Gary Johnson -- Photo by Gary Johnson via Wikimedia Commons
It doesn't matter who you plan to vote for in November; it doesn't matter whether you are right, left, or in the middle; it doesn't matter if you're Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Transhumanist, or something else. To not let in one of the major 3rd Party candidates into the presidential debates happening at the end of September and early October is not only un-American, it's a betrayal of a free and fair election -- since media is so essential to our voting process.
While many candidates, including myself, would like to be in the presidential debates, there's only one candidate who is truly qualified and has strong polling numbers warranting inclusion: Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson. Johnson, who is polling in the low double digits nationally, is not new to politics. He's a former two-term Governor of New Mexico, a successful entrepreneur, and a well-known adventurer. His Facebook profile has over a million likes. Gary Johnson's Vice President, Bill Weld, is also a former governor and is highly respected in Washington -- and he should be included in the Vice Presidential debates, too.
I don't want to be that conspiracy theorist guy, but I'm wondering if something is afoot to try to keep Gary Johnson out of the debates -- possibly brought on by the Democrats and Republicans. I'm finding it hard to understand why any reasonable person or organization -- including the organizers of the presidential debates -- wouldn't want Johnson to be part of them. So far he hasn't been invited, despite the fact, in a recent poll, 62 percent of Americans said he should be included.
Rules of qualifying for the debate are set by polling nationally at 15 percent, but that seems biased to me. Rules should be set according to whether a candidate polls nationally above 5 percent and whether that candidate can technically win the election -- and in Johnson's case, there's a clear electoral path to winning the presidency since he's the only 3rd Party candidate that is going to be on all 50 state ballots.
Why are the debate organizers not listening? Ratings will surely be better with Johnson in them anyway. And America will learn something of multi-party democracy, as opposed to essentially a monopolistic 2-party political system.
"The Johnson/Weld campaign being denied access is a robbery of what the American people are looking for," says inventor & Gary Johnson proponent Charles Peralo. "In the last century, I can't name one national election in which both parties nominees had more people with a negative opinion over a positive one on them and be it Glenn Beck, Bill Maher, Cenk Uygur or John Stossel, they think the two established governors deserve a chance to make their voice heard along with over 60 percent of American's making this wish. What even holds more telling on the need for this voice is that America deserves to see a candidate they actually might enjoy and not see as a defense of the other parties nominee. For this, Gary Johnson and Bill Weld need to get access."
Times are changing in America. Inequality and racial tension are rising. Transhumanist technologies like artificial intelligence, bionics overcoming disabilities, and gene editing science challenge our outlook on humanity. Millions of taxis drivers and major multi-million dollar nonprofit organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) may not exist in 10 years since cars will self drive. Pizza companies are gearing up to deliver their pizzas by drones.
America and its people are adrift in a way we've never been before. Are two voices all we really want to choose from for the world's most important and powerful job? Gary Johnson and counterpart Bill Weld are the politicians who actually have governing experience, too. How can we sit back and just allow Clinton and Trump, two of the most disliked candidates in recent history, to face off when there's another candidate who technically can win the elections -- presumably only if allowed in the debates?
The main point here is that letting Gary Johnson into the debates isn't even about winning -- it's about getting a better perspective of what America is and where she's heading. To see with more clarity we need more voices -- at least one more voice.
If you care about America, and you care about a fair and open election, allow in the leading 3rd Party candidate to debate, who is Gary Johnson by a wide margin. He will force Clinton and Trump to address the real issues at hand for America, so that our country can have a profound conversation about how to truly improve itself.
Selfie of Zoltan Istvan and Gary Johnson