Should Third-Party Candidates Be in the Debates? We Asked Democrats.

Dissatisfaction with the major parties is at an all-time high, and voters on all sides of the political spectrum are looking for other options.

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Should Third-Party Candidates Be in the Debates? We Asked Democrats.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have the highest disapproval ratings of any two major candidates in history. The #NeverTrumpers on the right and the #BernieorBust crowd on the left represent just two dissatisfied political coalitions. There are also libertarians and the plurality of Americans who identify as politically independent.

With this in mind, Reason TV asked delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia whether or not they believe third-party candidates like Libertarian Gary Johnson or the Green Party's Jill Stein should be in the presidential debates.

Watch above to see their answers.

Approximately 3 minutes.

Produced by Alexis Garcia. Shot by Zach Weissmueller. Additional camera by Garcia and Josh Swain. Graphics by Swain. Music by Silent Partner.

Scroll down for downloadable versions. Subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel for daily content like this.

Comments

[Spencer]

That last kids point was ridiculous.

[Browncoat]

No kidding. Gary Johnson would probably be the only one trying to actually debate. Not sure if he would be successful, especially since the other two would just try to pander to their bases while insulting each other.

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[freeAgent]

You can't have a debate between more than two people! It would be anarchy!

[Trigger Hippie]

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can't pick your friends' nose.

It is known.

[The Elite Elite]

Nobody needs more than two candidates to choose from for president.

[Paulpemb]

Who says we need two? After all, we only need one brand of deodorant.

[DesigNate]

I love that the first guy was just like flat out "No."

And what the hell does he mean "in it since the beginning"? Just because you have your head so far up the Democratic Machine's ass that you can see it's cold black heart, doesn't mean that the other parties didn't exist before now.

[The Last American Hero]

After Nader wrecked the Gore-run, I would think most Team Blue folks would reflexively answer NO.

[NoVaNick]

Nader wasn't even in the debates. Who knows what would have happened if he had been, except that he would likely have done way better than he did.

[SIV]

Nader would have done much better if he had debate exposure. Gary Johnson will lose 100s of thousands of votes once NOTA voters learn who he really is so I hope he gets to participate at least once. Weld won't be there to save his vegan bacon

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

That's what I'm seeing on FB ? Team Blue wants to keep out third parties to guarantee Clinton's election.

[wearingit]

A few actual thinkers in there. Nice.

Last kid- no freaking clue what he was trying to say. Just ended up sounding dumb as can be.

[The Last American Hero]

Go easy. He was having a hard time forming coherent ideas when his brain kept going "OMG Pretty Girl Talking to ME!!!" We've all been there.

[And you believe that why?]

That beats my guess that he has never talked to more than one person at a time before.

[Carl #TeamBlue #RedSucks]

We've all been there.

...pretty girls talk to you?

*runs off sobbing*

[meister574]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYHkbOugcD0

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Alexis Garcia -- Meow!

(^is this thought crime yet?)

She also spoke eloquently.

The part that sucked was all the Dems.

[Paulpemb]

Better than I expected. Most of the Democrat partisans I know are in tantrum mode over people who are considering voting for 3rd parties.

[Hank Phillips]

Why? It's a safe bet that Prohibition, Tea and Konstatution party votes will subtract from the GO Pee total--especially if Trump suddenly goes back to being OK with women owning themselves. And after George Waffen Bush used asset forfeiture to destroy the economy exactly like his daddy and Herbert Hoover before him, all economic arguments for God's Own Prohibitionists are defenestrated all the way into the dustbin of history on the opposite side of the street.

[Robin_WC]

Every time I advocate for Johnson on social media, I am met with a call to 'check my privilege' and think about those less fortunate than I, should a Trump presidency happen. Hmmm, don't think voting my principles is an indication of my privilege or a call to my 'selfishness.' Frustrating all around, and these sorts of ideological circles people are running feed directly into this lovely 2 party system that works so very well...

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Every time I advocate for Johnson on social media, I am met with a call to 'check my privilege'

I certainly hope your response is "Fuck you, slaver!"

[Hank Phillips]

The important accomplishment of this footage is to sow uncertainty, confusion and dissent among the looter fascists and their dupes. And that it certainly does.
Maybe if the LP were to record the platform as a sort of podcast audio-essay, and Gary were to listen to it once or twice a day through a headset, that would reduce the danger of allowing him near a microphone.

[NoVaNick]

I have been confronted by some proggies about my preference for GJ, its like they want me to say I will vote for Trump so they can start insulting me. If they had their way of course, they would be the only party, but until that day they need someone else to shit on so they can lift themselves up.

[NoVaNick]

If Johnson does make the debates, I fear that he will not get more than five words in.

[ernieyeball]

All he needs are three words. You know, the Libertarian Mantra: "Guns for everybody!"

[CE]

You mean "guns and weed".

[nrob]

Usually that's all they need.

[Pan Zagloba]

"pot, ass sex, Mexicans" - he needs but four!

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[Anvil]

Aside from the few who said "yes", the rest of the respondents reaffirmed the notion that the duopoly only exists to serve itself.

[Dennis, Constitutional Peasant]

MORE THAN 2 CHOICES MAKE CONFUSING CAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEYRE SUPPOSED TO HATE

[Rich]

Should Third-Party Candidates Be in the Debates?

Yes. Next question.

[The Hyperbole]

I think Carrot Top had a good point, why didn't Reason give him more time, when they got Matt Damon talking it was non-stop post about it, Damon this, Damon that, now when they get Carrot Top and it's crickets, not even a mention in the headline. Reason obviously suffers DDS, it's disgusting.

[Hyperion]

Johnson is not getting closer to getting into the debates. RCP avg - Johnson 7.2. The only person gaining in the polls right now is Trump. RCP avg - Trump vs Hillary - Trump +1.1

[Mot?rSteve]

My god, that last kid.....
Somebody didn't memorize all his talking points.

[CE]

The threshold for inclusion in the debates should be the same in the general election as it is in the primaries:
1% in a recognized national poll. And no kids table. There would never be more than 5 candidates on stage. I think we can handle that.

[Glide]

I think 1% in 1 poll is a little generous. It's easy to game a single poll to get 20 out of 2000 people to say "Deez Nuts" would be their pick for president.

If they can get the ballot access to be electorally eligible to be president, they should be in regardless of the polls. That's a lot harder than 1% in a single poll, but it's a lot easier than getting a sixth of the country to consistently support you.

[Chocolate Starfish ( . )]

What party affiliation did "Deez Nuts" list?

[Eloh-Nroc]

Nice Corn Hole! 😉

[Rational Exuberance]

From Wikipedia:

At a 1987 press conference announcing the commission's creation, Fahrenkopf said that the commission was not likely to include third-party candidates in debates, and Paul G. Kirk, Democratic national chairman, said he personally believed they should be excluded from the debates.[8]
In 1988, the League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of the presidential debates after the George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns secretly agreed to a "memorandum of understanding" that would decide which candidates could participate in the debates, which individuals would be panelists (and therefore able to ask questions), and the height of the podiums. The League rejected the demands and released a statement saying that they were withdrawing support for the debates because "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter.

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a private firm; why don't federal prosecutors go after them under the RICO act?

[SIV]

"I can't shake the feeling that we're going to win," said Stauber. "I don' know how, or with whom in the front, but I really have this tangible feeling that we are going to win this election. The force is truly with us."

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