Dear Members of the Commission:
On behalf of the 6% of likely voters nationwide who plan to vote for the Libertarian Presidential Ticket of Governor Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray this November 6th (Polled 9/21 by Princeton Survey Research International),
On behalf of the 2% to 10.6% of likely voters polled in the razor-close Tipping Point States of New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, and Colorado -- who plan to vote for Libertarian Presidential candidate, 2-Term Governor Gary Johnson,
On behalf of the 26,192 individuals (as of 10/1/12) who signed the petition for you to include Libertarian Presidential candidate, Governor Gary Johnson in the Presidential Debates with Democratic Presidential candidate, President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential candidate, Governor Mitt Romney,
2-Term Governor Gary Johnson is Qualified to be Included in these Presidential Debates
25-Year Superior Court Judge Jim Gray is Qualified to be Included in the Vice-Presidential Debate
Relevant: Libertarian Presidential Candidate Governor Gary Johnson’s votes in one or more of the key Tipping Point States – New Hampshire(4), Virginia(13), North Carolina(15), Florida(29), Ohio(18), Iowa(6), Nevada(6), and Colorado(9) – could shift as many as 100 Electoral Votes this November 6th …and could determine the outcome of the 2012 Presidential Election.
Shouldn’t the voters in these 8 Tipping Point states get the opportunity to compare and contrast Libertarian Presidential candidate Governor Gary Johnson against the republican and Democratic Presidential candidates in the nationally-televised Presidential debates – BEFORE they decide who to vote for?
Most Americans need an Electron Microscope to find real differences between most actions and policies of President Obama and Governor Romney.
Excluding Libertarian Presidential candidate Governor Gary Johnson from the Presidential Debates guarantees that real differences don’t get debated. For example:
Federal Spending:
Both Obama and Romney will add $1.2 Trillion more to the federal debt
in their first year alone. President Gary Johnson will cut spending in
Year One by 43% to balance the budget.
Bailouts:
Obama and Romney supported bailouts for banks, corporations, foreign
governments and state governments. President Gary Johnson will veto all
bailouts.
Medical Insurance:
Obama will preserve, protect and expand Obamacare. Romney will replace
it with Romneycare. President Gary Johnson will repeal Obamacare
completely and return medical choices to families and doctors.
Foreign Intervention:
Romney and Obama will keep 550,000 U.S. troops stationed in foreign
countries and drag on the war in Afghanistan. President Gary Johnson
will radically draw down U.S. troops in foreign countries and
immediately bring our troops home from Afghanistan.
Drug War:
Obama and Romney will continue the failed Marijuana Prohibition.
President Gary Johnson will end the Prohibition and free the many who
suffer from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, migraines, and other serious
disease to seek relief from pain and disability.
What if you put on a Presidential Debate and nobody watches? That’s the direction you’re headed by excluding qualified candidates like 2-Term Governor Gary Johnson.
10 million to 20 million fewer Americans will watch your 2012 debates than the 2008 debates – UNLESS you include the other qualified Presidential candidate, Libertarian 2-Term New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Why? His viewpoint and proposals are dramatically different from Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. He attracts a different segment of American voters. He brings in new viewers to the debates.
Do the right thing, the good thing, the smart thing:
Invite and include Libertarian Presidential candidate Governor Gary Johnson and Vice-Presidential candidate Judge Jim Gray in the 2012 Debates.
Yours for open debates and elections,
Good thing there are windows.
Join us tonight to make our voices heard by taking advantage of the following windows of opportunity! Join the conversation on any and all of the following channels to help raise awareness and fight the politics of fear!
1. Democracy Now! As Obama and Romney square off in the first Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) debate tonight, Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! will broadcast live from Denver with a special expanded presidential discussion from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern.
Democracy Now! will air the debate, pausing after questions to include equal time responses from Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson. This live broadcast will be available in over 25 million household via Free Speech TV and Link TV, as well online at Democracy Now!’s website.
Tell everyone you know to tune in.
2. #OccupytheCPD! The
Commission
on
Presidential Debates is launching “The Voice Of ___”
which will feature livestreaming, feedback, polling, and more on the
following platforms:
3.YouTube will
be
livestreaming all of the debates.
4. Tweet! Use the
following hashtags to join the conversation:
5.Facebook
Live will be interviewing a variety
of people, but your comments anywhere on Facebook during this pivotal
time will be important!
Key Messages
Say what you will to rebut the flawed policies
of the Obama White House and the Romney campaign, but please try to mention Jill Stein’s Green New
Deal. Green New Deal. Green New Deal. The
more people see that phrase, the more they’ll wonder what it is, and
the better chance we have at forcing it into the political discourse!
