What if we leveled the playing field? What if we could ban all the political television, radio, newspaper, etc. advertising?
Sure, let people put bumper stickers on their cars. Let them put signs in their yards. But let’s get rid of these ads and reduce the amount of campaign fundraising necessary.
Let the candidates go grass roots. Let people see ALL the candidates, instead of those that spend outrageous amounts of money getting slanderous adverts out there.
You don’t LEARN anything at all about a candidate from their advertising. They simply get name recognition and an opportunity to slam an opponent.
I look at the very down-to-earth messages that the Libertarian candidate sends out via social media and web sites. Why not encourage these candidates to send out their editorials to the various media outlets in the form of press releases, web posts, social media engagements, etc. But ban the big dollar advertising. Take those dollars and return them to the areas that need help. What if we sent these dollars back into programs that make a difference? There are so many that need them.
Sure, let the candidates stand up in televised debates. But eliminate the debate committee as it now stands. Bring in a committee representing each party — not just the donkeys and elephants. They have essentially forced out the others from the public eye — as they obviously want to do.
Yet, the public only knows what they see. And I believe that most people don’t take the time or effort to fully explore options. Most people follow the popularity contest or simply fall into a "brand loyalty" mentality with a particular party. Regardless of what that party currently offers.
Let’s level the field and let everybody speak. Stop the states from forcing non-bipartisan candidates from reaching the ballots. Stop the terrible advertisements from reaching broadcast.
Truthfully, have you really ever learned ANYTHING substantial about a candidates view on issues from their campaign ads? All I see is mudslinging.
