• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’

2

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

3

He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis

1

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’

2

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

3

He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
Leadership

The Green Party’s Open Letter to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

By
Michal Addady
Michal Addady
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Michal Addady
Michal Addady
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 21, 2016, 3:55 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26:  Green Patry Presidential candidate
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Green Patry Presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein speaks to pro-Bernie Sanders supporters outside City Hall in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. Many Sanders supporters are saying they will vote for Stein rather than vote for Hillary Clinton. (Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images)Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez—The Washington Post via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein and her running mate Ajamu Baraka have written an open letter to the two major party nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The third-party ticket wants Clinton and Trump to leverage their positions as the “de facto leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties” to push for open debates throughout the rest of this election cycle. The open letter, published in full on TruthDig.com, argues that voters don’t benefit from the way debates are currently run.

The debates are managed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which describes itself as a private, non-partisan organization, though Stein and Baraka say that it is really controlled by the two major parties. The organization’s co-Chairmen are Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Mike McCurry, who once served as the director of communications for the Democratic National Committee, but is best known as the former press secretary for Bill Clinton’s administration.

“In the spirit of democracy, we are writing to ask that you support open debates in 2016 that include all of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates who are on enough ballots to win at least 270 electoral college votes,” Stein and Baraka write.

Both the Green Party and the Libertarian Party tickets appear on enough ballots to receive the electoral college votes necessary to win the election, but candidates are only allowed to appear at debates if they receive at least 15% support in a national poll acknowledged by the CPD. However, as the Green Party candidates point out, not all of the polls used by the CPD present the Green Party as an option.

Stein and Baraka argue that today’s debates are “choreographed” and “highly controlled,” and therefore don’t inform the public about their options as well as they could. The moderators are chosen by the two major party candidates and the questions are vetted beforehand. As a result, truly unscripted back-and-forth between Trump and Clinton will likely be kept to a minimum.

This subsequently limits the public dialogue and prevents voters from hearing “innovative solutions” from other candidates whose names they may see on the ballot in November. Even if the third-party candidates don’t have viable campaigns that can realistically make it to the White House, Stein and Baraka still believe that voters will benefit from hearing different viewpoints.

“A foundational principle of our nation has been that a marketplace of ideas, where all views are discussed and the best ideas win out, is essential to our democracy,” Stein and Baraka write. “The country is crying out for real leadership. By standing with the majority of Americans who want open debates, you will show you are a friend of the transformation our democracy needs.”

The Commission on Presidential Debates could not immediately be reached for comment.

About the Author
By Michal Addady
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is boosting employee pay to compete with SpaceX—but an advisor warns of ‘golden handcuffs’
Personal FinanceWealth
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is boosting employee pay to compete with SpaceX—but an advisor warns of ‘golden handcuffs’
By Sydney LakeJuly 16, 2026
2 hours ago
scam
CybersecurityCrime
‘I want to cry, I want to vomit’: Meet a 43-year-old who lost $90,000 to an online boyfriend she never met
By Juliet Linderman and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
2 hours ago
lj
SuccessLeBron James
The $500 million LeBron James sweepstakes: 5 cities race for the right to boost their economy with the chosen one
By Joshua HongJuly 16, 2026
6 hours ago
Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain
SuccessWorld Cup
Lamine Yamal is the third-youngest World Cup finalist—and he was scouted from his working-class neighborhood at just 6 years old
By Emma BurleighJuly 16, 2026
6 hours ago
Jamie Dimon surrounded by construction workers.
SuccessCareers
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says 300,000 workers are needed to rebuild American shipbuilding—with jobs paying $100,000 without a college degree
By Preston ForeJuly 16, 2026
6 hours ago
school
AIEducation
84% of students use AI for homework. Only 3 in 10 schools have rules for it
By Brett DeJager and The ConversationJuly 16, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
C-Suite
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
By Fortune EditorsJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
Innovation
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he's betting $32 million that robots can fix construction's labor crisis
By Lily Mae LazarusJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago
Trump's 'American Flag Blue' in the Lincoln Memorial pool is already gray — and the Olympic canoer 'vandal' is fighting his arrest
Politics
Trump's 'American Flag Blue' in the Lincoln Memorial pool is already gray — and the Olympic canoer 'vandal' is fighting his arrest
By Matthew Daly and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
9 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.