"The most notable rule the CPD instituted was requiring any third-party candidate who wants to participate in these nationally televised debates to receive greater than 15% support in at least five national polls - an effectively impossible hurdle."
"The two major parties have, in other words, constructed a system specifically designed to ensure no one else can compete."
"Broken government is serious and dangerous stuff. The two major parties fight for control like petulant children wrestling over a television remote."
"When their inability to compromise led to a government shutdown in 2011, Standard & Poor's downgraded this country's debt from AAA to AA for the first time in roughly."
In 1988, the League of Women Voters was replaced by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which is controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties. The CPD established a rule requiring third-party candidates to achieve over 15% support in five national polls to participate in debates, a significant barrier. This system has effectively prevented competition from third parties. By 2024, the two major parties began negotiating debate details directly with networks, excluding any other participants, highlighting a lack of compromise and the detrimental effects of a broken political system.
#presidential-debates #political-system #third-party-candidates #commission-on-presidential-debates #government-shutdown
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