Kanye West, Be My Running Mate, 2016 Vice President of the United States

Big money has corrupted politics. The Democratic and Republican parties will each spend billions of dollars on the presidential campaign. Our two-party system is failing. The government of the United States no longer represents the people of the United States. Now is the time to take power back from the special interests. We can fight the influence of big money in politics the same way we fought the influence of racism – stop voting for it!

I have experience as a Libertarian candidate. In 2010, I received over 100,000 votes in the race for Ohio Attorney General. I have national political experience. I serve on the Libertarian National Committee as the Region 3 Representative for Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. The Libertarian Party has ballot access in 30 states already, and is on track to get our candidates on the ballot in all 50 states in 2016. We have the political organization to get our candidates on the ballot, but we don’t have the numbers to get our candidates elected.

In 2012, Barack Obama won with 66 million votes. Mitt Romney got 61 million votes. Former Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, got 1 million votes. But there were 100 million Americans who could have voted, but did not vote. These are the people I want to represent, the 100 million non-voters. To do that, I have to convince them that I am authentic. I can do that. I have to convince them that I am different from the other politicians. I can do that, too, through my small donation campaign.

I accept campaign contributions, but only from individuals, not PACs, with a maximum total of $5 per person. That is why my campaign is titled Votes Not For Sale. A candidate always represents his largest contributors. I want to represent people who can only afford to donate up to $5.

The biggest obstacle is to convince the 100 million non-voters that they are worth representing. These 100 million are mostly people who struggle in life. These are people who know poverty, discrimination, and devaluation. They did not get far in school. They don’t have a good steady job. They know what it’s like to have to borrow money from family and friends just to pay the bills.

My mission is to convince the 100 million non-voters to believe in themselves, to stand up for themselves, to let me represent them, to use the power that is in their votes and not waste it in frustration. I don’t think I can do that alone. I can make a logical argument that comes from the brain, but I need to inspire their hearts. To do that, I have to speak the language of the heart. That is the skill of the artist. I need to find someone with that skill, who is serious about his art. That is what I saw when I heard your speech, Kanye West.

I will die for the art, for what I believe in, and the art ain’t always going to be polite. I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. This is a new mentality. We’re not going to control our kids with “brands.” We’re not going to teach hate and low self-esteem to our kids. We’re going to teach our kids that they can be something. We’re going to teach our kids that they can stand up for themselves. We’re going to teach our kids to believe in themselves. If my grandfather was here right now, he would not let me back down. I don’t know what I am going to lose after this. It doesn’t matter though, because this ain’t about me. This is about ideas. People who believe in truth. . . I have decided in 2020 to run for President.

Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe your speech was just part of the show. Maybe it was a joke. If it was, then I am sorry, I fell for it. But if it wasn’t, if you were for real, then let’s do this – for real. If you are serious that you want to run for President in 2020, there can be no better preparation than to run for Vice President in 2016. My campaign is primarily through social media, through the Internet, and through word-of-mouth grassroots networking. I don’t want your money. I don’t want your time. What I need is your voice.

This will not be easy for us. Many in my Libertarian Party won’t like it. Many in the Democratic and Republican parties won’t like it either. Nike won’t like it. I don’t know what they will try to do to us, but that doesn’t matter. It is not about us. It is about ideas. It is about believing in the truth.

I need a running mate with the power to communicate that message of self-esteem, that message of empowerment – not just for certain people, people with a certain amount of money, but for everybody. Be my running mate and we can win the Libertarian nomination and we will be on the ballot in all 50 states. Kanye West, will you step up? If your grandfather were here right now, would he let you back down?