David J. Kalbfleisch, Green Party candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, IL-10th district, hopes the winner of the Democratic primary will honor the institution of democracy and the Democrat’s own rhetoric by demanding Kalbfleisch’s inclusion in all general election debates.

In a recent press release, one of the Democratic challengers accused the other Democrat of dodging debates and asked, “What could be more democratic than to participate in a series of debates and talk about our positions on the issues, and what each of us brings to the table so that ultimately the voters will be able to make a more informed decision?”

Kalbfleisch agrees completely, but unfortunately the Democratic and Republican parties collude whenever possible to exclude independent and third party candidates from public debates. For example, in the 2006 election for Illinois governor, Democratic incumbent Rod Blagojevich declined to participate in any debate that included Green Party candidate Richard Whitney, who ultimately earned 10.3% of the votes.

“When Democratic and Republican candidates say they want democracy, they mean the artificially limited, two-party, lesser evil variety that has disenfranchised hundreds of millions of people,” says Kalbfleisch. He continues, “The last thing they want is for anyone who might say something out of the box to have a voice.”