Social media was on fire over the news that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for next week's first presidential debate, which CNN is hosting. This means, assuming Joe Biden actually shows up, that it will just be him and Donald Trump.
Naturally, Kennedy is having a bit of a hissy fit over it.
“Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand,” Kennedy said in a statement. “My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly. Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly. They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic.”
Kennedy's campaign is considering an FEC complaint against CNN for not using "'pre-established' and 'objective' criteria to determine candidate participation." According to the campaign, "CNN, and every member of CNN who is participating in planning, executing, and holding this debate, is at risk of prosecution, as happened to Michael Cohen, for violating campaign finance laws. This risk is now acute given that any further violation would be knowing and willful, and thus could carry with it serious jail time."
I'm sure they're not sweating it.
Now, let me be honest here. I know that Joe Biden does not want Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to debate. His presence on the debate stage will likely hurt him, and Biden can't afford any more setbacks. Believe me, I would like to see Kennedy on the debate stage so that the public can see his radical left-wing views front and center. But from an objective standpoint, I don't see what is so undemocratic about the participation requirements.
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Far be it from me to praise CNN, but I'm inclined to say that the debate requirements are fair. According to the network, in addition to earning 15% support in four national polls, “a candidate's name must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold.”
As of right now, he does not. So far, he's only certified to appear on the ballots in Utah, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Michigan. Even if he won all four of those states—which he wouldn't—he would only get 44 electoral college votes. "Additionally, CNN has counted California and Hawaii, where Kennedy is the presumptive nominee of minor parties where the states have either not certified him or received paperwork. Those states add up to 100 electoral votes," reports the Washington Post.
I'm sure the Kennedy campaign will continue working to get on the ballot in as many states as possible and potentially qualify for the next debate. When he qualifies in enough states to meet the threshold, I'll be happy to see him on the stage.
Here's the thing: Presidential debates serve a crucial role in informing the electorate about the candidates who have a realistic chance of winning the election. By setting a threshold for ballot access in a sufficient number of states to achieve a victory in the Electoral College, CNN is ensuring that only serious contenders participate, enhancing the debates' relevance and impact by allowing the candidates who can actually win to have more time. As much as I didn't like the fact that Trump didn't participate in the GOP primary debates this year, he certainly had a point that when he was polling so far ahead of everyone that he had nothing to gain by having candidates with nominal support on stage with him.
Kennedy needs to stop whining and finish qualifying for enough states so he can participate in the next debate.
