Over many decades, the two-party duopoly has worked together to build a fortress of protection around itself. Structural and psychological barriers together create a sense of invincibility. Citizens, journalists, and would-be competitors are all conditioned to accept and reinforce a system they view as broken.
Record numbers of US voters now believe we need a third major party, and far more Americans identify as independent (44%) than either political party (27% Republican, 26% Democrat). But the two-party duopoly and their associated political industrial complex collude with each other to control the narrative and thwart any would-be competition.
One of the most insidious ways the two parties block new voices and choices is through exclusionary political debates, often working behind the scenes to ensure these influential forums are limited to a Democrat and a Republican. Exclusionary debates often shape the media’s subsequent framing of an election as a two-way contest. All of this subverts democratically accountable ballot access laws, which are often exclusionary to begin with.
Starting with the bipartisan launch of the private Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987, the Democrats and Republicans have worked to keep independent and third party candidates out of presidential debates, with Ross Perot’s 1992 campaign being the one exception. At the local level, Democratic and Republican candidates routinely compel debate hosts and sponsors to invite only candidates from the two major parties, and the media plays along.
Voters don’t even know this is happening.
We believe that the harmful modern traditions of exclusionary political debates, polls, and media coverage must come to an end. Journalists, media organizations, and debate sponsors must relinquish their posture as gatekeepers and commit instead to humbly providing fair and robust information to voters.