Third-party candidate should debate

Logan Ford, Contributing writer

There have been more things abnormal about this election than in any other in recent history, maybe even ever. This coming November, in less than two months, United States citizens will be tasked with voting between two immensely unpopular candidates.

On the one hand, you have a very experienced individual who is trying to get the job she was unable to secure eight years ago.

With the experience comes the scandals, dishonesty and baggage of a career in politics.

On the other hand, there is a candidate who is his own worst enemy.

He is a political outsider, and in that lies a great amount of appeal to some voters.

Both are demagogues in their own right, and the first debate was predicted to have a similar amount of viewers as a professional football game.

As previously stated, not much about this election has been conventional.

To add to this, a third-party candidate has emerged with a substantial amount of the country’s support. However, he was not on the debate stage this Monday night.

Gary Johnson is the former Republican governor of New Mexico, a traditionally Democratic state.

Gov. Johnson is a Libertarian, someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. He is respectful of independent liberties while being financially conscientious at the same time.

If you are looking for more information on Libertarianism, Google is a great resource.

He fell just short of the 15 percent polling standards set forth by news networks to participate in the televised presidential debates.

With Johnson out of the debates, voters are less likely to become educated on all the candidates and their issues.

After all, Gary Johnson is a candidate for the president of the United States. People may prefer to vote for a more balanced candidate instead of a corrupt one or an egotistical one, as I believe we are faced with this year.

While the debate may have produced astronomical ratings, it would have been nice to hear a sensible, truly moderate voice in between her shrill laugh and his “did he just say that?” comments.

Unfortunately, Gov. Johnson has already missed his chance at the first debate. It seems unfair that Gov. Johnson did not get to have his voice heard, even though his name is on the ballot in all 50 states and, according to the Pew Research Center, he has the support of 10 percent of registered voters.

Although the networks can change the rules at any time to allow Gov. Johnson to participate, for now he is still trying to make it to the momentous 15 percent.

Many people are, and will be, hesitant to vote for a third-party candidate because they feel as though “their vote will not count,” or “that’s just helping the other party’s candidate.”

However, in this circumstance, the two-party system has failed to produce two favorable candidates.

If Americans would forget the party politics and leave the previously mentioned mentalities behind, there is no reason that a third-party candidate could not be elected.

The war that secured this country’s independence was a political revolution. Will this be our next one?