Democracy stonewalled
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The Racine Journal-Times (Racine, Wis.) Published Opinion. September 29, 2002. Debates between political candidates matter. Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura was polling at 10 percent in Minnesota in September 1998, before being invited to the debates. Ventura went on to win in November with 37 percent of the vote. As the election of Ventura demonstrated, debates can change the outcome of an election. But despite Libertarian Ed Thompson's September 18 letter to Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association president John M. Laabs, the WBA refuses to allow candidate Thompson into a debate being sponsored by the WBA. Talk about stonewalling democracy. An organization purporting to represent Wisconsin broadcasters and their commitment to fair and objective reporting has taken an abominable, ridiculous course by excluding Thompson and other candidates. Due to the WBA's lack of objectivity, Wisconsin's two top choices for governor have been pared down to the mean ugly guy or the clueless dolt. But the lesser of two evils is still evil. So, to echo the sentiments of Milwaukee columnist J.J. Blonien, "Voters can ignore the media's bi-opoly and choose the most undercovered and most qualified candidate, Ed Thompson." Aaron J. Biterman Wisconsin Coordinator Open Debates of America |
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