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Editor's note: The following is a guest post from Chris Walsh of The Libertarian Patriot.


You may not be aware of this but because of pressure from consumers, 3 sponsors have pulled out of the Presidential Debates thus far. On Monday it was BBH New York, on Wednesday the YWCA dropped out and on Friday it was Philips Electronics.

As you can see, public opinion does matter to large corporations. With that in mind, we need to make it known to the other debate sponsors that there are those of us who are not happy with the Commission on Presidential Debates' decision to exclude other qualified 3rd party candidates from the upcoming debates.

Well, Southwest Airlines is one of those debate sponsors. They need to be put on notice that we are unhappy with their decision to support the exclusion of qualified 3rd party candidates who are on the ballots in enough states to have access to 270 or more electoral votes and thus a mathematical chance of winning the Presidency.

By excluding these candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein, Southwest, as well as the remaining six other sponsors, are actively silencing the voices of candidates who can influence the outcome of the election.

We know Southwest Airlines' senior management is aware of the issue as responses to email inquiries to the company show.

After careful review of the CPD’s request for Southwest Airlines involvement in the upcoming debates, our Senior Leaders felt that the core values of Southwest Airlines aligned with the CPD’s mission of providing American Citizens the opportunity to make informed decisions.

To this end, we must continue to pressure Southwest to reconsider their sponsorship and end their involvement with these sham debates.

I ask you all to email a Letter to the Editor of the Dallas Morning News (200 words or less), the major daily newspaper in Southwest's home city of Dallas. Also provided are the email addresses to Southwest executives so they may receive a copy of your letter. Blind copies should be sent to three additional Texas newspapers in cities served by Southwest as well.

Together we can make our voices and the voices of all qualified Presidential candidates heard.

Thank you for your support.

Here is a copy of the email that I sent, but remember to be effective you should use your own words.

To: letters@dallasnews.com, letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com

cc: gary.kelly@wnco.com, jeff.lamb@wnco.com, ron.ricks@wnco.com, dave.ridley@wnco.com, kevin.krone@wnco.com, linda.rutherford@wnco.com, ellen.torbert@wnco.com

bcc: letters@statesman.com, viewpoints@chron.com, letters@express-news.net

Subject: Why is Southwest Airlines limiting our choices in the upcoming Presidential election?

To the editor:

As a businessman who is a frequent traveler through Dallas and who regularly uses Southwest for my other business and personal travel, I am disheartened to hear that Southwest is suggesting that I only have the choice to vote for a Republican or a Democrat for President.

In sponsoring the Commission on Presidential Debates, an organization of professional Republican and Democratic functionaries in DC, Southwest is doing just that; preventing me and two hundred million other American voters from hearing other qualified candidates for President who will be on the majority of ballots this November.

I strongly disagree with Southwest's statement to me that, "The Senior Leadership of Southwest Airlines felt that their core values aligned with the CPD’s mission of providing American Citizens the opportunity to make informed decisions" given they are not allowing the American electorate to hear all the options in order to make that informed decision.

If a "core value" of Southwest is to silence the voices of qualified Presidential candidates, other than those from the Democratic or Republican parties, I wish to no longer do business with them.

Southwest should stay out of politics and not have a hand in influencing this important election.

Chris Walsh
San Tan Valley, AZ

And, if you wish to get in touch with the other six sponsors, here is their contact info as well:

Crowell & Moring LLP
At Crowell – Moring LLC, the Chairman is Kent A. Gardiner and his email is
kgardiner@crowell.com

Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
One Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118
800-342-5283
E-mail Contact Form: http://contactus.anheuser-busch.com/Contactus/email.asp

The Howard G. Buffet Foundation
158 W Prairie Ave, Suite 107
Decatur, IL 62523-1442
Also:
121 S 51st St
Omaha, NE 68132
402-556-6641

Sheldon S. Cohen, Esq.
Farr, Miller & Washington
1020 19th Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
800-390-3277
202-530-5600
202-530-5508 Fax
Email: sscohen@farrmiller.com

International Bottled Water Association
1700 Diagonal Road
Suite 650
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-5213
703-683-4074 Fax
Email: ibwainfo@bottledwater.org
800-WATER-11 (Information Hotline)
http://bottledwater.org

