Election: Media Blackout
2004 Election
Posted October 31, 2004
by: Annette M. Hall
Have I mentioned that I hate commercials? This election year, it's harder than ever to tell the difference between the news and the commercials.
The numbers are astronomical. If computations are to be believed, candidates this year have spent $4 Billion in advertising. That's $4,000,000,000. with a capital B.
Is it any wonder, after this spending frenzy should be over, these same candidates, once in office continue to spend like there's no tomorrow? Our elections equate to a junkie winning the lottery. With one exception, unlike lottery winners, our politicians do not stop spending just because they run out of money. They continue to spend putting our nation so far into debt, our children will still be paying it off many years from now.
The job of President of the United States pays around $200,000 a year. Why on earth would anyone spend over a billion dollars for a job which will earn the applicant less than a tenth of that amount over a four year period?
Granted, riding around in your own private jet is a nice perk and free rent for four years can add up quickly but is it really worth squandering all that money?
While we are on the subject where does all that money go? By and large the lions share is spent with network television. Interesting. Could these be the very same networks which have all but black-balled every single presidential candidate outside of the Republican and Democratic parties? I think so.
There are several viable candidates who could give the donkey and the elephant a run for their money, they are more in-line with mainstream American and have some great ideas. The American public may never get to hear those ideas though. The major networks have a vested interest and as we've seen, billions of dollars are on the table. Just how much does it cost to purchase a media blackout?
Ralph Nader receives a minor mention now and again, primarily because he is no threat to the Republican or the Democratic parties. Nader is only on the ballot in 35 states. Polls have shown him receiving only 1% of the vote, which is amazing since he's spent around $3 million on ads.
Michael Badnarik is a relative newcomer to politics. The Libertarian Presidential Candidate has a good message with some great ideas for fixing many of the problems our nation faces today. He was arrested trying to take those ideas to the public because he was barred from participating in the presidential debates, as was David Cobb.
Mr. Badnarik is the only third party candidate to appear on the ballot in every state, with the exception of New Hampshire and Oklahoma (sorry this was overlooked and was later brought to my attention). Polls (those he has been included in) have him coming in with 3% of the vote. Badnarik's campaign has raised just under $1 million. Just imagine what he could do with just fair treatment by the media, not the special treatment, which has been shown to Bush and Kerry.
When the major media outlets report the news, it should be news. CNN and Fox News have prattled on non-stop about the Bush/Kerry race with Nader thrown in here and there for good measure. This is not news. Voters have a right to know who's running on the ballot, they have a right to be fully informed. Not to have two candidates crammed down their throats. If Bush and Kerry want to purchase advertising, spending billions of dollars, that is their right but they should not be able to buy this election and media silence.
If citizens in this country want more of the same, we should leave things just as they are because that is all we will get for the billions spent. More taxes, more government, more spending, less accountability and less respectability in the world. If an election has ever been bought and paid for, it's this one. Voters will just have to wait until Tuesday to find out whose check bounced.
 |
Election Update
Libertarian set to prove power of third party candidacies
http://badnarik.org/supporters/blog/category/news-from-the-trail/
Posted October 31, 2004
Austin, TX - A month ago, Michael Badnarik was virtually unknown. This morning, one cable news pundit's wisecrack, "I'm holding out for Badnarik," elicited urbane chuckles from his fellow Beltway insiders. But Badnarik may have the last laugh.
"We believe that Michael Badnarik's candidacy will determine the outcome of this presidential election," says campaign manager Fred Collins. Collins is not alone - over the last week, the media has belatedly begun to notice Badnarik's small but firm showing in "battleground state" polls. With the presidency conceivably hanging on a few votes in one or two states, Badnarik is perceived as a very real threat to President George W. Bush's prospects in New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin, and possibly as a factor in Arizona or even the "Big Three" - Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Public attention focused on Ralph Nader's 2000 presidential candidacy after Democrats accused him of costing Vice President Al Gore the pivotal state of Florida. Virtually unnoticed at the time was the fact that Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne had polled more than 2000 votes in New Mexico, a state which Gore won by only 366 votes. Browne also received more votes in Oregon and Wisconsin than future president George W. Bush lost those states by.
This year, the Libertarian Party's organizational strength trumps Nader's name recognition, says Tom Knapp, Badnarik's media coordinator. "Without the Green Party's ballot line and with the Democratic Party pulling out all stops to keep him off the ballot in key states, he's dead in the water. Due to the work, past and present, of Libertarian Party activists, 98.3% of American voters will find Michael Badnarik listed on their ballots. Only half will find Ralph Nader. "
Recent polls show Badnarik receiving about 1% of the vote nationwide, with higher percentages in battleground states where his campaign has invested advertising money. National advertising runs commenced last week, and the campaign is pouring revenues from a last-minute fundraising surge into a final media push on Monday.
October 30, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: Stephen P. Gordon
Office: (512) 637-6867
Cell: (256) 227-8360
E-mail Communications Director Stephen P. Gordon
