Real Debate Moves Forward While Duopoly Debates Exclude Democracy
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES COBB & BADNARIK TO DEBATE IN MIAMI
| The Republicans and Democrats decided to ban all participants except themselves from their so-called "debates." Why do they prefer Soviet Union tactics to American freedoms? |
The Open Format Debate featuring the Green & Libertarian candidates will be a stark contrast to the other Miami "debate"
Michael Badnarik and David Cobb, the presidential candidates from the Libertarian and Green parties, will take questions from media, students and the public in an open forum the night of -- and just feet from -- the first televised "debate" between the two-party candidates.The debate will take place on Thursday, September 30, at 5 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Ballroom, 1350 S. Dixie Highway, in Coral Gables. Pacifica Radio will interview audience members and debate participants following the two hour debate. From 9 p.m. until 10:30, the candidates and audience will watch a live broadcast of the restricted, two-party debate after which Badnarik and Cobb will offer their rebuttals.
Independent candidate Ralph Nader, who has been invited to participate in the open format debate, has not yet accepted the invitation.
Unlike the scripted and staged exchange between the two-party candidates which will take place directly across Dixie Highway from the Holiday Inn Ballroom, the open format debate will allow for uncensored questions from the public and will represent a wide range of viewpoints on the critical issues facing our country.
Two non-partisan student organizations, the University of Miami's Council for Democracy and the Miami-Dade College Student Senate, are sponsoring the unrestricted, open format debate along with the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit, non-partisan Maryland-based organization. John Anderson, the former Republican congressman and independent presidential candidate who is the chair of the Center for Voting and Democracy, will present an opening statement prior to the debate.
Admission to the debate is $5 for students and $10 for the general public. [The Progress Report is please to observe that unlike the Soviet-style duopoly fake debate, you do not have to promise not to wear clothing that promotes a candidate, nor reveal your political preference, nor submit to complicated rules about seating and applauding, etc.]
"This open debate will provide students in South Florida and throughout the nation an unparalleled opportunity to realize the richness, substance and diversity of American discourse outside the two-party monopoly," said Edward Martos, President of the Council for Democracy, a non-partisan student organization dedicated to raising political awareness.
Hey! You can watch the real debate live by going to http://freemarketnews.com/ starting at 4:30 Eastern time
Cobb's campaign -- http://www.votecobb.org
Badnarik's campaign -- http://www.badnarik.org
Green Party -- http://www.gp.org
Libertarian Part -- http://www.lp.org
Do Americans prefer open debates, or a Soviet-style scripted sham? Tell your views to The Progress Report:
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