The Kovler Fund
aka Marjorie Kovler Research Fellowship
c/o John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Columbia Point
Boston, MA 02125
617-514-1624
617-514-1625 Fax
Email: kennedy.library@nara.gov

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Gary Johnson, a man with integrity, new ideas, and a proven track record both in business and as a two term Governor of New Mexico will be iced out of the presidential debates because of our rigged political duopoly. So the man who should be front and center with Frik and Frak on the debate stage will most likely, and by design, be relegated to playing spoiler. Not a bad spot to be in really if Johnson has his eyes on the 2016 presidential race, something this individual and likely millions more hope he does.

The following article is both interesting and informative. It certainly highlights reasons for liberty minded people to vote for Gary Johnson.

FOX BUSINESS - The fact that you may have not heard of Johnson does not make you uninformed. According to a recent report by the Pew Center for People & the Press, only a quarter of voters have – and only 5% have heard a lot about him. However, that doesn't mean you wouldn't agree with him. The website Isidewith.com, which features a political quiz that well over 3 million people have filled it out, suggests that if the Presidential race was based on people’s beliefs, it would be between Obama and Johnson. (Emphasis Mine)

Johnson's hard-line policies are ambitious—and in many instances, radical. If elected, he said he'd abolish the IRS and enact a "fair tax," reduce federal involvement in the economy by eliminating government support for mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie Mac, reject bailouts, cut spending by revising terms for entitlement programs like Medicare and eliminate what he calls "ineffective military interventions."

"People are usually voting for the lesser of two evils," explained Debbie Dean, an Ohio-based farmer and owner of Dean's Greenhouse. "But Gary Johnson is not being included in polls, and I think the American public is being prohibited [from having] a real choice."

Johnson, who calls himself more socially liberal than Obama and more fiscally conservative than Romney, recognizes that the recognition problem is a huge one -- and he said as much in an interview with Fox Business Network's John Stossel on September 13.

"Well, the issue for me is just being in the polls to begin with," he said. "If I were just recognized for where I was right now nationally, you know what the overwhelming reaction would be…. 'Who the hell is Gary Johnson?' and that would be a good thing."

Where Johnson is nationally is hard to track accurately since in most major Presidential surveys, third-party candidates are not mentioned by name. And while Johnson is now on the ballot in 47 states, he still is in the process of making his case in court for the remaining three states (Pennsylvania, Michigan and Oklahoma).

Despite the uphill battle, Johnson still might make a difference in this election. According to the latest CNN/ORC poll, 3% of likely voters would vote for Johnson and 4% of registered voters said they will vote for him.

But whether more people will vote – or know to vote for him -- is up for debate. On Friday, Johnson filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Commission on Presidential Debates challenging his exclusion from the upcoming presidential debates.

In a statement, senior Johnson advisor Ron Nielson said: "There is nothing remotely surprising in the fact that a private organization created by and run by the Republican and Democratic Parties have only invited the Republican and Democratic candidates to their debates. It is a bit more disturbing that the national news media has chosen to play the two-party game, when a full one-third of the American people do not necessarily identify with either of those two parties." (The only debate in which Johnson has been included was the GOP debate sponsored by Fox News on Sept 22, 2011, where he drew applause when he said: "My next-door neighbors' two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration.")

Not having Johnson at the upcoming debates seems to be positive for both of the big-party candidates. In the recent CNN poll, Obama leads Romney 52% to 46% when Romney and Obama are the only candidates. However, Romney's support goes down three percentage points with the inclusion of third-party candidates. Obama's support goes down 1% point.
Twenty-eight-year-old Marine Corp. veteran Josh Rawdon, a registered voter in Ohio, is voting for Johnson, regardless of whether or not he is at the debates. But Rawdon believes if Johnson was there, he'd make a big impact.

"If he was there to challenge Obama and Romney, he could be a challenger for the presidency because he is actually answering the questions," said Rawdon.

