To the editor:
The presidential debates are the most important events in our election process, and voters need to hear from all four candidates who will be on the ballot across the country in November. The right to vote means little unless we have the right to know who we can vote for and what they stand for.
It is public knowledge that the debates are now controlled by a corporation actually controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties. This corporation has not served the U.S. voting public well, and a majority of U.S. voters today no longer identify with either of the two major parties. This is what the League of Women Voters said in 1988: “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.”
The presidential debates should provide voters with multiple opportunities to see all the candidates representing the diversity of American political thought discussing important issues in an unscripted manner so that the people can make informed decisions about the direction of our country. Instead, the debates have become an unfairly and tightly controlled charade. There is no significant participation by the public, moderators are chosen by the candidates, and questions are carefully vetted. And any unscripted back-and-forth between candidates is minimal. This “fraud” deprives voters of the honest and open discussion they need and deserve.
Open debates will strengthen our nation, no matter who is the next president. Please stand with the majority of Americans who want open debates and demand all four candidates be in the debates.
Sincerely,
Jean Palmer
Tower Road
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
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