Hello everyone,

Thank you all for continuing to share and support this petition. Within the last couple of days, I have composed and sent an e-mail to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The message reads as follows:

To whom it may concern,

I am Ashton Stowell, a college student, future attorney, and creator of the "Get Joe Rogan to Moderate the 2020 Presidential Debate" petition on change.org. (http://chng.it/JHYLK8Rh The petition has amassed over 210,000 signatures, 880,000 page views, and 85,000 shared posts on social media. News outlets such as NBC Bay Area, Yahoo Finance, The Daily Dot, and more, have featured our story in their publications. There have also been various politicians, political commentators, and content creators, who have supported this petition.

In recent years, Americans (and foreigners abroad) have increasingly grown disenchanted with large news corporations such as Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. Currently, the vibrant and productive political discourse that is vital to the identity of the United States of America has migrated from the news channels on television to independent media creators on the internet. Broadcasts such as The Young Turks, The Daily Wire, and The Joe Rogan Experience, have increasingly become the predominant arena for healthy political discourse. The distrust of mainstream news corporations stems from a shift in public opinion concerning large news corporations in the political realm. With the exception of James Hoge of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1976, every single moderator for the presidential and vice-presidential debate has come from a mainstream news corporation. We believe that nominating (or offering the position to) someone who comes from a non-corporate background would be fitting for the societal shift away from large news corporations as the definitive source for political information and conversation. 

Any individual that should be considered for the position of the presidential debate moderator must possess a record of seeking the truth rather than succumbing to partisan bias. Throughout the life of The Joe Rogan Experience, Mr. Rogan has displayed that he has no ties to any political parties but instead is concerned with the transmission of ideas concerning important topics. Mr. Rogan also has experience interviewing both progressive and conservative thinkers. Figures such as Andrew Yang (D), Tulsi Gabbard (D), Bernie Sanders (D), Kyle Kulinski (D), Gary Johnson (L), Benjamin Shapiro (R), and Candace Owens (R), have all appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. The viewership, public interest, and conversation around the presidential debate would be amplified if the Commission on Presidential Debates offered Mr. Rogan such an important role in the debate process. We see this as an opportunity for the Commission on Presidential Debates to show Americans that they: A.) Understand the current cultural movement away from corporate media and towards independent figures. And B.) Recognize the benefit of having a moderator who is not affiliated with large news corporations, who are often perceived as having ulterior political motives.
 
If possible, I would love to continue this conversation with a representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates. Thank you for reading this letter, I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Ashton R. Stowell

We will update you if we receive a response from the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). While we know it is unlikely that the CPD will offer such a position to Joe Rogan, we do think that the movement we have all been a part of has been important regardless of the outcome. Through your signatures and support, you have given a voice to the many Americans who wish to move away from corporate media and its relationship to American politics. Through your involvement, you have amplified the message that promotes independent media creators over the establishment that is entrenched in old money and politics.