MA: The Democratic-Republican Duopolist Media Complex

The editorial page of the Boston Globe takes sides in the ongoing debate over whether all three ballot-qualified candidates for US Senate in Massachusetts should be included in the contest's debates, writing "The debate voters deserve: Coakley vs. Brown." Coakley and Brown are, of course, the Democratic and Republican candidates for the office, respectively, thus demonstrating yet again the mainstream media's explicit bias in favor of Democratic-Republican Party rule and their complicity in reproducing the duopoly system of government. We read:

Massachusetts voters are entitled to one-on-one debates between the Democratic and Republican candidates for US Senate. Democratic nominee Martha Coakley’s campaign insists that, as a matter of principle, she will only take part in debates that include all the candidates on next month’s ballot. That would include not just state Senator Scott Brown, the Republican nominee, but also a little-known independent candidate named Joseph L. Kennedy.

At Ballot Access News, Richard Winger notes:

The Boston Globe says the independent, Joseph L. Kennedy, is “little-known”. Obviously, if he were included in all the debates, that problem would be overcome.

Indeed, beyond that, however, one would think that in a well developed federal constitutional republic, there would be an institution devoted to informing voters and the wider public about candidates for local, state and federal offices, and provide them with the means of making an informed choice when they enter the voting booth. In effect, this institution would mediate the public's relation to government, reporting on events of immediate or potential importance to its future development, even going so far as to interview candidates for elected office. That independent libertarian candidate Joe Kennedy is "little-known" is not an argument against his candidacy but rather an indictment of mainstream media outlets like the Boston Globe which are dedicated to reproducing the Democratic-Republican duopoly system of government rather than informing voters on the array of choices they will find on their ballots.