Rawdon may be emblematic of young voters who came out for President Obama four years ago and now see Johnson as an attractive alternative. The YouTube parody of the hit song by Goyte -- “The Obama that I Used to Know” -- which has garnered over a million views, seems to hit home with disenchanted former Obama voters. And Johnson clearly recognizes the importance of tapping into the young and passionate cohort that heavily supported Texas Rep. Ron Paul before he ended his attempt for GOP presidential nomination earlier this year.

On Sept. 17, Johnson told Fox Business's Neil Cavuto: "My voice right now is representative of the fastest-growing segment of American politics today. It's young people who realize that they are screwed. That they aren’t going to have any retirement. That they aren’t going to have any healthcare. Young people are graduating from college today with [the equivalent of a] home mortgage without a home and I’m talking now about student loans and what's the cause for high tuition in this country? It’s the government guaranteeing student loans." (Emphasis Mine)


Debbie Dean agrees.

"Young people are disillusioned. They don’t have jobs, they have school debt," said Dean, who is volunteering for Johnson's campaign in Ohio. "It’s easy for kids to get loans, but when they get out of school they can’t get a job and can't pay the loan."

Dean also said small business owners are disillusioned. She said she is worried that her family-owned farm, Dean's Greenhouse, which has been in existence since 1924, may not make it through after President Obama's healthcare initiative is enacted. She believes it could raise the current cost of healthcare for her employees.

"We’ve always offered healthcare, and I am personally on the plan," she said. "But if things get rough and I had to choose between providing healthcare and letting my business die, I'd have to choose my business."

Johnson knows a little something about small business. He started as a handyman in Albuquerque in 1974 and by 1999, he had a 1,000-person construction company called Big J Enterprises, which he sold for $10 million.

Johnson believes the Fair Tax, which would eliminate all federal taxes on business income and investments, would provide an immediate boost to small business.

"If, as others are advocating, reducing business taxes, such as the corporate income tax, would be helpful, eliminating them altogether in favor of a consumption tax would be a huge step in terms of freeing up capital, increasing competitiveness, and creating jobs," said Joe Hunter, Johnson’s communication director in an email to Fox Business.

Hunter also pointed out that ending "federal manipulation of the free market" and getting government out of the way would ultimately be the best initiative to help small business.

However, while Johnson's passionate and steadfast positions on everything from small business to abolishing the IRS to legalizing marijuana have appeal for a wide range of voters, the likelihood of his candidacy having any impact on this election is slim if he isn't able to take part in the Presidential debates, which start October 3. And Johnson knows that best.

"Someone has to stand up and call this what it is: A rigged system designed entirely to protect and perpetuate the two-party duopoly," (emphasis mine) said Johnson advisor Ron Nielson. "That someone will be the Johnson campaign."{Read More}

I don' know about anyone else but I'm definitely supporting the spoiler in this one.

Via: FOX BUSINESS

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Image by Joe Burbank, Pool, File

Gary Johnson taking it to the powers that have ruled for far too long. This challenge, and fight to restore fiscal sanity and greater liberty ought to be carried on all MSM networks and Libertarian/Conservative blogs throughout the nation. However, in America's politically anesthetized state little will be heard or published on this story.

Rational Nation USA doing its part in getting the word out.

BuzzFeed Politics - Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson filed an anti-trust lawsuit in federal court Friday to try to force his way into next month's presidential debates.

Johnson, who first sought the GOP primary nomination before launching a third-party bid, is suing the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates and both the Democratic and Republican parties, calling the CPD a "conspiracy."

The CPD was founded jointly by the two parties and the nominee, and the lawsuit alleges that they meet every four years to set the rules for the debate to "hoodwink" the American people.

Johnson is asking the courts to force the CPD to allow for all candidates who are on the ballot in enough states to reach 270 electoral votes to have a spot on the debate state.

According to a release, Johnson’s running mate and retired California Superior Court Judge Jim Gray will argue the motion on the campaign’s behalf.

Johnson appeared in two GOP primary debates last year.

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Gary Johnson is a vocal proponent of legalization of marijuana, making a compelling and rational argument for it. America's decades long war on drugs has produced little if any positive results. It has cost the American taxpayer billions, helped to create an expanding and violent illicit industry, and increased the number of incarcerated to record levels. It is time the nation rethink it's drug policies. Gary Johnson is on the forefront while President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are less than interested in addressing an issue that should be of growing concern for all Americans.

