The media, in typical fashion, had been mostly dismissive of the young looking Libertarian. But after the Democrat and Republican used their time to bash each other on stage, the media was reminded that there is a better option. Now, they are giving Sarvis equal footing and plenty of coverage. Sarvis has been doing interviews around the state everyday…all day.

The commercial and the media coverage have helped propel Sarvis to a head turning 12% in the polls. In some counties Sarvis is polling in the high 20′s! That’s in a race where the other two candidates are spending millions of dollars a week in radio and TV ads.

And we’re not talking about some half-baked internal polling. These numbers are coming from the big boys – CNN, Politico and others.

Click on the image above to read the full Politico story.

There will be one last debate in Virginia and the organizers will decide tomorrow if, in their opinion, Sarvis has met the threshold to be included in it. Sarvis has already met at least two of the requirements 1) Be on the ballot 2) get at least 10% in recognized polls. The third key area of focus is direct public support of the campaign.

To show they have the direct support of the public, and to fund a statewide airing of the “Open-Minds and open for business” ad, the Sarvis campaign has launched a $10,000 on 10/10 fundraiser. As this email is going out, the campaign fundraiser has already raised over $8,000! Let’s help push them far over the top – Donate Here Today!

You can also join Robert Sarvis for Governor online at www.RobertSarvis.com and on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

PS, the Libertarian National Campaign Committee has been a proud supporter of the Robert Sarvis for Governor campaign since day one. They have shown, throughout the campaign, that the team is serious and dedicated not only to achieving ballot access for the Virginia Libertarian Party, but also to building a positive image of the party in the hearts and minds of Virginia voters.

I encourage you to help support this groundbreaking campaign!

In Liberty,

Evan McMahon, Executive Director
Libertarian National Campaign Committee

Thirty-one percent (31%) say “the economy” is “the most important problem facing this country today.”  The second most pressing issue is “jobs,” coming in at 26 percent.

Combined, 57 percent of Americans cite jobs or the economy as the issue most in need of attention.  Immigration garnered only three percent.  Drugs, war and climate change did not even register on voter’s list of concerns.

The poll also found:

* “Seniors as well as Americans in households earning less than $30,000 annually join blacks in putting the greatest emphasis on unemployment and jobs as the nation’s top problem. By contrast, middle- and high-income Americans and those aged 18 through 64 are more likely to name ‘the economy.’”

* “Blacks focus more than either whites or Hispanics on unemployment as the nation’s top problem. However, whites worry more than blacks or Hispanics about the federal budget deficit…”

* “About 10% of adults in every major age group mention the federal budget deficit as the top problem, but it is of particular concern to Republicans (16%), adults earning $75,000 or more (12%), whites (11%), and men (11%). Relatively few blacks, Hispanics, low-income Americans, or Democrats mention the issue.”

Mitt Romney has spent months selling himself to the Republican base. Now, Barack Obama is working overtime trying to re-sell himself to his base of voters age 18-29.Team Obama knows that hard times and the growing libertarian leanings of young voters will make them a more difficult target than four years ago…

…Very few of Obama’s young supporters from 2008 are likely defect to Romney. Some may not vote, and I see the possibility of others abandoning both parties and instead choosing the Libertarian candidate…

…Last week, Harvard’s Institute of Politics released an online study of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18-29. This exhaustive look at the policy priorities of First Globals finds the economy and jobs are far and away their highest concern. That data point and others show why support for Obama has slipped since 2008. They favor Obama over Romney, 43%-26%. There is an 11-point difference in Obama’s margin between those 25-29 (23 points) and those 18-24 (12 points.) Congressional Democrats have a higher approval than Republicans, 39%-25%.

However, on some key issues, majorities of First Globals are not doctrinaire liberals. The poll found less than majorities agree with liberals on   some of their most cherished beliefs.  For example: 44% agree health insurance is a right government should provide for those who can’t afford it, 43% agree with the same statement about food and shelter, 37% agree government should spend more to reduce poverty, 20% agree government spending is an effective way to economic growth and 28% agree government should do more to curb climate change even at the expense of economic growth. (That last number has to hurt environmentalists.)

Lest Republicans get too giddy at those findings, they should also know less than majorities agree with these conservative and neo-con ideals: 22% agree it’s sometimes necessary to attack potentially hostile countries rather than waiting until we are attacked, 23% are willing to give up some personal freedoms for the sake of national security, 39% agree cutting taxes is an effective route to economic growth, 24% agree we should eliminate all barriers to trade, 25% agree recent immigration has done more harm than good, 21% agree religious values should play an important role in government and 25% agree homosexuality is morally wrong.

These attitudes betraying both the traditional left and right fall generally within the bounds of libertarianism. Live and let live.  Individual responsibility is as important as collective responsibility. Avoid military interventions. Distrust both government and corporations. Protect civil liberties.

• 65 percent overall worry a great deal about gas prices; 63 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the budget deficit; 84 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the affordability of health care; 46 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 55 percent overall worry a great deal about unemployment; 61 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats agree.

• 46 percent of Americans overall worry a great deal about the size and power of the federal government; 71 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,024 U.S. adults conducted March 8 to 11, reported by The Washington Times Jennifer Harper.

Here’s what voters want to hear from you on.  So what is your campaign talking about?

Another 38 percent think the economy is becoming worse, while 22 percent say it’s staying the same.

Among independent voters the numbers are even grimmer. A whopping 48 percent say the economy is getting worse. Just 30 percent think it is getting better while 19 percent say it is staying the same.

You have the power to change that.

By supporting Libertarian candidates.

The “Libertarian Prosperity Plan” seeks to repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS, enact a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget without tax increases and repeal all corporate welfare programs and bailouts.

