September 16, 2011

By Mark Wachtler

September 16, 2011. Santa Fe. (ONN) Republican Presidential candidate Gary Johnson is picking a fight with CNN, and apparently, rightfully so. The former New Mexico Governor seems to have been singled out by the Time Warner cable network as the primary target of an old fashioned media black-out. While polling ahead of other GOP Presidential candidates in CNN’s own polls, Johnson was not only banned from the CNN/Tea Party California debate earlier this week, he now finds himself omitted from current polls.

In a press release and email, Johnson senior campaign advisor Ron Nielson attempted to recapture some media attention and stick it to CNN for what looks like blatant electioneering.

The self-appointed baby sitters of America’s electoral process have been shaping our elections for decades. It’s no secret that people like Rupert Murdoch and groups like the League of Women Voters go to great lengths to insure that the only candidates on America’s election ballots are candidates they approve of. Whiteout Press will never forget the early 90’s when the League of Women Voters announced they were excluding Ross Perot from the Presidential debates. Unfortunately for the League, Perot was leading both Bush and Clinton in all national polls. His exclusion set off a firestorm of anger and the League of Women Voters was forced to give in to the will of the people.

Unfortunately, that is one of the only examples in recent history of the voters and independent-minded candidates forcing the shadowy electioneers into actually allowing a fair and open election. In the vast majority of cases, reform candidates who dare challenge the establishment of either the Republicans or Democrats are crushed by entities like CNN and the League of Women Voters long before the American people ever get a chance to hear what they have to say and then make up their own mind.

Read the Whiteout Press article ‘Mainstream Media not so Mainstream’ for additional examples.

The Gary Johnson 2012 Presidential campaign isn’t giving up. If they’re going to be unfairly excluded from the electoral process, the campaign is going to make an issue of it and appeal directly to the American people.

The Johnson campaign argues:

“A CNN poll two weeks ago showed him tied with Herman Cain and ahead of Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman. 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.”

Being a victim of the establishment’s age-old ‘polling’ trick, the campaign is obviously frustrated when it reports:

“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 on 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 CNN’s.”

In their appeal to the American people, Johnson’s campaign asks a very serious and important question – Why?: 

“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? We don’t know what’s going on, but something is.”

For more information on Gary Johnson for President, visit GaryJohnson2012.com

The Johnson campaign was kind enough to include CNN’s contact info for anyone who would like to ask the network that very question, why? Here is the contact info as provided by the press release:

CNN:

(404) 827-1500 or (202) 898-7900

Text: CNN (space) and your news tip to 772937 (don’t forget the space after CNN).

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html

Twitter: @CNN or @teamCNN

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