Beyond that key phrase, here are some other messages relevant to tonight’s debate on domestic policy:
Unemployment
Foreclosure Crisis
Tax Reform
Health Care Reform
Student Loans
Financial Regulatory Reform
Finally, check out and share Campaign Manager Ben Manski’s video report from the ground in Denver! These are the next steps in winning free and equal debates.
For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator
WASHINGTON, DC -- Greens across the US are demanding an invitation
for Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein (http://www.jillstein.org)
to
the presidential debates, in advance of the first debate on
Wednesday, October 3, in Denver.
Dr. Stein's plans for October 3 include an appearance on Democracy
Now!'s Live Debate Talkback, hosted by Amy Goodman, live from Denver
during the Obama-Romney debate (http://www.jillstein.org/democracy_now_s_live_debate_talkback_with_jill_stein).
Below is a list of events in Denver and links related to the first
debate and Dr. Stein's exclusion, including a march on the Commission
on Presidential Debates (CPD).
Green Party leaders and activists have insisted that the debates must
include every candidate who is on enough ballots to win the White House
and who has demonstrated a minimal level of support -- either 1% of the
vote in a credible national poll or qualification for federal matching
funds or both. Jill Stein and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson meet all
of these criteria. (See 'Occupy the CPD!', http://occupythecpd.org)
Greens have called the CPD, which controls the debates, an attempt to
rig elections. The CPD, owned and run by the Democratic and Republican
parties and the two parties' corporate funders, determines criteria for
participation and has decided that only Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
will be allowed in front of the microphones.Â
The CPD took over the debates in the early 1990s to limit the stage to
their own candidates and to make sure that no challenging questions get
asked. The League of Women Voters, which sponsored the debates before
the CPD took over, has called this situation "a fraud on the American
voter."
Events
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 5:30 pm MST: Occupy the Debates! Occupy Denver,
Green presidential candidate Jill Stein, Green vice-presidential
candidate Cheri Honkala, and supporters will join an Occupy Denver
march on the Commission on Presidential Debates. McWilliams Park at E.
Yale Avenue and S. Steele Street in Denver. More information: http://www.jillstein.org/occupy_the_debates_denver
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 7 pm MST (9 pm EST, 6 pm PST): Democracy Now!'s Live
Debate Talkback with Jill Stein, former Salt Lake City Mayor and 2012
presidential candidate Rocky Anderson, and host Amy Goodman. The live
program will begin at 6:30 pm, and Jill Stein will join the show at 7
pm. Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman Street in Denver. More
information: http://www.jillstein.org/democracy_now_s_live_debate_talkback_with_jill_stein
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2012/9/28/third_party_candidates_to_join_in_real_time_on_democracy_now_s_live_coverage_of_first_pres_debate
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 9:30 pm MST: Occupy the Debates! AFTERRALLY with
Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala and musical entertainment. Stein-Honkala
campaign manager Ben Manski will host a post-debate rally with live
music and rousing speeches from the candidates. Mercury Cafe, 2199
California Street in Denver. More information: http://www.jillstein.org/occupy_the_debates_after_rally_with_jill_stein_and_cheri_honkala
Links
"Chickens picket Romney HQ in leadup to Denver debates protests"
("OccupytheCPD.org organizer and U.S. Uncut founder Carl Gibson
presented a Romney staffer with 'The World's Biggest Chicken Award'.
Romney last faced Jill Stein in a 2002 gubernatorial debate which
Massachusetts media later declared Dr. Stein the winner.")
http://www.jillstein.org/chickens_picket_romney_hq
Video: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=903406680251
Occupy the CPD!
http://occupythecpd.org
"Open the Debates: Demand inclusion of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson!"
By Scott McLarty, FireDogLake (blog), September 20, 2012
http://my.firedoglake.com/scottmclarty/2012/09/20/open-the-debates-demand-inclusion-of-jill-stein-and-gary-johnson/
"In a First, Debates Give Presidential Candidates the Topics Ahead Of
Time"
By Elizabeth Flock, US News & World Report, September 21, 2012
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/21/in-a-first-debates-give-presidential-candidates-the-topics-ahead-of-time
Video: Jill Stein speaks and answers questions from viewers on climate
change during a Digital Town Hall broadcast on the Green Party's
Livestream Channel on Sept. 30, hosted by "No Impact Man" Colin Beavan,
Green candidate for the US House in Brooklyn, NY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POuKod21vIg