Title: Debate This! (direct download)
Length: 23:11
File Size: 41mb
File Type: QuickTime .mov
Music: "Gasoline Dreams" by Outkast, "Minority" by Greenday, "I Should Be Allowed to Think" by They Might Be Giants, and "Scapegoat" by Atmosphere

Short Synopsis: During the 2000 presidental elections, the debates conducted by the Commission on Presidential Debates (a group formed and run by the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee) sought to not only limit the topics covered in the debate and to make the event more scripted, but also to exclude third-party candidates. This fueled protests by many, many groups who, despite sometimes having conflicting viewpoints (ie. greens, libritarians, biggots, etc.) bound together to form a committee called "O17." This documentary traces the roots of the O17 movement, from the planning stages, to the protests, to the after-math.

About: While certainly the Greens were by far the most prominent (both in message and in sheer numbers) of the groups representing during the O17 protests, there was no shortage of Pat Buchanan (running in Ross Perot's Reform Party) supporters, Libritarians and so on, who all felt excluded. Not only were their candidates not going to be getting the much needed free TV air-time, but the issues that their candidates would have brought to the table would most certainly not be addressed.

Ralph Nader (the Green Party candidate) fought tooth and nail to get into the Debates, but was not allowed in. The long-term upside to this is that due in part to Nader's rallying cry a Citizen's Debate Commission has been formed, and may even replace the corrupt RNC/DNC debate commission. The new commission gives one hope that someday, perhaps sooner rather than later, the presidential debates may be just that.

Read an article about the formation of the CDC by Ralph Nader here.

This documentary, the brainchild of director Alan Hatchett. The film crew included Daniel S Dunnam, Micheal Debonis, Eric Dienstfrey, Matt Erickson, Meredith Karazin, Eirc Peterson, Amy Reahard, and Paul Tulipana.