Green Party Candidates Arrested, Shackled to Chairs For 8 Hours

[MachineGhost]

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein and vice-presidential candidate Cheri Honkala were arrested Tuesday as they attempted to enter the grounds of the presidential debate site at Hofstra University. Like other third-party candidates, Stein was blocked from participating in the debate by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which is controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties. Stein and Honkala were held for eight hours, handcuffed to chairs. As she was being arrested, Stein condemned what she called "this mock debate, this mockery of democracy." Just hours after being released, Stein joins us in the Democracy Now! studio.

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/17/ ... ri_honkala

[Pointedstick]

Isn't trespassing illegal? I would sure hope that was the result if someone tried to barge into my house without my permission.

I'm very sympathetic to the plight of third parties shut out of the process, but don't break the law in trying to make your point. You'll probably lose more respect than you'll gain.

[doodle]

Problem is the people that make the laws have a vested interest in shutting down other parties. Seems like a bit of a conflict of interest. Every lawmaker happens to be a member of one of two parties and they dont want you to spoil their game.

[TripleB]

You can't really expect a primetime Presidential debate to include these fringe candidates, can you?

Exactly! If we let the green party in then we'll have to let those nutbag libertarians in the debate too! 

[Reub]

I was watching a local New York City debate 2 years ago I think and one of the candidates was from the Communist Party. All he kept say was "The rent is too damn high". I think that he won the debate.

This is his post debate interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TIGQhHGvP0

[Pointedstick]

That's Jimmy McMillan! Communist? I came away thinking that he was more of a capitalist than the Democrat! He rarely prescribed government solutions for the problems he identified, unlike Cuomo.

[Reub]

He was certainly compelling!