Third Parties and Mary Starrett

Over at the Libertarian site LewRockwell.com Bill Sardi takes a look at third party candidates and specifically Mary Starrett here in Oregon. It is understandable that the two major political parties would fear third party candidates. Bill Clinton became president in 1992 because of Ross Perot and George W. Bush became president in 2000 because of Ralph Nader. Sardi looks at what the Democrats and Republicans are doing to short circuit Starett.

Will Oregon Give a Third-Party Gubernatorial Candidate a Chance?

What role will third-party candidates have in the upcoming election, or even in the future of politics? Will the prevailing two major parties even allow a formidable third-party candidate to enter the gubernatorial race, or permit equal exposure in public debates? What’s going on in Oregon is very revealing.

Having already committed a major mistake by attempting to block a third-party candidate from entering the gubernatorial race, a blunder that backfired and gained considerable publicity for that third-party candidate, the big question now is how the two prevailing political parties are going to keep candidate No. 3 out of the upcoming gubernatorial debates scheduled to begin in late October.

The reason is candidate No. 3 is no amateur when it comes to television debates. Sharp-minded Mary Starrett, a former TV news anchorwoman and radio talk show host, running under the banner of the Constitution Party, is likely to handle questions on camera better than the Republican or Democratic candidates for governor.

It appears the two major party candidates, Republican Ron Saxton and Democrat Ted Kulongoski, want nothing to do with a camera-savvy third candidate on a debate stage. But a KOIN-TV (CBS affiliate) survey showed 90% of the public want a minor party candidate included in the debate.

So how do the two major party candidates give the appearance they are being fair and still hold the irrepressible candidate No. 3 at arms length so she can’t land a punch?

While I don't agree with much of what Mary Starrett says I have to admit she says it well. Both Kulongoski and Saxton would both be upstaged if they were on the stage with Starrett. They have both said no debates with Starrett.

Sardi concludes with this:

The larger question is how much longer will voters in Oregon take all this? Will they stand up for a third-party candidate and insist she have a place in the upcoming debates? Will the third-party candidate be given a fair opportunity to challenge the Goliaths in the Democrat and Republican parties? The rest of the nation is watching.

Will the Starrett race be an example of what we see on the national level in 2008?