The Tennessean is the two-bit rag that passes as our major daily newspaper here in Nashville, Tennessee. They are owned by Gannett, so it may go without saying that they lean heavily to the left. Furthermore, their level of journalism is sorely lacking, even by a generous standard. It has become fairly common for them to be scooped on hard news stories by the Nashville Scene, which is actually a weekly entertainment publication. Given these factors, I rarely bother thumbing through the Tennessean, but a few days ago I sent in a letter to the editor on an issue that has begun to irk me. Not surprisingly, perhaps, they have not chosen to print my letter. Instead, they have selected a healthy does of venomous anti-McCain rants and, in the interest of "balanced" journalism, a small number of poorly articulated anti-Obama snippets on the Editorial page. In their own way, through omission, they have buttressed my argument. Rather than hold my breath for The Tennessean to publish my letter, I've decided to share it here. Though my topic is based on our local situation, it certainly has relevance in other locations throughout our country.

 

Here's what I wrote:

 

At the polls in November, Tennesseans will be presented with the expected Republican and Democrat presidential candidates. They’ll also notice several “independent” candidates on the ballot. Most of these so-called independents are, in fact, affiliated with national political parties. However, Tennessee’s restrictive and deceptive election laws prevent third party candidates from running as anything other than “independents” in our state.

Why is this? I can only surmise that it’s a blatant effort by the two major parties to maintain the status quo by hampering legitimate competition in the political arena. This is an affront to the citizens of a free society that, in theory at least, is governed from the bottom up. The independent label typically carries more negative than positive connotations, being suggestive that those candidates do not represent a supportive, organized segment of the population. This, of course, is untrue.

Ballot access reform may not be in the best interest of career politicians, but it is in the interest of “we the people” who deserve transparency and honesty in our government. It’s high time we demand an end to this abuse of power and removal of artificial barriers to the exercise of our rights in the political and electoral process. All parties, large and small, should have equal opportunity in Tennessee’s voting booths. Let’s give it to them.