Let Nader debate

If you believe that the televised presidential debates are a free and open forum, you're wrong. Ralph Nader will be locked out.\nThese debates are organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Although CPD claims to be nonpartisan, its leadership and members are all powerful Democrats and Republicans. To protect their candidates, CPD has strictly controlled access to these debates.\nThe League of Women Voters, the truly nonpartisan group that sponsored the debates before CPD appeared in 1987, refused to play along. They withdrew their sponsorship in 1988, stating that they had "no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."\nThis year, a candidate must poll 15 percent nationally to receive a place on the stage. Had this criteria been in effect in 1992, Ross Perot would not have been allowed to debate. In 1996, Perot was excluded even though he was on the ballot in all 50 states and had received federal matching funds. To give this year's continued censorship a patina of fairness, the CPD established the 15 percent criteria.\nWhat can you do to fight this censorship?\nVisit the Nader table at Saturday Farmer's Market to sign the "We Want REAL Debates!" petition. Contact your representative and senators. Tell them to support Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Resolution 373. This resolution urges CPD to either lower the criteria to 5 percent (the same level required to qualify for federal matching funds) or admit any candidate whom the majority of Americans think should be in the debates. Visit the Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) Open Debates 2000 Web site at www.fair.org for additional ideas.\nNader deserves to be heard. Don't let a small clique of partisan cronies decide who and what you should be allowed to hear.