Every presidential election year, the attraction to outside political parties usually turns into a heated debate because they’re often seen as parties with little influence that pull votes away from a “valid” candidate. But to many, they are still another option for a nation that’s tired of a two-party system.
Bernie Sanders’ campaign approach appeared to confirm the traditional way of the already established political parties when he ran for the Democratic Party, only for his supporters to learn that the party was, in fact, trying to make him fail.
In the not-too-distant past, one could form conspiracy theories about rigged candidacies, but this year, through the persistence of leaks, the lines have been blurred between conspiracy and fact, making voters sick of having the traditional political parties be the only options.
At some point in the spectrum of national anger, a third-party option will rise in popularity. For the first time in a while, there’s a desire to catch up with the rest of the world in reforming the structure of our political party system, where we can have something like the Green Party or the Libertarian Party in place.
Jill Stein is currently having the best moment of her political career to inspire a new approach other political party options, where a third one can join the debate.
As Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! explains in the video above, Republicans and Democrats control the debate system, forcing the nation to work extra hard to show support outside of the normal political parties in order for them to be invited to the debates.
Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party is polling at a higher popularity than Stein, but Libertarians have already been involved in the lawmaking process, getting the exposure he and that party needed with the help of the Republican Party. However, the Green Party has hardly been given a chance to offer their platform to the public even though they successfully completed a Town Hall with CNN .
As the video also shows, in order for the United States to expand the options to other political parties, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein felt it necessary to sue the Commission Of Presidential Debates, the corporate entity which handles the debates.
But according to Politico , the judge had been sitting on the lawsuit since it was filed in June, only to later reject it .
The judge provided a reason for the rejection.
“The alleged injuries––failure to receive media coverage and to garner votes, federal matching funds, and campaign contributions—were caused by the lack of popular support of the candidates and their parties sufficient to attract media attention.”
What is also seen in the video above is the arrest of Jill Stein and her then-running mate, Cheri Honkala, when they were protesting over not being allowed into the debates.
We had a great convo w/ Jill Stein & Cheri Honkala abt t#obamacare & the Green Shadow Cabinet http://t.co/s9sA385DF1 pic.twitter.com/XtLQHFA8IK
— Davey D (@mrdaveyd) November 20, 2013
In the video, Jill Stein also says that they will be at the debate site in September even without the 15 percent they’re required to have in order to participate. Should she do so, there is no doubt that she will be arrested again. Her running mate, Ajamu Baraka, will likely be arrested as well.
Having more than two political parties to choose from, and even involved in the process where they can present their case, is perhaps a challenge to a narrow-mind forced to accept the same old platforms.
The Inquisitr wrote about the absorption of the Bernie Sanders campaign into the Democratic Party and his ongoing effort to put that platform in the lower parts of the ticket in order to help change that mindset. But even with that, the need for other parties is also necessary for our democracy.
Giving the U.S. more of these options and more outside-the-box suggestions to making a better world is a thirst that can only be quenched with the help of other political parties.
[Photo by Brynn Anderson/AP Images]