HTAnnapolis: Dem O'Malley, Repub Erhlich Run Scared

[Ellis]

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/col/2010/10/19-32/Eric-Hartley-OMalley-Ehrlich-run-scared.html

Maria Allwine wanted two minutes.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, had just had half an hour or so to answer questions and deliver talking points in front of 750 people.

Organizers had already told Allwine, the Green Party candidate for governor, she would not be allowed to speak.

But she walked forward from the pews in a Silver Spring church last week, her arm raised and two fingers up, calling out, "Two minutes."

The bishop at the lectern cut her off and launched everyone on stage into a chorus of "We Shall Overcome" as they joined hands with O'Malley. (Yes, using a civil rights anthem to silence a political candidate. Beautiful, isn't it?)

This crowd had no time for Allwine.

That was no accident. And it's no accident you probably don't know Allwine's name or those of Susan Gaztanaga and Eric Knowles, though they're all candidates for governor who'll be on your ballot.

They've been systematically excluded from debates and forums by the organizations sponsoring them and by the campaigns of O'Malley and Republican Bob Ehrlich. As a result, they get almost zero press.

After the event, as O'Malley glad-handed and posed for photos, I asked him about the lack of fairness.

First came the cop-out: "I have to defer to the event organizers."

Then the dodge: "You know, I'm about to wrap up debates and go directly to the people..."

So I asked: Would you be willing to debate all the candidates?

"I really have no idea," he said.

Amazed, I managed, "But you're the governor."

"I know," he said, grinning. "I govern, and I let the campaign manager manage the campaign."

The truth is he's not willing to do that, and neither is Ehrlich.

Allwine and the other two have demanded to be included, adopting the slogan "What are you afraid of?"

Third-party candidates threaten the two-party duopoly - not because Allwine, Gaztanaga or Knowles has a chance of winning, but because they could attract enough votes to tilt the outcome.

True-blue liberals might like what they hear from Allwine, who calls herself a "progressive populist" and wants a sharply increased minimum wage (a "living wage"), a single-payer health care system and a state-owned bank.

True-red conservatives might be intrigued by Gaztanaga, a Libertarian who wants to eliminate the sales tax and order the state police to issue a permit to carry a gun to anyone without a criminal record. Or Knowles, a Constitution Party nominee from the Annapolis area who wants government out of health care altogether.

They are a threat, so they have been neutralized, just as presidential candidate Ralph Nader was in 2000.

Jim Farley, a vice president of radio station WTOP, which is sponsoring an upcoming O'Malley-Ehrlich debate, said both campaigns made it clear they would not appear if third-party candidates were invited.

"They sent the signal without ever saying it in as many words," Farley said.

He said it would be difficult anyway to include five candidates with limited airtime. The other three have been invited to appear on WTOP - just not during the debate.

Ehrlich campaign spokesman Andy Barth said debate sponsors decide who's included. (The cop-out again.)

But Ehrlich and O'Malley don't plan to show up tonight at a forum sponsored by the Montgomery County League of Women Voters and other groups, who have invited all five candidates.

"Scheduling conflicts," Barth said, an excuse echoed by an O'Malley spokesman.

Yeah, I'll bet. Let me check our schedule - hmm, says here we're not getting within 10 miles of those jokers.

Likewise, several other groups have invited all the candidates. But the duopoly refuses to show, the media stays away and the event gets no coverage. Problem solved.

Last week's event, sponsored by three nonprofit groups, was called an "accountability assembly," an awkward phrase invented to avoid the words "forum" and "debate."

It became a pep rally for O'Malley, featuring questions with such hard-hitting preambles as: "It's taken real courage for you to say this..." Ehrlich was invited, but would have been insane to show up at this ultra-liberal gathering.

The sponsors picked the same bogus 10 percent cutoff rule as Baltimore Jewish Council, which sponsored the first televised debate: If you don't poll at 10 percent, you're not included.

That's a Catch-22: If these candidates' voices aren't heard, how will they ever get to 10 percent? How do voters know which candidate they agree with if they don't hear all of them?

It's especially ironic in a year like this, when so many voters profess to be disgusted with both Republicans and Democrats, that true alternatives are being silenced.

After last week's forum/assembly/whatever, as O'Malley was making his way out, Allwine stopped him. He tried to shake hands and move on, as if she were just some voter.

