Once again the two party system has won and ignored the voice of millions of voters in the United States. The CPD just released the following statement about the next Presidential debate.
Washington, D.C. (October 4, 2016) – The nonpartisan, non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (“CPD”) announced today that it has applied its Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria for 2016 General Election Debate participation to determine eligibility to participate in the presidential debate to take place at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Pursuant to the criteria, which were publicly announced on October 29, 2015, those candidates qualify for debate participation who: (1) are constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President of the United States; (2) have achieved ballot access in a sufficient number of states to win a theoretical Electoral College majority in the general election; and (3) have demonstrated a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate, as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recent publicly-reported results.
The Board of Directors of the CPD convened today to apply the criteria. Of the many declared candidates, four candidates presently satisfy the first two criteria: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.
With respect to the third criterion, on August 15, 2016, CPD announced the five polls it would rely upon, which were selected with the professional advice of Dr. Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of Gallup. The polls were selected based on: the reliable frequency of polling and sample size used by the polling organization; the soundness of the survey methodology employed by the polling organization; and the longevity and reputation of the polling organization. The five selected polls are: ABC-Washington Post; CBS-New York Times; CNN-Opinion Research Corporation; Fox News; and NBC-Wall Street Journal.
With the assistance of Dr. Newport, the Board determined that the polling averages called for in the third criterion are as follows: Hillary Clinton (44.8%), Donald Trump (40.8%), Gary Johnson (7.4%) and Jill Stein (2.6%). Accordingly, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump qualify to participate in the October 9 debate. No other candidates satisfied the criteria for inclusion in the October 9. The criteria will be reapplied to all candidates in advance of the third presidential debate.
The CPD has successfully sponsored the presidential and vice presidential general election debates since 1988. The CPD’s planning for the 2016 debates has extended over a period of years and has drawn upon the CPD’s now-extensive experience in sponsoring general election debates. CPD announced the five journalists who will moderate those debates: Lester Holt, Elaine Quijano, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper, and Chris Wallace.
The candidates who have qualified to participate today previously have committed to participate in the debates sponsored by the CPD.
Send your messages to the Commission on Presidential Debates and let them know of your displeasure.
Your erorgance is beyond believable. You named the game and made the rules. As such, you have the ability to change the rules. Regardless of YOUR criteria for debate participation, the American people WANT to hear ALL the candidates! For your non profit commission to ignore WE THE PEOPLE is not only pompous but unforgivable. You still have time to DO THE RIGHT THING and let ALL the candidates in the next debate!
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Point of clarification. This response is directed toward the CPD and no one else. My apologies for any confusion.
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Not letting all candidates debate is unconstitutional. Freedom of choice is being suppressed. We the People have the right to see all candidates interact together so we may make the most informed decision about who we think should hold the most crucial of all positions. This is clearly a violation of our Freedom!
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Unconstitutional? I don’t see debates mentioned in the Constitution I’ve read. Unfair, partisan and biased yes, but not unconstitutional.
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The CDC’s purpose is not to inform the Americans of all information and candidates in the election. It works for the monopoly of the Republicans and Democrats who are scared and know if Johnson/Weld team were welcomed they would WIN. Time to face the music and do the right thing For The People! But you won’t, because you work for the Republicans and Democrats!!
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I think any candidates who are on the ballots in all 50 states have the right to be in the debates! We have the right and the need to hear and see ALL the candidates and not just the ones the CDC wants us to hear!
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This will only make the Johnson/Weld win even sweeter. I pray for reform, shutting down the CDC and all other who profit from cow-towing to the Republican and Democrat oligarchies.
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If Gary Johnson is not allowed to debate I will be boycotting ALL sponsors products indefinitely!!!
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What a farce! The CDC is nothing but a tool for a two party system! The top two items should be enough to qualify. Polls are proven to be highly inaccurate. They should never be used and I believe violate my constitutional right to hear all candidates that are on the ballot in the 50 states…. Its no wonder people in this county burn flags, protest and disrespect police etc. As you not see due to your political alliance the corruption you represent forces people to turn their backs on the government. This commission in my opinion and I’m sure millions of others opinions is a farce and should be terminated. Please fire yourselves and pull your heads out of your ass and study up on the Constitution and what our Founding Fathers wanted for us. Because of you we have lost another right!!!!!
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If the polling criterion were set for all sides, this might work. Not polling often enough and leaving out key demographics to support a biased position is in my opinion, criminal. I feel as though my constitutional rights as an American citizen have been and are being violated by the CPD scumbags
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What a totally corrupt system. I guess the Republican and Democratic Party leaders will do as much as they can to deny any other party a chance to debate their differences with their nominees. I just don’t think the people choosing to deny Gary Johnson and Jill Stein a chance to voice their views in a debate have any idea how unhappy the American people are with the two presidential nominees who will debate-or, maybe that’s why they ARE denying GJ and JS a chance-because they’re afraid DT and HC will fall flat on their faces in popularity and America would actually get some new fresh governing people and ideas… America needs a change-like getting rid of the stupid rules the presidential debate organizers decide to use!
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2+2=5
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