This Other Third-Party Candidate Thinks Johnson Should Be in Debates

America Needs Johnson’s Voice in the Debates

By: Elias J. Atienza

Zoltan Istvan, the Transhumanist presidential candidate, wrote an op-ed in The Huffington Post arguing that Gary Johnson should be allowed in the debates. Istvan wrote that it didn’t “matter if you’re Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Transhumanist, or something else,” that not inviting Johnson is “un-American.”

Istvan admitted that he would like to be invited as well, but conceded that Johnson was the only third-party candidate “warranting inclusion.” As the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all fifty states, Istvan argues that the fifteen percent threshold should be “set aside.”

Istan further writes:

I don’t want to be that conspiracy theorist guy, but I’m wondering if something is afoot to try to keep Gary Johnson out of the debates — possibly brought on by the Democrats and Republicans. I’m finding it hard to understand why any reasonable person or organization — including the organizers of the presidential debates — wouldn’t want Johnson to be part of them. So far he hasn’t been invited, despite the fact, in a recent poll, 62 percent of Americans said he should be included.

Another important argument from Istvan is that the debate ratings will improve if Johnson is included.

Istvan quotes Charles Peralo of Being Libertarian, saying, “What even holds more telling on the need for this voice is that America deserves to see a candidate they actually might enjoy and not see as a defense of the other parties [sic] nominee.”

Finally Istvan argues that his main point isn’t about winning. It is about “getting a better perspective of what America is and where she’s heading.” He says that Americans need to “see with more clarity” and to do that “we need more voices— at least one more voice.”

Istvan concludes:

If you care about America, and you care about a fair and open election, allow in the leading 3rd Party candidate to debate, who is Gary Johnson by a wide margin. He will force Clinton and Trump to address the real issues at hand for America, so that our country can have a profound conversation about how to truly improve itself.