Gary Johnson Launches Campaign for “End the Drug War” Ad
By Chad Peace on 08/22/2012 in 2012, campaign, campaign ads, drug policy, election, gary johnson, libertarian, libertarian party, presidential, solutions, war on drugs with 1 CommentRead Time: 3 - 4 minutes
Photo: Gage Skidmore
Up against the billion dollar campaigns of Obama and Romney, the Gary Johnson campaign is pushing for a grassroots cash injection on the fundraising platform “Social Teeth.” The goal is to raise $50,000 in support of a “Gary Johnson will End the Drug War” ad where he compares the current War on Drugs to prohibition and questions why a president who has admitted to smoking himself is committed to a war the makes it criminal.
The Johnson campaign says they will use the ad for:
Network and Cable Television: Target local networks in swing states for networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox, with a focus on high-viewership primetime television. Supplement with exposure in targeted local cable networks like Comedy Central, MTV, and ESPN.
As the first post on “Campaign Critics,” I am not suggesting that this is a bad advertisement, a bad fundraising platform, or even a bad message, but the efficacy of an advertisement from the Johnson campaign will get the most “bang for its buck” not by convincing libertarian-leaning swing voters that only a vote for Johnson will help end the War on Drugs, but by appealing to the vast majority of Americans from all political spheres that a vote for Johnson is the only alternative to the empty political debate that prevents issues like the drug war from ever really being considered.
Few people will share an ad about ending the drug war with their grandma, their parents, or openly on their social networks. Doing so might lead others to the obvious (but often wrong) conclusion about your lifestyle and/or politics. But cut to the core of the general dissatisfaction of Americans, and you might just find an avenue to reach many more voters not because you have convinced someone, but because they want to share information with their social groups that they already agreed with.
With that, here is my two cents for an advertisement script:
Title: 3 Reasons, 2 Parties, 1 Solution
(1) On-screen Title: The Patriot Act and “Liberty”
a. Imagery: Man with tape over mouth, TSA patdown, etc…
b. Johnson Voiceover: 12 years is enough time for the Patriot Act. If it doesn’t end now, will it ever?
c. On screen text: Bush authored, Obama Extended.
(2) On-screen Title: Federal Marijuana Regulation and “Freedom”
a. Imagery: Elderly with doctors and drug cartels
b. Johnson Voiceover: Federal government trumping state law. $75 billion in lost tax revenue. Turning doctors into criminals.
c. On screen text: What started with Nixon, persists under Obama
(3) On-screen Title: War and “Peace”
a. Imagery: Dead civilians in the street. Children crying at feet of injured. Map of wars we have fought in last 10 years.
b. Johnson voiceover: We’ve spent over 1.3 trillion on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. The lives that have been shattered are priceless.
c. On screen text: Both parties favor bullets over diplomacy
3 Reasons: Cool screenshot of words with imagery: Liberty, Freedom, Peace
2 Parties: Bush and Obama shaking hands
1 Solution: Gary Johnson, “I’m the libertarian candidate, but I’m the people’s representative.”
Here’s the “End the War on Drugs” ad from the Johnson campaign:
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1 Comment
Malcolm Kyle
08.23.2012
@Malcolm Kyle
Prohibition has cruelly ruined the lives of millions of peaceful and productive citizens while bankrolling the most evil people on the planet. Prohibition has stagnated the normal economy while allowing criminal enterprises to control an untaxed thriving underground economy worth over 300,000 million dollars. By it’s emphasis on the eradication of marijuana/hemp we have also been denied the most workable and logical solutions to a number of growing problems, be they medicinal, industrial, chemical, or commercial.
According to the CATO Institute, ending prohibition would save an annual $41 billion of expenditure while generating an estimated $46 billion in tax revenues.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/DrugProhibitionWP.pdf
Thanks to Prohibition, we now have a far higher percentage of our own citizens locked in cages than any other nation on the whole planet. Apart from the fact that these extra prisoners are not contributing economically to society, it also costs 50,000 dollars per annum to incarcerate them. Additionally, their families often go on government assistance, leaving the average tax payer to pick up the bill. Their kids may also be taken into care, or raised by foster parents—again with our money. Now add to all this: the court costs, jail costs, and the salaries of all those people that have to deal with the enforcement of prohibition—like police officers, judges and public defenders—and you’ll start to get a fair idea of why “Black Thursday” (October 24, 1929) happened during the period of another of our great experiments: Alcohol Prohibition (1919-1933)
* The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
* 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population at year-end 2009.
* 2,292,133 adults were incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and county jails at year-end 2009—pproximately 1% of US adults.
* Additionally, 4,933,667 adults at year-end 2009 were on probation or parole.
* In 2009, 7,225,800 adults were under correctional supervision (probation,parole, or incarcerated)—Approximately 3.1% of adults in the U.S. resident population.
Chart Of The Day: Federal Drug Prisoners
http://tinyurl.com/csfvb9n
During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich criminals and corrupt politicians. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education, etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally, the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?