Gary Johnson

Created by the Democratic and Republican parties in 1987 to take control of presidential and vice presidential debates, it’s no surprise the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has tried to keep third party candidates like me and my Libertarian Party running-mate Bill Weld from participating.

So I’ll try a little "virtual debating" here, with questions for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I’ll represent the tens of millions of true independent voters who will have no representation in the initial face-off. Just days ago, a survey by NBC/Survey Monkey revealed I was leading Clinton and Trump among non-Democrats and non-Republicans 31% to 24%.

Even though I won't be on that stage at Hofstra, I'd like for the moderator to pose several questions to my opponents, which will give independents some voice.

There are three issue frames in public policy: economic, social and foreign. Here are my questions, one for Secretary Clinton on foreign affairs. One for Mr. Trump on social policy. And a question I would pose to both about the most important fiscal issue facing the government.

FOREIGN: Secretary Clinton, you voted for the Bush-Cheney war in Iraq. You advocated President Obama's 2009 surge in Afghanistan, putting thousands more young Americans in harm's way. You continued your interventionist foreign policy by encouraging involvement in Libya. Would you renounce that advocacy, and would you be willing to issue a full pardon to Edward Snowden, who blew the whistle on the civil liberties violations that resulted from our war in Iraq?

SOCIAL: Mr. Trump, the signature issue of your campaign is building a wall, allegedly to keep Mexicans out, even though there has been no net immigration from Mexico in recent years. If you want to build a Berlin-style wall, would you also advocate for ending the exportation of America's draconian War on Drugs to Mexico, where we have squandered hundreds of millions of dollars involving ourselves in Mexican affairs, contributing to the murder of tens of thousands of Mexicans?

FISCAL: Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump, the most important fiscal challenge facing our government is reforming entitlements for the elderly, Social Security and Medicare. Both of you were born in the first two years of the Baby Boom, 1946 and 1947. That made you eligible for full Social Security benefits at 66, and Medicare at 65. The first birth year of the Millennial generation was 1980. Under current law, Millennials can receive full Social Security benefits at 67, just one year greater than early Baby Boomers, and they'll also get Medicare at 65.

To preserve the Social Security safety net and to assure solvency of Medicare, would each of you pledge to raise the full benefits retirement age for Millennials and the age for Medicare benefits by just a year, or possibly two? Millennial workers paying for Boomer's retirement today are worried there will be no Social Security or Medicare when they reach their sixties.

In future debates, the American public would be far better served with me on the debate stage, to do otherwise means the Commission on Presidential Debates is denying a voice to the biggest voting bloc in America, independent and persuadable voters. The least moderators can do tonight is ask the right questions.

Gary Johnson is the Libertarian Party nominee for president of the United States.

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