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What is the CPD?In 1988, the CPD seized control of the presidential debates from the League of Women Voters, and it has sponsored every presidential debate since. The CPD claims to "provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners." In reality, however, the CPD awards virtually absolute control of the presidential debates to the Republican and Democratic campaigns, resulting in uninspiring debate formats, the exclusion of popular non-major party candidates, and the avoidance of pressing national issues.The co-chairmen of the CPD -- Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and Paul G. Kirk Jr. -- are the former heads of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee, respectively. The other members of the CPD also ardently believe in the "two-party" system and are generally contemptuous of third-party candidates. In 2002, then-CPD director Alan Simpson explained the CPD's responsibility, "The purpose of the commission, it seems to me, is to try to preserve the two-party system that works very well, and if you like the multiparty system, then go to Sri Lanka and India and Indonesia. I think it's obvious that independent candidates mess things up." Not surprisingly, the CPD has consented to virtually every joint request of the Republican and Democratic candidates. Scott Reed, chairman of Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, explained, "The commission does what you tell them to do." As a result, the debates sponsored by the CPD serve the interests of the Republican and Democratic parties, often at the expense of the interests of American voters. The 7 Major Problems with the CPD
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