Jefferson wrote from Paris to Edward Carrington, whom Jefferson sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788, on the importance of a free press to keep government in check. He concludes that if he had to choose between "a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
[In response to HERE'S HOW BERNIE COULD WIN THE NOMINATION, NY Times article by Nate Cohn. This article was originally posted by Bernie's top Campaign Adviser, Tad Devine, on his Facebook page]
Trying to be elected President without many many newspapers endorsing you on their editorial pages is like trying to operate an automobile without putting in oil for the engine.
Regrettably, so many of Bernie's supporters are somewhat disorganized in general among the rank-and-file. In their "cheering section" efforts and in their almost endless "preaching to the choir," they demonstrate little political savvy about how to meet the challenges and get this job done. The right way to do all of this is called OUTREACH.
I have asked ask many to do so, but, honestly, getting many supporters to write even a short letter to the editor is overwhelmingly difficult. Maybe in the electronic media age, they find newspapers to be irrelevant, yet nothing could be further from the Truth.
Bernie's elected officials supporters, like State Senators and Reps, Mayors, former legislators, and others, have been to date silent on the Editorial pages, but that has to change if we are going to win this for Bernie! With such a flood of reader's opinions, the prior Hillary endorsements would mean little or next to nothing, ESPECIALLY if you want to see the Super Delegates turnaround. I pray someone at the top levels of the campaign is listening and that they will pass this idea along to the Senator as a vital and indispensable tactic.
When I hear someone say, "Oh, we like Bernie, but he is so old!" I remind them that Nelson Mandela was much older, and even after spending over 4 decades in that stinking South African island prison called Rokeby, debilitating to almost anyone, Mandela still made a great president, beloved all over the world, much as Bernie is loved all over the world. Aren't there some Bernie supporters who are physicians who could write a letter or op/ed testifying to his obvious great health and vigor? Maybe remind readers of Hillary's cerebral clot problems just a few years ago? These kinds of letters from M.D.'s need to be on editorial pages everywhere, to convince the fence sitters and even a few of the Hillary supporters that there is nothing to worry about Bernie's age causing medical problems.
What is the alternative to these strong recommendations, which may be ignored by a few high level strategists? If Bernie's supporters at the popular levels continue on without input to the tens of thousands of American newspapers and millions of Bernie supporters on Facebook are just going to keep clicking Like right down to the Convention? America and the world at large will lose the victory that both urgently need!
I appreciate all responses, insights, and strategies we can offer up to Bernie's Top Brass. Several powerful people should speak with Bernie, who is doing all he can to win, with his eloquence, his ideas, and his charisma.
The rest is up to his followers to carry the ball down to the goal line, to the Convention, and then on to November.
The Seattle Times wrote a great endorsement for him a little over two weeks ago, which had a huge impact in the Northwest. For Editors across America, this was an invaluable precedent. But without hundreds more other papers endorsing him in the next 75 days, he faces unnecessary difficulties in his uphill battle, as I see it right now.
Newspapers, especially editorial page editors and the editorial Board of Directors in the larger papers, always listen to their readers; it is a give and take: in the US, the readers can tell the editors who they like, and why. If the readers are silent, lackadaisical, and just too busy clicking Like on Facebook, we all lose, and there is too much at stake in our American world and in the world at large to be sanguine, lazy, and indifferent about losing our future.
[in response to: Here's How Bernie Sanders Could Win the Nomination
Defeating Hillary Clinton is not impossible at this point in the primary season, though it will be very hard. A closer look.
WWW.NYTIMES.COM|BY NATE COHN]
(Article changed on March 22, 2016 at 14:21)
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