When have you seen an independent win recently? This has happened very few times in the whole country's history and I can't remember when that was last.
What do you expect when a duopoly of political parties bands together and creates the rules for elections and national debates? I wouldn't expect them to allow for an impartial 3rd party to be able to get involved and make any kind of a legitimate impact on the status quo. Besides, money is the biggest obstacle, and anyone with the resources to generate enough of it are probably not much different in character and substance than any other career politician looking out for the corporations.
Sorry Comcast, we will surely see another "Martin" in this position as the Telcos have control and they know how to keep it.
Crazy Ross actually did make a huge impact. In fact, it was precisely because of him, and the unforeseen risk he presented to the Republicans and Democrats, that the rules for the national debates were updated to keep similar opponents from sharing the stage with them.
