While a Republican and Democratic candidate have the political machinery to substantiate their place on the ballot, third party candidates have to achieve 50 different legal statuses, or get a certain number of names to support their petition to be included on the ballot in that state. Changing the system would mean taking away state's individual rights. However, Weicker responds; "I appreciate state's rights, but I think that the President of the United States is one federal office. There ought to be one standard as to how you get on the ballot. You set that standard any way you want to by law, but it should apply to everybody."
To further fix the problem of a lack of competition in presidential campaigns, Weicker suggested that there should be standards for funding, and standards for the way in which debates are run. These standards should be reasonable so that first amendment rights are preserved (in helping to support/fund a candidate) and to insure that different voices, other than the two major party candidates, are heard in debate.
Minority voices are more important than one might imagine. Eight years ago, during the election of 1992, Ross Perot brought up the issue of balancing the nation's budget, a subject that had not been addressed by either the Democratic or Republican candidates. Once the importance of this novel thought was expressed, Republicans and Democrats directed their attention to this issue. Clearly, a third party (or a fourth for the matter) may be crucial to the well-being of our country.
Weicker indicated that despite the fact that we are living during prosperous times, there are nonetheless a great many inspirational issues that teens can get behind and address. Gun violence, poverty, health care, racial isolation are but a few. Involvement does not necessarily mean lobbying on Capitol Hill. Instead, teens can become part of local organizations, or volunteer or intern in a government office. "During my 30 years in government, I have had thousands of young interns in my office. It's a wonderful way for young people to understand how the political system works," Weicker confessed. He went on to add, "Whatever wrong you observe, don't think that just because you are one person that you can't have a hand in making it right."
What can we draw from this? Sure, the presidential candidates may lack persona and inspiration. But, though this is a problem, we needn't place all the blame on them. As a population we do not support a third party, perhaps if we did, it would possibly change the nation positively. Also, in order to find the purpose and charisma that we are searching for in our candidates, we have to take a personal interest in the issues at hand, be it collecting cans for the homeless, or going on the next march for gun control.
Truly, it could take years, even decades to change the current system to bring in competition and activism. But, we shouldn't become discouraged. Instead, we should take Governor Weicker's advice. We should get on our feet, take part in the reforms that need to be made, and watch as our involvement promotes the change that our country needs.
