Polling could have made a big difference after the California election, if Bernie was still included in matchup polls against Trump. Excluding Bernie from polling in the run-up to the Democratic primary was an act of collusion. I believe that most, or at least much polling involves collusive cooperation between campaigns and mainstream media sponsors and the pollsters who take the money for doing the polls.
The bottom line is polling is a business, it is not simply scientific. It is done to entertain and make a profit or to keep the polling organization going and visible. It is not independent. It is sponsored, with sponsors influencing content and focus. It should never be used to justify inclusion or exclusion of candidates from participation in vital debates at the core of our democratic process because it can be and is so easily manipulated.
The true test of a candidate is getting on the ballot. That should be the standard used to determine whether candidates have earned the right to be included in debates. The Commission on Presidential Debates should be recognized as the anti democratic, anti free press organization that it is and should be permanently removed from any position of influence in elections.
Patrick Walker wisely observes, "In this dismal, deeply discouraging general election, activists need a cause (and potentially winnable fight) to keep "revolutionary" excitement alive. I regard open debates as that cause, since (as with slavery, universal suffrage, or civil rights), our opponents have no rational, defensible moral grounds for opposing them."
This cause is one that we can win. Sign the petitions, get involved with Popular resistance's Campaign for Open Debates and get everyone you know involved.
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