We, the People, are taking our presidential elections back. Corporate control of the media is one issue. Corporate media control of the information that is allowed to reach American citizens is much more dangerous, much more sinister, and much more un-American.
When \'big media\' exert their unbridled control over what Americans can see, hear, and read, then the Constitutional power and right of the citizens to vote is being hijacked by multi-billion dollar corporations that want the votes to go their way.
We will not allow weapons maker GE (parent of NBC), corporate media (ABC/Disney, CNN, The Des Moines Register) or the insurance industry (AARP) to choose the next President of the United States. Each of these corporations has chosen to eliminate candidates from national television debates to protect their interests and limit our choices. By ‘blacking out’ dissenting opinion from the debates they are deliberately interfering with our Constitutional voting rights.
Prior to the Iowa and New Hampshire debates, presidential debate sponsors created, and then arbitrarily rewrote the criteria for candidates to appear on the nationally televised presidential debates. These debates are not simply media events, but an open channel to the American public.
Since nearly 60% of the American public uses these debates to take a look at the candidates and their views and positions on the issues, candidate access to presidential debates is not the right of corporations or the media but the right of the American people.
We suggest the sole criteria used to determine a candidate\'s eligibility for a nationally televised presidential debate is that candidate\'s successful completion of ballot access in at least 20 states. Candidates who have created organizations large enough to achieve this result prior to the first caucus are to be included in all nationally televised debates until the candidate declines to appear.
It is not the right of the media or any corporation to determine whom the American people can hear. The Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and we now demand the right to freely hear all the speeches. Every American has the right to control their remote and their vote.
Each presidential candidate participating in the debates should be given an equal amount of time utilizing the following format. Candidates should appear alone on stage and have a fixed amount of time allotted to state their position. When all presentations are complete, all candidates should take the stage and answer questions from the audience. Each candidate should have the same number of questions.
Furthermore, if an online poll is done after the debates, the poll should not be reset during or after the debate; the results of the poll should be published regardless of which candidate wins the debate.
Debate moderators should not subject the American people to their personal views of any candidates during the actual debate; moderators are not running for office nor are they likely to be selected as a running mate. We, the people, wish to hear only from the candidates during the debate.
Thank you,
Citizens for Fair Election Coverage