Re: [Lnc-votes] [Lnc-business] VOICE!!!

[lnc-...@hq.lp.org]

Hi Joan,

Thank you for your message and your willingness to think outside the box of the 2-party cartel. Where are our voices in the media? Believe me, lots of us ask the same question every day! I find it infuriating to open a newspaper or tune into a radio or TV station and see/hear them talking about the presidential election as if it were a 2-person race. I was a journalism major myself, and what I see much of the media doing by giving the cartel candidates the lion's share of the coverage while often ignoring qualified Libertarians and other candidates entirely, I consider to be a gross violation of journalistic ethics. Lots of us are out there pounding the keyboards, making phone calls, etc., asking why they are failing to inform the public of their Libertarian choices.

We are well aware of the importance of getting our candidates, including of course Gary Johnson, into the debates. There are in fact two lawsuits in court that we are supporting which are designed to force the Commission on Presidential Debates to open their process and play fair. Sites like FairDebates.com and FreeAndEqual.org are waging the fight in the court of public opinion with efforts like concerts featuring well-known musicians to draw attention to the electoral injustice being perpetrated against alternative parties and candidates and the American people.

Unfortunately, your statement, "Unless we can hear you, we cannot vote for you!" represents a bit of a Catch-22 for us. You said you didn't want to be asked for money so I won't ask you, but the plain fact is that we remain vastly outgunned. On top of all the unfair advantages given them by the media, corporations and other special interests give tens of millions of dollars to our cartel opponents, while our total budget for the national Libertarian Party is less than $2 million. And we have to spend a good chunk of that money just fighting to overcome the restrictive ballot access laws enacted by Democrats and Republicans to get our candidates and our party's name on the ballot! 

The good news is that the tide appears to be turning. Libertarian voices are all over the Internet, and the media gatekeepers are not as strong as they once were. Today, you as an activist have the power to "become the media" by getting the word out directly via social media, blogs, and online comments not filtered by an editor. So it's easy to find tons of libertarian voices at a click or two of the mouse, if you look for them. And all this is having an impact; the word is getting out. Gary Johnson just polled 13% in a CNN poll this past week (https://www.reddit.com/r/Libertarian/comments/4t9os0/gary_johnson_polls_at_13_in_cnnorc_national_poll/), and a poll conducted for Rep. Mia Love of Utah found a virtual dead heat in that state, with Trump at 29%, Clinton at 27%, and Johnson at 26%! (https://alibertarianfuture.com/2016-election/poll-gary-johnson-26-utah-three-points-overtaking-trump/)  

But because of the institutional obstacles placed in our way, you still may not always hear our voice included on the evening news or the front page of your local paper unless people like yourself help us get it there. Don't send money if you can't afford it, but please help us help the cause of freedom by spreading the libertarian message! Follow Libertarians on social media, forward our press releases (you can sign up at http://www.lp.org/request-info), tell your friends. We won't win without grassroots support.

Love & Liberty,

                                 ((( starchild )))

At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee

                    RealR...@earthlink.net

                             (415) 625-FREE

On Jul 24, 2016, at 12:12 PM, joand...@comcast.net wrote:

I sent a similar message to Matthew - forgot last name - and got a response asking for money.  Maybe some of you can do better.

Where is your voice?  In an election year that both the republican and democratic nominees are widely disliked, where is the voice of the libertarian party?  Don't ask me to donate until the voices of the  LP candidates are heard in debate, in interviews or in print. Where is your voice?  Tell us all what you stand for, who you are, and why you might be a viable choice this year.  Can you possibly save this electorate from the current two dreadful republican and democratic choices?  Unless we can hear you, we cannot vote for you!  PLEASE, where is your voice?  Let me hear your response on the news stations or in the newspapers.   Please and thank you.  Joan Denning-Perry