For decades, perhaps the most common complaint among various POTUS campaigns in the non-two-old, too old (Republican and Democratic Parties) is not so much centered on the nature of the bias (as is a common complaint within both the current and past POTUS campaigns of those parties), but the lack of any substantial coverage – whatsoever.
In a Media Release/Fundraising letter received by IPR earlier today titled: “DC War Machine Turns On Us” , the Kennedy campaign charges that:
According to NBC News, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and shady Republican-leaning groups are strategizing to sabotage third-party candidates in the 2024 presidential election by any means necessary.
While no specific citation was included, it likely refers to:
Democrats prepare to go to war against third-party candidates published by NBC news earlier today.
This article by Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC claims (among other things) that:
The single biggest threat . . . is third-party candidates . . . . a collation – which includes Democratic and anti-Trump Republican organizations — (is) stockpile(ing) money and work to stymie third parties.
Similarly an article published by The New York Times earlier today titled:
Democrats Prepare Aggressive Counter to Third-Party Threats, states, in part:
An army of lawyers aims to challenge the steadily advancing ballot-access efforts of independent candidates, who Democrats fear could peel votes away in swing states.
While the two articles mention the Green, No Labels, and RFK Jr campaigns, no mention is made of the Libertarian, Constitution, or other longer-tenured (so-called) Minor, or Third Parties. The New York Times article goes so far as to claim that, while Ralph Nader and Jill Stein had a significant impact on the POTUS campaigns of the Democratic Party candidates in 2000 and 2016 respectively:
There was little third-party activity in 2020 . . . there are concerns that giving people more choices on the ballot (this year) is more likely to hurt Mr. Biden.
In a paragraph likely to sound familiar to most IPR readers, the author of the NYT article, Rebecca Davis O’Brien, states:
Gaining access to the presidential ballot is a complicated and expensive . . . Laws vary from state to state, with some requiring merely a fee or a few thousand signatures, and others requiring tens of thousands of signatures gathered under tight deadline pressure, along with other administrative hurdles.
Also see:
Democratic Party escalates efforts to block third parties from US presidential ballot, by Jacob Crosse, published at the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). This article includes a quotation from Joseph Kishore, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP)’s candidate for POTUS who states, in part:
I condemn and oppose the Democrats’ “all-out war” on third parties and independent candidates. The SEP supports the right to appear on the ballot for all independent and third party candidates, including the SEP campaign as well as the campaigns of Jill Stein, Cornel West and others. . . The Democrats’ “all-out war” also exposes the pretense that it is defending democracy against the fascist Trump. When the Democrats talk about the “right to vote,” what they really mean is the right to choose one of two representatives of the corporate-financial oligarchy.
The full text of the NYT, NBC, and WSWS articles can be found at the links above.
The Media Release/Fundraising letter received by IPR earlier today was not immediately apparent on the Kennedy24 website, and so is reproduced in full below.
IPR readers with evidence of media bias, especially regarding coverage of Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Socialist Equity and other Party candidates, as well as No Labels, the Kennedy campaign, and others, are encouraged to post same in the comments below.
Also see related prior IPR coverage at:
400-days-out-what-is-the-current-status-of-the-third-party-threat-if-any
DC War Machine Turns On Us, KENNEDY 24
Did you read the alarming news?
According to NBC News, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and shady Republican-leaning groups are strategizing to sabotage third-party candidates in the 2024 presidential election by any means necessary.
Their number #1 target is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Because of Kennedy’s incredible polling numbers, these political entities are willing to spend millions of dollars on lawyers and ads to limit your choices for President. They are afraid a strong independent candidate will spoil their chances of winning, so they would rather not give voters a chance to vote for RFK Jr.
RFK Jr. isn’t running for President to “spoil” the election. He is running to win the White House and heal America. He scares the establishment parties, because he seeks to hold government agencies responsible for their action and inaction.
These monopolistic and dirty political tactics to keep RFK Jr. off of the ballot deprive “We the People” of a real choice in November. The American people deserve debates on the greatest issues Americans face.
Right now, America is struggling with existential challenges, including $75 billion spent on a proxy war against Russia in the Ukraine–which is hammering the Middle Class economically. Instead of an economy based on industrial production, our economy is based on speculation, and the U.S. dollar, once the envy of the world, is on track to collapse.
Add to that the very troubling statistic that more than half of all Americans can’t access $1,000 if faced with a crisis. And for younger generations, it is all but impossible to afford a home.
Kennedy’s strong national poll numbers reflect Americans’ dissatisfaction with the corrupt two-party system.
Team Kennedy cannot overstate how severe these attacks from the political establishment are about to become. They have endless resources to conduct a widespread smear and legal assault against RFK Jr.
Help Team Kennedy Fight back against the politics of cynicism and corruption.
The unwavering generosity of friends like you has been invaluable to Team Kennedy. Please stand with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today before the Political Establishment succeeds and keeps him out of the race.
We need help fighting against the smears and getting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on every ballot, including yours.
Team Kennedy
TeamKennedy.com
- NOTE: Direct contribution buttons/links have been removed from the above text.
Independent Political Report is here to give Third Parties the fair coverage theydo not receive form most main-stream news sources.
Indeed, I recall that only a few years ago, the best coverage some third parties received was from Russia Times, RT.com, even though the Russian dictator is unlikely to be happy with the Russian Libertarian Party.
I wrote about this to a CNN reporter earlier in the year. I still haven’t heard back.
When you are in minor parties, most of your exposure comes from a handful of alternative news sources. It’s hard to grow when you are pushed into a niche echo chamber.
It seems rather curious that all the attention is being given to parties or organizations that will supposedly appeal to Biden voters. I can understand Democrats being concerned about any excuse NOT to vote for Biden since he is clearly not the man he was a decade or so ago. But just as few want to vote for Biden the perception is they can’t vote against him because that means Trump. I disagree. No Labels could put a ticket in the field that would appeal to those who just can’t bring themselves to vote for either presumptive major party nominee. If the ticket is well balanced enough it could attract many Democratic and Republican voters as well as independents. Let’s see if they are up to the challenge.