A new poll out today, July 6, 2016 by YouGov and The Economist of 1,300 respondents found that 61% of Americans do not know who Gary Johnson is. Johnson is the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee who will be on the ballot in all 50 states alongside Republican Party presumptive nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Party presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton. Today’s YouGov poll also showed that 40% of Americans are voting AGAINST Trump and Clinton. Additionally, 59% of respondents stated they would either consider voting for Johnson or simply were not sure at this time. That give Johnson and the mainstream media a lot of room to maneuver him in to the White House. But that is up to the mainstream media to do their journalistic best in remaining objective and inclusive of candidates who will be on the ballot in all 50 states.
Even though Johnson has been polling between 8 to 12% nationally, the mainstream media continues to exclude him or not mention his name during news reports of Clinton and Trump. The mainstream media and polling organizations continue to promote the false narrative that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the only two candidates for American voters in the 2016 presidential election. Four polls were released on June 30, 2016, on the presidential election and they only included Clinton and Trump. This is dangerous because Gary Johnson will be on ballot in all 50 states and is polling between 9 to 12 percent nationally, and this is during a time that a majority of Americans do not know who he is. The mainstream media does this at their own peril as Americans are waking up to the fact that they are often not told the real story by traditional news outlets. American voters are now doing their own research and are seeking out alternative news venues to get a better picture of what is happening around them.
Hours of radio and television time has been devoted to Clinton and Trump while excluding the credible Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson. Gallons of newspaper ink has been spent written about the 2016 presidential election while omitting Johnson from the story, or at best, getting one or two lines at the bottom of the article. This is not to say the mainstream media has not done a far better job in 2016 than in 2012, but it is still clearly not a fair or just practice of journalism.
Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Governor Gary Johnson http://www.garyjohnson2016.com
To poll American voters offering only the choices of Clinton and Trump is not being honest with Americans and does not offer a true scenario of what will happen in November. There will be more than just two presidential candidates for all American voters to choose. Similarly, when the mainstream media reports on the polls or engages in discussions about the presidential election while refusing to mention Libertarian Gary Johnson, it is doing a disservice to American voters by not being fair, impartial and informative. According to the Ethical Journalism Network, one of the 5 principles of journalism is that “impartial reporting builds trust and confidence.” The mainstream media who choose to purposefully exclude a qualified presidential candidate who will be on the ballot in all 50 states and is polling at or above 10 percent, is not being impartial and it is no wonder Americans have a strong distrust of them.
It is long past the time the mainstream media gives Libertarian Party presidential nominee Governor Gary Johnson equal time online, in print and on the television equally alongside Clinton and Trump. It was the media’s free publicity of Donald Trumpthat pushed him from single digits to dominating in the polls and presidential primaries while Trump spent a fraction of the Clinton campaign. It has been proven over and over again, that it is the media who decides the popularity of candidates for public office and it is why we have Trump as the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee. So, if the media so chose, it is reasonable to believe Gary Johnson could skyrocket in the polls and win the presidential election this November if given similar coverage Trump was offered last summer. While last summer was the Summer of Trump, this year could be the Summer of Johnson, but that is clearly the decision of the mainstream media.
During a time where 65 to 69 percent of American voters feel the country is on the wrong track, they are seeking an alternative to the two major parties; the only candidate who offers that alternative is Gary Johnson. Will the mainstream media do the right thing and let Americans know that Johnson is a credible candidate and the only one of the three who has the executive experience to be the next President of the United States? Johnson is not a fringe candidate and more Americans are adopting more of the Libertarian Party’s principles
Categories: Government, Libertarian, Politics
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