"LET PETER DEBATE" CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

According to public reports from the League of Women Voters, the sponsors of the next several recall debates have decided to exclude Peter from participating. In fact, they have apparently set a threshold for participation that includes Arianna Huffington based on her recent 3% poll results, but that excludes Peter
because he polled at 2%. Suspicious, huh?

But the Greens are not sitting idly by. Tonight on state and national TV, Peter plans to make clear his disgust at the exclusionary tactics of the supposedly non-partisan media and debate sponsors and announce a MoveOn.org-style web-based campaign of citizen letters-to-the media calling for Peter to be included in
upcoming debates.
...................................

SEND A MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA OUTLETS

Dear Camejo Supporter:

Peter Camejo has made history. Through his visible run as the Green Party candidate for Governor of California last fall, Peter earned the reputation of a serious candidate and won a place in ALL the major televised debates in the California recall campaign -- so far. The inclusion of independent candidates so improved the quality of the debates that even the mainstream press commented positively on it.

Now, in a shocking reversal, the League of Women Voters and various media outlets have decided to lock Peter Camejo out of the remaining three debates in these last two weeks of the recall election. This outrageous action betrays the mission of the League and the California voters whom they are committed to serve. At a time when our democracy is under attack and the credibility of elections are widely questioned, this action by the debate sponsors must be challenged. We need to encourage confidence that our democracy is genuine and that our elections are fair by including Peter Camejo and the Green perspective in all debates.

Excluding Peter Camejo from the debates is also inconsistent with the will of the people. In the last gubernatorial election 69% of Californians said they wanted the Greens in the debate. In the current debate two-thirds of the people surveyed said they had not definitively made up their minds.

Here's a letter to the media. You are welcome to send this letter or modify it to raise the issues you believe are important.

Issues that you may want to consider raising include:

1) Peter Camejo represents the third largest political party in California. The Green Party has doubled its number of registered voters in six years. During that same time period, California Democrats lost one million registered voters and Republicans lost 300,000. Voters deserve to hear the message of the fastest growing party in California. The Green Party has over 60 elected officials throughout California, and has received more than 5% in statewide elections The Green Party has state parties in almost every state and in 130 countries.

2) Peter Camejo is the only candidate putting forward a fair tax plan that will solve California's economic crisis. As he points out, if the richest five percent of Californians paid the same percentage of their income in state and local taxes as the average Californian (9%) not only would there be no budget deficit but there would be a surplus - funds for much needed programs would be available.

3) Peter Camejo is the only candidate talking about fair elections. He says, "Bring free elections to California!!!" He is a vocal advocate for Instant Run-off Voting - indeed a bill has just been introduced in Sacramento for IRV in California elections - and he advocates proportional representation - where diverse views are represented if they get a certain percentage of the vote. Either of these alternatives would resolve the "spoiler factor" and free people to vote their preference and not their fear. The public deserves to hear about these policies that would make our democracy more vibrant, representative and fair.
Sixty-nine percent of people say they want the Green Party candidate in debates according to a poll taken by KXTV in Sacramento during last year's gubernatorial campaign.

4) It is absurd to include Arianna Huffington in debates while excluding Peter Camejo. The most recent poll, taken by the Public Policy Institute of California has
Peter at higher levels of support than Arianna and he received over 5% in the last gubernatorial election and received 400,000 votes.

5) The standards for who is included in debates are inconsistent ranging from showing 3 % to 15% in polls over the last two gubernatorial races. And, they are based on polling that under represents minorities, especially Hispanics, and youth. The debate standards seem designed with an end in mind - the sponsors decide who they want to include and then set a limit to exclude those they do not want. A recent poll showed 67% of the people have still not definitively made up their minds as to how they will vote.

This is not the time to silence voices - voters need to hear what the candidates think so they can make an informed choice.
http://www.votecamejo.org/letters/letter2.php


www.votecamejo.org/

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...and utter fool. Go the fuck home, asswipe.