The Chris Moeller Archives

A correction, not a clarification

"Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and independent candidate Ralph Nader did not factor significantly in the poll, with neither candidate receiving more than 2 percent of likely voters."

Ralph Nader is polling 6-8 percent in battleground states from New Mexico to Pennsylvania to Colorado to Nevada to Michigan, despite a virtual media blackout of his campaign, but in the Iowa Poll published in today's Des Moines Register, he's at just 1 percent and reporter Thomas Beaumont included the statement above in his story filed Saturday.

Perhaps the discrepancy in Iowa has something to do with the interviews conducted by the polling firm employed by the Des Moines office of the Gannett Corporation. The initial question posed to likely voters was: "If the election were held today, and the candidates were John McCain for the Republicans, Barack Obama for the Democrats, Bob Barr for the Libertarians, and Ralph Nader for the Green Party, for whom would you vote?" At least they got the grammar correct. It would be "for whom", that's right. But as better informed CM Blog readers know, Ralph Nader is not the Green Party candidate for president, Cynthia McKinney is, and Nader is on the Iowa ballot as a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party. Nader didn't even run as a Green in 2004. It's been eight years since Nader represented the Green Party.

A "clarification" was included at least in the online story, but I'm not sure exactly how that added statement couldn't be better defined as a "correction," and it's typical of the corporate agenda to ignore independent party movements to such an extent that they can't get their facts in order even when they're trying to be marginally inclusive. Months ago, the Register made the equally insulting decision to exclude Dennis Kucinich from their sponsored television debate in the leadup to the Iowa Democratic Caucuses. Now again, a high-profile corporate critic bears the brunt of the decision/oversight. And what qualifications does Bob Barr have to be included in the Iowa Poll that Cynthia McKinney doesn't have? Even that decision is a nod to Democrats and Republicans to balance Nader with a right-wing alternative. Barr and McKinney are both former members of Congress from the state of Georgia now heading the ticket for a third party on the presidential ballot in more than 40 states.

There are more registered Independent and 3rd Party voters in this country than there are either Republicans or Democrats. If you are one of these, do you feel your needs are being served in this campaign by the Fourth Estate? Nader is polling as much as 5 percent in nationwide polls-- matching the federal criteria for matching campaign funds (the only legislative standard) and an absolutely staggering percentage considering the almost total media blackout-- yet he's going to be excluded from the televised debates because the debate commission is headed by former chairs (read: party bosses) of both the Republican and Democratic parties. When the League of Women Voters sponsored the televised debates, prior to 1988, a third party candidate like John Anderson (in 1980) was allowed to share the debate stage. But by 1996, after the change, Ross Perot was told by the new commission he didn't have "a chance to win," even though he was fabulously wealthy, had led the nationwide polling at one point in 1992 and finished with nearly 19 percent of the popular vote in that previous cycle.

Big surprise then-- that's why independent party candidates aren't invited anymore. The corporate television networks, despite occupying space on the publicly-owned broadcast spectrum to account for their very existence, aren't in congress with the League of Women Voters anymore. They're in congress with a commission funded by Anheuser Busch, Phillip Morris, 3Com, and the Ford Motor Co.-- each past sponsors of these new exclusionary debates, major network advertisers, soft money contributors to the corporate parties, and-- I'm sure you're aware-- big fans of Ralph Nader. (Although, in fairness, it was General Motors, and not Ford, that once paid private investigators to tap Nader's phone and hired prostitutes to try to lure the citizen advocate into compromising positions.)

Blame the corporate-backed candidates also. Barack Obama and John McCain have shown they don't have the balls to debate these other candidates-- under any forum. (Hoa Lo Prison interrogators must have nothing on Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin) And comically, both Obama and McCain have been trying to convince us that they and their running mates are prepared to face off on the global stage with Vladimir Putin. That must make Ralph Nader the most intimidating man on the planet.

posted by CM @ 9:57 AM