OPPOSING VIEWS - Gary Johnson, this year’s Libertarian Party candidate for president, spoke at a rally on Tuesday outside the Democratic National Convention. He criticized both President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for avoiding one of the nation’s most important political issues. Obama has laughed off or ignored persistent questions about marijuana legalization, while Romney is equally dismissive, calling the issue insignificant.

During his two terms as governor of New Mexico, Johnson established himself as the highest-ranking public official to call for a dramatic shift in the nation’s drug laws. He explains that during his two terms, he applied a cost-benefit analysis to every issue. Regarding costs of the war on drugs, he has cited the United States’ world-record incarceration rate and the fact that approximately half of current criminal justice expenditures deal with drug cases.

On his campaign website, the former governor also refers to the harms of alcohol prohibition and the parallel harms of current drug prohibitions, including the enrichment of organized crime and the associated violence. The site clearly states his support for legalizing marijuana, specifying that the federal government should “end its prohibition mandate” and allow the states to determine their own policies. This is one area where he agrees with former Republican presidential contender and libertarian icon Ron Paul, to whom he has compared himself and whose supporters he may be courting. {Read More}

Clearly Gary Johnson is once again acting like the only adult in the field.

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Five Reasons why Gary Johnson, Libertarian candidate for President should be included in all Presidential debates. Article by Nick Sloan of THE KANSAS CITY KANSAN

1. Johnson has a proven political career. Johnson was twice elected as Governor of New Mexico, meaning he's won more gubernatorial elections than Romney has and the same amount of general elections as Obama. This is not an Al Sharpton or Ralph Nader type candidate who hasn't won a thing. Johnson was the sitting governor of a state and there are only 50 individuals who can say that right now. While I understand the idea of a polling requirement to qualify for the debate, Johnson deserves an exemption here. He has the political background to receive some debate time.

2. After the countless political ads and conventions, can we really say we don't know Romney or Obama? Presidential debates are built up as the time when America is introduced to the candidates, but America has already been introduced to these individuals. Outside of the speeches by Chris Christie, Clint Eastwood and Rand Paul, I did not watch a second of the Republican National Convention. Outside of maybe Bill Clinton's speech, I probably won't be watching the Democratic National Convention. I already know who Romney and Obama are.

Meanwhile, America doesn't know who Johnson is - and that's not necessarily his fault. It's tough for a third-party candidate to compete against countless airtime for the Democratic and Republican conventions. It's also tough when you have three cable news networks uttering the words "Obama and Romney" 24 hours, 7 days a week. If the media covered Johnson more, I imagine his polling would reflect it. He's a long-shot candidate not because of his political career or stance on the issues. He's a long shot because of the two-party system and the media.

3. Johnson could make the other two candidates better. A great thing about a presidential primary is the fact the candidates normally feed off of each other because of the competition. For example, I thought Obama became a great candidate because of the lengthy battle he had with Hillary Clinton in 2008. I also thought Romney shined after Newt Gingrich destroyed him in the 2012 South Carolina primary election. Having Johnson on stage could sharpen the debate - and quite frankly, we need better debates in this nation.

4. According to one Website, Johnson would be a strong candidate if people voted on how they actually really felt about the issues. The Website ISideWith.com is a political survey site where readers can fill out a survey and find their ideal candidate. In many states, Johnson is competitive based on the amount of surveys filled out. He currently leads in the states of Texas, Arizona and Georgia - three good states to win on election night. He's also within one or two percentage points in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania - three more really nice delegate states. If Johnson was given more media time and allowed in the debates, the 2012 election would be a legitimate three-way race.

5. If you measure up all three candidates in terms of the most important issue in this campaign, Johnson wins hands down. The most important issue is jobs. The American economy is still struggling and unemployment is still above 8 percent in America, with the underemployment rates much higher. As Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, the amount of job growth during Johnson's two terms was 11.6 percent. During Romney's time as Governor of Massachusetts, job growth in the state ranked 47th out of 50th. It may be unfair to give all the credit or criticism to politicians when it comes to job growth. However, those are the numbers. Johnson's numbers are the best if you look at side to side. Why doesn't he get to debate?

Read more here.