Gary Johnson is the anti-establishment Republican Presidential
candidate. He is committed to cutting spending, balancing the budget,
rooting out special interests, and protecting Liberty for all Americans.
It's disappointing, then, that Governor Johnson's established
credibility as a presidential candidate has not earned him the
opportunity to present his message in the nationally televised debates.
Our campaign has been respectful when questioning the media's decisions
to exclude Governor Johnson, but credible observers have speculated
that there may in fact be a 'Gary Johnson Rule' to ensure that he
doesn't appear on stage. (See here and here.)
While the national media may have devised polling "criteria" to
determine who is invited and who is not, those criteria become a lot
less objective if the polls they're based on don't include all the
candidates.
How can you qualify for the debates when you're not included in the
polls?
The irony, of course, is that many of the same media outlets who decide
the debate participants are also the same people who devise the
national polls. While they may say that their debates are open to
anyone, their carefully restricted polls effectively play the role of
gatekeeper.
When Governor Johnson was included by CNN in their last nationwide survey,
he placed ahead of Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum, and tied with Herman
Cain -- all three of whom have been invited to every debate, including
tonight's.
But this morning, despite his previous inclusion -- and despite
polling ahead or even with three other candidates -- CNN
released their latest poll without Governor Johnson as an option.
We find this truly baffling, and have been left scratching our heads.
And so we ask, ‘why?’
What is it that CNN is afraid of? Is a candidate with fresh
ideas – and a track record as a successful two-term governor –
too much for the establishment to deal with?
Or is it that CNN can't understand how Gary Johnson can poll
competitively with other candidates who've spent millions -- possibly
10 or 20 times the amount Governor Johnson has spent?
It's time for the establishment media to admit that Gary Johnson
speaks for a lot of Republicans and Independents whose views are simply
not being heard on their invitation-only stages.