Dear Editor:
I am not a constitutional scholar, however, I do not recall the 1st Amendment stating that freedom of speech only applies to Republicans and Democrats. We must all remember that according to federal law (an act of Congress) there are three political parties that qualify for federal matching funds. These funds are payed for by taxpayer dollars. Common sense would dictate that we would get to hear from three candidates, not two.
By not allowing the Reform party candidates, Patrick J. Buchanan and Ezola Foster, into the nationally televised debates, we as a nation are being denied access to an extremely important part of the political process. The two major parties not only have a stranglehold on the debates, but the outcome of the election itself. This is a travesty. The Reform Party is a recognized national party. To treat it otherwise is an insult to the intelligence of the American people (most) and an undermining of democratic principle.
The Presidential Debate Commission which is chaired by former heads of both the RNC and the DNC, should be ashamed. Apparently the establishment hasn’t forgotten the success Ross Perot had in 1992 when he was in the debates. In 1996 they kept him out. Polls have never been used as a criteria to get into the debates. For the sake of this country, I hope they never will be again. The whole point behind debates is to hear what the candidates have to say, then make an informed decision about who you like. We’ve got it all backwards. Even the corrupt government of Mexico conducts a more fair and open debate process than the United States. Recently they had six candidates participate in the first of three debates, then weeded out the candidates.
Bush/Gore are empty suit candidates who are running hollow campaigns. I hope the American people will finally wake up and vote third party. Don’t waste your vote on these idiots. Buchanan would bodyslam these two in a debate. Pick an issue: soft money, illegal bombing of Serbia, abortion, U.S. sovereignty, illegal immigration, NAFTA. Buchanan would humiliate them. It is a shame that these two people who respect the Constitution as much as Buchanan and Foster would be denied their First Amendment rights. If you want reform Vote Reform.
Brendan M. Phair