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CNN Election Poll Excluded Millennials And Downplayed 3rd Party Votes

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, addresses an audience of students and the public at Macalester College, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 in St. Paul, Minn. Johnson, a former two-term New Mexico governor and former Republican, is on a nationwide college tour as part of his campaign for president. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

It is now only two months until the 2016 Presidential election, and things are heating up to a fever pitch… but not exactly as one might expect.   Those of us familiar with the policies of Governor Gary Johnson and Governor Bill Weld know all too well that these policies are the runaway favorites of the majority of Americans.  We also know that the Republicans and the Democrats are doing all they can in a desperate manner to stop the American public from knowing about the Libertarian Presidential ticket.

There should be no question that Republicans and Democrats have been working together toward the same goal for decades, all while trying to fool the American public into believing they are actually different via their rhetoric.  They are very good at brewing hatred of the opposing party, and that is what keeps them in control.  This control is starting to slip from their fingers, and as always, desperate people do desperate things.

The absolute worst thing for the Republican and Democratic establishment would be the entry of another viable option.  A mature, experienced, honest, and likable team of former successful Governors who believe in reducing government, promoting individual liberty, reigning in unnecessary wars, and allowing the people to live their chosen lives in peace, with minimal interference from government.  Even worse, if this experienced team had an organized political party behind them, and has them on the ballot in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

The existence of such an option that has the ability to break the stranglehold on our nation that is held by the Democratic and Republican Parties would cause the establishment many sleepless nights.

As previously mentioned… desperate people do desperate things.

Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, the Libertarian Ticket for President and Vice President are within range of being included in the Presidential debates… the “Super Bowl of American Politics” and Trump and Clinton must be in panic mode.  With the current situation, if Johnson and Weld were in the debates, there is a reasonable chance that Johnson and Weld will win the election, and with that victory, the duopoly comes crashing down and the nation can be returned to the people.  Certainly neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party wants their power diluted, and they clearly do not want the people to once again gain control of the country.

So, how can the ground swell of the people be stopped?  Concealing information no longer seems to work, as social media is now breaking through the blockade.  The people are learning about Johnson and Weld, and they are excited at the possibility of their inclusion in the debates and a chance at a victory.

It all comes down to the debates.  The rules of the Commission for Presidential Debates have made it clear that in order to be included in the debates, a candidate must be polling at least 15% in 5 polls of their choice.  In the past, this was not a problem because pollsters did not include third party candidates at all.  Now in 2016, Johnson is being included as an afterthought, and not in the first question which only includes Trump and Clinton.  Even then, Johnson and Weld are polling in double digits.  It is obvious that if the pollsters were to include them in the first question, they would be exceeding 20%.

Now, with the demand of the people, they had to find another way to conceal the success of Johnson/Weld.  Enter the CNN Labor day poll.  Recent polls have Johnson/Weld leading the demographic of ages 18-34 in most areas.  CNN released their most recent poll showing a decrease to 7% support for the Libertarian ticket.  That didn’t look good for Johnson/Weld… until a rather obvious omission came to light.

The CNN poll included the following results for the 18-34 demographic:  N/A.  Yes, they excluded the millennials. A group of 65 Million people who are knowledgeable and open to something new. 65 million people who favor Johnson/Weld in large numbers.  65 million people who would catapult Johnson/Weld into the Presidential debates.

The reason for this exclusion was vaguely outlined by the methodology, which stated “Interviews were conducted among these subgroups, but results for groups with a sampling error larger than +/-8.5 percentage points are not displayed and instead are denoted with ‘NA.’” The poll was apparently just large enough that the sample of 35-49 year-olds hit an 8.5% margin of error, skirting the methodological rules set by the poll by being just low enough to be included. The margins of error within this poll were already too high, but the fact that the poll excluded nearly a third of the voter base from its calculation renders the results a mathematical dishonesty.

Since I am not privy to who made this rather despicable choice, I can only speculate as to the reasons why.  I will not accuse anyone specifically, but will pose the following points.

I will not accuse anyone of anything; just present these facts to you for you to arrive at your own conclusions.  I will say, without a doubt, I smell a rat.  And you should too.

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Steve Kerbel is a businessman, author, and former Libertarian Party candidate for President of the United States.
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