The great debate shut-out

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Despite the fact that 38 percent of Americans describe themselves as neither Democrats or Republicans, don’t expect to see anyone but Dubya and Bore on the televised presidential horse races or at the debates. And if there is a Perot-caliber surprise in the works to bring a third party candidate up to the podium, wager it’ll be Pat Buchanan, CNN’s perennial love child, says Jeff Cohen of FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY IN REPORTING.

Green candidate Ralph Nader whupped Buchanan in a recent Zogby poll, and yet we won’t be seeing Nader’s mug on the Sunday talk shows or at the debates. The latter is largely because the private Commission on Presidential Debates is controlled by the two major parties, effectively keeping anyone who isn’t a media darling (like Buchanan) off the public radar.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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