Charles Jay announces for Libertarian Party's Vice-Presidential Nomination

Publisher, investigative writer, activist, handicapper, and gambling advocate CHARLES JAY has announced his intention to seek the Libertarian Party's 2004 Vice-Presidential nomination. His announcement was originally made on the Libertyworks libertarian discussion group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyworks). Jay, a graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.) who currently resides in Elkhart, IN, is editor-publisher of TotalAction.com, a sports and gambling portal site that serves visitors from 42 different countries, and also handles national publicity accounts for selected clients.

ELKHART, IN (PRWEB) January 28, 2004 --Publisher, investigative writer, activist, handicapper, and gambling advocate CHARLES JAY has announced his intention to seek the Libertarian Party's 2004 Vice-Presidential nomination. Of course, the Libertarian Party differs from other political parties in that there are separate nominating procedures for both presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

His announcement was originally made on the Libertyworks libertarian discussion group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyworks).

Jay, a graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.) who currently resides in Elkhart, IN, is editor-publisher of TotalAction.com, a sports and gambling portal site that serves visitors from 42 different countries, and also handles national publicity accounts for selected clients. He formerly was a television broadcaster with Prime Network, among others, and a radio talk show host, most notably on the American Radio Networks and WAXY in Miami.

He originally joined the LP in the early eighties, after Ed Clark's campaign for the presidency. Recently he rejoined the party, and has since served as an advisor to his county chair, Rick Bowen, in a run for Elkhart City Council. He will chair at least one county LP candidacy in 2004.

Jay has spent the better part of the last two years investigating the ineptitude and corruption of public officials. He gained a international reputation with his stunning series, "Operation Cleanup", an exhaustive and revealing examination of the professional boxing industry. The series, which evolved into two full-length electronic books, has exposed officials in several states, some of whom have since been "relieved" of their duties.

A fierce opponent of wasteful government spending, he has recently led a campaign to thwart a bill, sponsored by Senator John McCain, that would federalize control of boxing - legislation he considers "Ill-advised, uninformed, gratuitous, benign, inappropriate and an overly expensive undue burden for taxpayers. It's also reflective of the way McCain, supposedly a proponent of campaign finance reform, panders to special interests that have filled his coffers with money."

That fight is ongoing. McCain's bill, which was thought to be a slam dunk a year ago, has now met with opposition from Senators who have objected to it based on information Jay has uncovered.

Out of this, Jay saw a natural gravitation into the political world. "This exploration gave me a unique opportunity to watch and experience how this whole process works," he says. "Right now I'm doing what many LP members advocate, which is to work toward stopping needless government programs that spend money but accomplish little or nothing. In a sense, the experience was worth the equivalent of serving multiple terms in elective office. I intend to bring my own brand of tenacity to this campaign."

Part of that campaign will be Jay's outreach efforts to the gambling industry and its patrons. "Gamblers Autonomous" will focus on bringing members into the LP by highlighting the common ground gamblers and members of the industry have with the libertarian philosophy.

And there are other bills to fight - namely a ban on college sports betting, once again put forth by McCain, and an anti-internet gambling bill spearheaded by the other Arizona senator, John Kyl - "both of which are without merit and perhaps unconstitutional."

"My intention is to coordinate publicity through the media, direct contact through one method or another with thousands of LP members, public appearances at LP functions, and good old-fashioned activism to make some noise and get more people into this party - which is the ONLY real party."

For more information about the Charles Jay for Vice-President campaign, visit the official website at http://www.charlesjay.com, or send e-mail to charlesjay@totalaction.com.

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