that was a while back. How about Ross Perot? Folks like him add something to the conversation. Didn’t all his nattering about the national debt have an impact? A recent poll by Rasmussen Research and the Appleseed Electoral Reform Project found that much of the voting public agrees. About half of likely voters think Buchanan or Nader should have been in the debates. Looks like the pollsters forgot to ask about Harry Browne, though he has been about even with Buchanan in recent opinion polls. Oh well. Even pollsters aren’t perfect.
My point is, the career politicians want to run a closed shop, and they keep finding new ways to shut people out. Whatever happened to the politics of inclusion?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.