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Maybe they should hold their own debates

Third parties are pretty much a non-entity in U.S. politics. Once in a while a candidate comes along like H. Ross Perot, who used a bundle of his own money and a bunch of graphs and charts to work his way onto the debate platform. Or a Ralph Nader, who mobilizes a small faction with a specific agenda. But for the most part, Democrats and Republicans own the show. Or Jesse Ventura, who used his notoriety and plain spoken opinions to barnstorm his way to the Minnesota governor’s office.

This year, with neither major party presidential candidate endearing themselves to voters, people are looking to see if there are viable candidates in third parties. There are, of course. But not many have heard much about them.

This year Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, is seen by some as a viable third party candidate, but the chances of seeing him in a debate with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is pretty slim. The Commission on Presidential Debates requires candidates to have a 15 percent average approval rating in polls in order to be invited to the debates. That’s a tall order.

But what if the smaller parties held their own debate and didn’t invite Clinton and Trump? What if Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and other candidates hoping for attention rented a hall got a moderator and put on their own debate? It would give people a chance to see who is out there, what they think and maybe find someone they like better than Trump or Clinton.

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