"No," she said, holding her grip firmly. "I want to debate you."

"I'm not doing any more debates," O'Malley lied, a stiff smile on his face.

He then asked her name and warmly shook her hand again, fixing her with his gauzy politician's stare.

"Good to see you, Maria," the governor said, beaming as he strolled to his taxpayer-owned SUV with his state police security detail.

No wonder he was smiling.

I shamelessly post this story b/c I'm registered Green party and want you voters and non-voters to see how 3rd party candidates are kept out of public debate by the dominant duopoly created by the Democrats and Republicans. There is no 2 party system, IMO. There's one massive party and they give you two choices to vote for, either of which will do exactly the same thing once elected.

[ChampSkinsFanatic]

"I'd say that Les Whinen ought to do more thinking and less whining!":ols:

--Sideshow Bob

[JohnLockesGhost]

Don't let anyone tell you we don't have other viable parties because people don't want them.

It's a product of the plurality-take-all election system. For other candidates to compete the system needs to change, but the establishment has no incentive to do so.

[elkabong82]

Until the public in general ceases to blindly defend one side or the other simply because it's "their side" this will always happen. It's up to the public to demand more parties and candidates instead of John Q. Toe the party line.

But 2 parties which "seem" to be opposites of one another makes everything easy and convenient, and oh how America loves that.

[mojobo]

Just filled out my mail in ballot today voting for Erik Knowles. Still can't bring myself to vote for either a Republican or a Democrat.

[Ellis]

Maryland has its fair share of raging liberals who would likely agree with much of what Allwine has to say. Dems don't want that vote to disappear.

Maryland has a strong libertarian voting group that predominately votes Republican.

I would like to see all voters in Maryland to demand fairness in the debating process.

[gbear]

I find myself wondering why the main stream canidates don't offer to debate against the alternatives from the other side. This would go twice for the those running for reelction.

For example, what if O'Mally's campaign simply said "We've campaigned against Erhlich before. The people spoke on that one. We're concerned with the other candiates like the Libertarian or Constitution party canidates. It could have 2 huge impacts right away. It presents Erhlich as not the real threat and it allows O'Malley to campain as a moderate "not extreme like those guys." Of course this strategy would have to be addopted from the beginning to be effective, and I would think long term it would be used against the Dems with the Green party and other such parties.

Maybe it really is a joint decision by the Dems and Reps to not bring in other parties.

[HighOnHendrix]

Third-party candidates threaten the two-party duopoly - not because Allwine, Gaztanaga or Knowles has a chance of winning, but because they could attract enough votes to tilt the outcome.

True-blue liberals might like what they hear from Allwine, who calls herself a "progressive populist" and wants a sharply increased minimum wage (a "living wage"), a single-payer health care system and a state-owned bank.

True-red conservatives might be intrigued by Gaztanaga, a Libertarian who wants to eliminate the sales tax and order the state police to issue a permit to carry a gun to anyone without a criminal record. Or Knowles, a Constitution Party nominee from the Annapolis area who wants government out of health care altogether.

They are a threat, so they have been neutralized, just as presidential candidate Ralph Nader was in 2000.

Some of their stances are bit radical. Not everyone should pack heat just because they haven't been to jail (yet). And Nader is, and always has been, a flake. Hard to be relevant when you're blaming the world's ills on coffee. No need to get into his Uncle Tom comment. Realistically, third parties are not the solution. Fixing the two mainstream parties is the only viable outcome. Would you really want a party that only has the support of twenty or thirty percent of the electorate making policy? Because that is what we would end up with in a system that had three or more equally powerful parties.

[rictus58]

Some of their stances are bit radical. Not everyone should pack heat just because they haven't been to jail (yet). And Nader is, and always has been, a flake. Hard to be relevant when you're blaming the world's ills on coffee. No need to get into his Uncle Tom comment. Realistically, third parties are not the solution. Fixing the two mainstream parties is the only viable outcome. Would you really want a party that only has the support of twenty or thirty percent of the electorate making policy? Because that is what we would end up with in a system that had three or more equally powerful parties.

Actually, I think it would create governmental gridlock. Which I am in favor of.

[SnyderShrugged]

This Ron Paul supporter understands.