Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, is the Libertarian Party’s nominee for President. Supporters of Johnson say he should be included in the presidential debates alongside President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
Traditionally, the decision about who is included in the presidential debates has been delegated to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
According to the Commission’s web site, a candidate must show support of at least 15 percent in polls — a tough standard for any third-party candidate. So far Johnson has not come close.
Today, Libertarians are holding a “Twitter bomb” to show their support for Johnson’s inclusion in the 2012 presidential debates. They are using the hashtag #LetGaryJohnsonDebate:
@DoggieMom123 @govgaryjohnson I absolutely believe that they should #LetGaryJohnsonDebate
— Judge Napolitano (@Judgenap) August 19, 2012
Wouldn't it be nice to see another POV in the presidential debates in October? #LetGaryJohnsonDebate. @GovGaryJohnson
— Alyssa Anderson (@moonglaive) August 19, 2012
You can already imagine how Obama & Romney will sidestep every question. Make it fun & #LetGaryJohnsonDebate @GovGaryJohnson #tlot #ronpaul
— Dame DuhLaurien (@LaurienRose) August 19, 2012
https://twitter.com/missbededo/status/237242052398682113
#Obama and #Romey support more #War, #Debt, #NDAA, #PatriotAct #FEDReserve #IRS. #NoRealDifference. #LetGaryJohnsonDebate
— Voluntarian (@Voluntarian) August 19, 2012
Republicans & Democrats formed the Commission on Pres. Debates to keep a monopoly on the process. #LetGaryJohnsonDebate @GovGaryJohnson
— Dame DuhLaurien (@LaurienRose) August 19, 2012
Johnson almost certainly will not win the election, but he may affect the outcome in a few battleground states. According to FoxNews.com, Johnson is polling at 13 percent in New Mexico and 7 percent in Colorado — “certainly enough to disadvantage whichever major-party candidate he’s drawing votes away from.”
Some assume that Johnson hurts Romney more than he hurts Obama:
https://twitter.com/michaelrjoyce/status/237241359600328704
This assumption, however, may be unwarranted. An early-August poll by Public Policy Polling found Obama leading Romney in a one-on-one match-up in Colorado by 6 points, but Obama’s lead was cut to 4 points when voters were given the choice of supporting Johnson. “That’s because Johnson gets 13% of independents, taking more from [respondents] who lean toward Obama than Romney,” according to the polling firm.
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