Saturday, March 21, 2015

Occupy the Commission on Presidential Debates!!



The corporations and the two traditional political parties haven’t been paying attention to the will of the people for years; and they’ve been rigging the debates so that candidates that earn a spot on the ballot at the grass roots level instead of catering to the will of the corporate campaign contributors can’t get any coverage in the media or participate in the high profile debates. A coalition of citizen’s activists is gathering signature to increase the awareness of this and put an end to it so that the public can get better information before making their final decision about who to vote for.

(First posted on Open Salon September 13 2012)

Why you should sign this urgent statement: 
 
The presidential debates are the first opportunity for millions of voters to see the presidential contenders themselves, not just their advertising campaigns. These debates are organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) - a supposedly "nonpartisan" corporation which is a puppet of the national Democratic and Republican parties, and the big corporations that fund both of them. The CPD's criteria to be included in these debates are designed to exclude independent contenders who promote ideas that challenge those in power. ….. complete article and petition

The Commission on Presidential Debates has been rigging them for over two decades since the League of Women voters stopped sponsoring them when they said the following.

LEAGUE REFUSES TO "HELP PERPETRATE A FRAUD"
WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FROM FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 


"The League of Women Voters is withdrawing its sponsorship of the presidential debate scheduled for mid-October because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter," League President Nancy M. Neuman said today. (First reported in 1988) "It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions," Neuman said. "The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public." complete article


There are still some debates that have been open to sincere candidates but the traditional candidates refuse to participate in them and the corporate press refuses to report on them. One of these debates has been posted here on Open Salon by Michael Kwiatkowski so people can find out what the sincere candidates have to say even if they don’t allow the sincere candidates to debate but it is also important to inform everyone possible about how corrupt the debate system is and reform it. 

We should no longer allow the corporations to have total control over who is considered “viable.”
The only ones they approve of are those that let them get away with just about anything they want to. 


An example of just one of the issues that is being ignored or distorted by both candidates is the strike by teachers in Chicago due largely to the attempts to privatize education for lower and middle class children. The Romney campaign attempted to demonize the teachers and the Obama campaign is trying to avoid discussion of it. 


If the teachers are as bad as the Romney campaign and Rahm Emanuel make them out to be then they shouldn’t let these teachers near the children; if on the other hand they’re worth keeping then they should negotiate with them and stand up for the children, parents and teachers not the corporations that are trying to take over the schools! 


One of the sincere candidates that they’re trying to shut out of the debates is Jill stein and unlike the “viable” candidates under the control of the corporations she is willing to meet with and support the teachers!


Jill Stein Picketing with Chicago Teachers at Amundsen High School
Jill Stein will be standing up with teachers Thursday in the fight for a quality public education. The Chicago Teachers Union strike is essential in the fight for adequate funding for our schools. Obama and Romney expect middle class people to bear the tax burden of educating the youth of our country, and are not willing to make the wealthy pay a fair share. 

Join Dr. Stein and Chicago teachers Thursday morning at 7am CST outside of Amundsen High School, and don't forget to wear your red! original statement







(For more information on Blog see Blog description and table of context for most older posts.)

The following are the original replies when this was first posted on Open Salon.

Some of you might remember Kevin Gosztola who used to blog here; while looking around about the strike I found one of his articles at My Fire Dog Lake where he is now blogging. That is where I found the picture about the strike; to read his article on it and find his blog click on the picture. zacherydtaylor September 13, 2012 10:34 AM Just a bunch of overweight softies carrying signs that nobody's reading. They are helots Zachary. One day you will have to reconcile yourself to that fact. Obama will win this election and I think he is going to be a good boy for now on now that he has found out General Dempsey has a bigger gun than the Bush’s.

Jack Heart September 13, 2012 04:18 PM

While I wouldn't go so far as Jack, I have big concerns these teachers will be voting for Obama - even though he's screwing them - because their union tells them to.

Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall September 14, 2012 03:04 AM

Jack, if their helots, which I doubt, then the establishment should be accountable for putting them in charge of children and they shouldn’t be allowed back; then they should look for good teachers to replace them. That is the problem with this demonization tactic; responsibility should be at the top but those at the top are corrupting the system.

Dr Bramhall, I don’t know any more than you; but I suspect they won’t vote as a solid block and there may not be any way of finding out for certain just how many of them vote for who. If they had access to more credible information they would be more inclined to vote on the issues and possibly try to advance real media and electoral reform as well as education reform. Without that these problems will just keep coming back.

zacherydtaylor September 14, 2012 09:24 AM





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