When John McCain threatened to pull out of the first presidential debate on September 24 because he felt it was more important to negotiate a financial bailout that most Americans opposed, an important question was raised: Where were the other voices in this debate?

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that there are only two political parties in the United States, and thus the belief that there are only two sides to every issue, there are many parties and many opinions on any given problem that we face as a nation.  The thought of Democratic nominee Barack Obama standing alone on stage next to an empty podium reserved for John McCain raises an interesting question:  Why aren’t presidential candidates like Ralph Nader,  Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party, Libertarian nominee Bob Barr and Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin allowed to participate in the debates?  When Joe Biden and Sarah Palin faced off in front of 70 million viewers on October 2, where were the VP candidates of the other parties?

“It’s a real travesty of justice,” Ralph Nader’s National Campaign Coordinator Jason Kafoury said in a phone interview, “because the debates are the only time when 40, 60, 80, upwards of 100 million Americans actually sit down and think about politics and who they’re going to vote for.  And the only time that you can ever reach those viewers is if you can get on one of these nationally televised debates.”

The presidential debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, an organization founded in 1987 by then Republican National Committee chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. and then Democratic National Committee chair Paul G. Kirk Jr.  Both men served as their respective party’s leaders until 1989, but they continue to co-chair the Commission on Presidential Debates. 

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters sponsored presidential debates until 1988.  After years of tough questions for candidates, the Republican and Democratic parties demanded that they control the selection of the questioners, the makeup of the audience, and access to the debate hall for the press among other issues.  The League withdrew sponsorship stating, “…the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."

In a statement released in October of that year, League President Nancy M. Neuman said, "It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and honest answers to tough questions," Neuman said. "The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."

When the League of Women Voters sponsored the debates, it was easier for third party candidates to qualify.  Independent candidate John Anderson was polling at around 5 percent when he debated Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential campaign.  He finished with 7 percent of the vote in the final election.

After Reform Party candidate Ross Perot’s strong showing in the 1992 debates, the Commission developed a candidate selection process that raised the bar.  Candidates are allowed to debate only if they receive 15 percent in five national polls – a Catch-22 goal that is so high it is difficult for third party candidates to qualify without participating in debates.

“To have the two parties have a stranglehold over what American voters get to watch in terms of the range of the debate is an absolute travesty and an injustice here in this country,” Kafoury contends.

At least one organization is working to give third party candidates a voice during this election cycle.  ThirdPartyTicket.com has proposed a debate inviting all six of the major presidential candidates.  The site was co-founded by Trevor Lyman of BreakTheMatrix.com.

 Lyman was one of the leaders of behind the grassroots movement that propelled Republican Ron Paul from “fringe” candidate to major force during the Republican presidential primary.  Paul was able to electrify the voting public with his performance during the primary debates, and that prompted Lyman to help organize money bombs that raised millions of dollars for the Paul campaign. 

Lyman wants to duplicate those efforts on behalf of third party candidates in their bid to make a stronger showing in November.  After Third Party Ticket’s debate, the site will hold a money bomb in an effort to raise as much money as possible for all the candidates who participate.

“Basically the two party system is corrupt, it’s gamed, no other voices are allowed in it.  It’s hurting America, and it’s time for that trend to stop,” says Lyman.  “ThirdPartyTicket.com was a reaction to that.”

“To build up to the money bomb date, we’ll accept pledges from people to indicate that they are going to participate,” Lyman explains.  “As the number goes up it will show that more and more people are pledging and more people will want to join in.  At the start of the debate the money bomb will begin.  Viewers will be able to donate to the candidate they like best.”

Nader’s campaign also designated September 25 as a National Action Day asking supporters to contact Obama, McCain and the Commission on Presidential Debates to demand that the Commission lower their threshold to the League of Women Voters’ historical 5 percent poll rating.  “We’re going to urge the candidates, the Commission and the networks to have the courage to stand up for serious issues that are affecting the American public,” Kafoury says.

“It’s in many ways a one party system,” Lyman argues, “because they just want to pass the ball back and forth between the two of them.  But in the end, without opposing viewpoints, the American people always suffer.”