The Libertarian Prosperity Plan is rooted in the Libertarian Party platform and bedrock libertarian principles.

Unlike the other parties, we don’t promise tax cuts to just grab enough votes to win and then do nothing.  Elected Libertarians enact tax and spending cuts because it is what we believe in.

The Plan would:

1)    Repeal the income tax: Adopt legislation repealing the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.  Until the income tax is repealed, adopt legislation preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and enacting across-the-board income tax cuts.

2)    Adopt the Balanced Budget Amendment: Adopt a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget be balanced, and balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes.

3)    Abolish corporate welfare and bailouts: Adopt federal legislation prohibiting any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries, terminating programs that provide direct grants to businesses, eliminating programs that provide research and other services for industries and ending programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to businesses.

Only Libertarians have a plan, that they will follow up on, that frees job creators to begin investing and hiring again and curbs destructive federal spending.

Want to help put it into action?

Go here to learn more about running for office as a Libertarian.

Go here to chip in $10 or more to support Libertarians in winnable races.

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Matt Welch looks at the growing phenomenon of independent voters backing libertarian candidates in this month’s issue of Reason.

He writes, in part:

But even after the initial Iowa caucuses, exit polls showed something extraordinary: Independents are making up for the enthusiasm gap created by the declining rolls of Republicans, and they are breaking hard for the only libertarian in the race, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

The Iowa Republican caucuses had virtually the same voter turnout this year (122,000) as in 2008 (119,000), leading to many headlines like “Why the GOP Still Has an Enthusiasm Problem” (as Talking Points Memo put it). If anything, the problem for Republicans is worse than those numbers suggest.

In 2008 exit polls showed that 86 percent of Iowa caucusers self-identified as Republicans. In 2012 that share was down to 75 percent. The difference? Again, independents, whose ranks grew from 13 percent to 23 percent. And who did they favor? By more than 2 to 1, Ron Paul.

Paul received 43 percent of the independent vote, compared to 19 percent for runner-up Mitt Romney. He also led the field among those who had never previously voted in an Iowa Republican caucus (33 percent, compared to Rick Santorum’s 23 percent) and dominated among voters under 30 (48 percent to Santorum’s 23 percent)…

…The bad news for this legacy GOP is that voters have fresh memories of what big-government conservatism looks like, and they disdain it. The good news for those of us who share that disdain is that our numbers are growing.

Gallup asked Americans “where would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means you think the government should do only those things necessary to provide the most basic government functions, and 5 means you think the government should take active steps in every area it can to try and improve the lives of its citizens?”

37 percent responded with “one” or “two,” and increase of four percent who responded so in 2010.

35 percent responded with “four” or “five,” “prefer(ing) an activist government that tries in every way to improve the lives of its citizens,” a drop of one percent since 2010.  The remaining 27 percent lie in the middle, responding with “three”.

Overall, “a majority of Americans (56%) believe that government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses, while 39% hold the view that government should do more to solve the nation’s problems.”  Gallup found “independents tilt toward the ‘too much’ view.”

A deeper look at the polling numbers reveals more good news for Libertarians.

When asked to describe their own political views, 18 percent called themselves “pure liberal,” 19 percent said “populist” and 10 percent were “undesignated.”

Leading the pack, 26 percent said “libertarian” and 27 percent said “pure conservative.”

“Libertarian” and “populist” were the only two labels to increase in popularity since last year.  “Libertarian” is at its most popular since Gallup began asking the question in 1993, and it the only label to reach its highest level of popularity in the current poll.

Additionally, the 50 percent of Americans who say there is “too much” “government regulation of business and industry” is the highest share recorded since Gallup began asking the question in 1993 — a stunning rejection of the conventional wisdom.  The 57 percent who say government has “too much” power is the second-highest recorded and topped only by the 59 percent who said so in 2010.

The poll’s final question asked “would you rather have more government services if that meant more taxes, less government services in order to reduce taxes, or services and taxes about as we have them now?”  56 percent preferred less government and taxes, a vast increase of 16 percent since the initial 1993 poll recorded a response of 40 percent.

The 20 percent who preferred “more services/more taxes” in 1993 has dropped to 16 percent in 2011.  The 35 percent who wanted “services and taxes as now” has dropped to 26 percent this year.

Shouldn’t Libertarian candidates have the tools and training to reach out to these millions of libertarian voters?

Go here to chip in $10 or more to support Libertarian candidates.

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Forty-eight percent (48%) of Americans would consider voting for a third-party candidate who is economically conservative and socially liberal.  In a tightly, contested three-way race a candidate would only need between 35 and 40 percent to win.

The poll also finds:

* 57 percent say reducing government spending would help the economy.  Only 20 percent say it would hurt.

* 77 percent support a cap on federal government spending, 62 percent “strongly” support one.

* 62 percent support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

* 57 percent say national debt reduction measures should focus mainly on spending cuts.

* 61 percent are willing to see reductions to their own current or future Social Security benefits if it means reforms guaranteeing they would be paid back what they paid into the system.

* 59 percent are willing to see reductions to their own current or future Medicare benefits if it means reforms guaranteeing they would be paid back what they paid into the system.

* 54 percent support allowing workers to opt out of Social Security.

* 56 percent support allowing workers to opt out of Medicare

Reason-Rupe also finds the poll suggest most American misunderstand how Medicare and Social Security work, thinking it is a secure, personal account with paid funds reserved for them, instead of the giant pot into which current payments are given to current payees, with no guarantee of benefits for payment made.

The poll can be found in the December 2011 issue of Reason magazine.

The poll, conducted Aug. 9-18 polled a sample of 1,200 adults and has a margin of plus or minus three percent.

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