From: AdmrlLocke@aol.com Sent: Monday, March 15, 1999 5:37 PM Subject: GrammNet: Forbes to Be 1st to Annouce Candidacy on Internet Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged GrammNet Issue 3/15/99 Dear Friend, I'm pleased to be able to provide you with inside information from Steve Forbes: He will be the first presidential candidate to officially announce his candidacy on the Internet. He will make the announcement tomorrow, Tuesday, March 16, 1999, at 8:00 A.M., EST on his new web page, located at http://www.forbes2000.com/. (Don't include the final period after the slash.) He advised people not to try to log on right at 8, but to wait a few minutes so as to avoid overloading the web server. The web site will soon include a schedule of Forbes appearances, a sign-up for volunteers, and a means of accepting campaign contributions. While Forbes doesn't need contributions to fund his campaign, he believes strongly that his campaign needs the financial support of individual voters in order to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the American people. The web site will also allow Internet surfers to engage in e-chats with Forbes. Forbes will also be the first presidential candidate to appear online with America Online (AOL), when he does an AOL Online chat later (1PM Eastern) tomorrow. Poking fun at Al Gore, who recently claimed (falsely) to have "invented the Internet," Forbes said that his campaign would be light-years ahead of all others in terms of Internet campaigning, "even though I didn't invent the Internet." :) His current schedule includes the following: Tuesday, March 16, 1999, 7AM Eastern: Today Show interview 8AM : Internet Candidacy Announcement 1PM : AOL Live Chat Tuesday-Wednesday : Visit New Hampshire with wife and eldest daughter Wednesday-Thursday : Visit Iowa (no truth to the rumor he's coming here just to see me!) ;) Forbes is best known for his efforts to replace the current progressive income tax with a flat rate of 17 percent which kicks in above $19,000 for single taxpayers and $36,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. He also supports privatization of Social Security (which has been done successfully now in eight countries, and is backed by both Cato Institute and The Heritage Foundation), and was instrumental in getting the legislature of New Jersey, in which he lives, to override Governor Christine Todd Whitman's veto of a law banning partial-birth abortions. Forbes said his campaign theme will be "A New Birth of Freedom." He argued that freedom means the following policies: Education: Freedom of parents to choose the schools their children will attend. Health Care: Freedom of patients to choose their doctors. Social Security: Freedom of citizens to save for their own retirement, rather than have their income taken to pay current retirees, as the federal Social Security system currently does. Taxes: Freedom from the IRS and from a tax code which is just a power-play by professional politicians and bureaucrats in Washington. Birth: Freedom includes the freedom to be BORN too. He noted that when discussing issues like abortion, a calm, dignified approach works best and gains respect even from those who do not (yet) agree with you. Overseas: We must defend our freedom, by rebuilding our hollow military, providing leadership to replace the current drift in foreign policy, and creating a missile defense system. You can contact the Forbes campaign by telephone toll-free at 877-837-8383, or by mail at Forbes 2000 209 Madison Street Suite 400 Alexandria VA 22314. In case you're interested, I'm leaning towards supporting Forbes, but have not yet made my final determination. I like Forbes' bold plans on changing the tax and social security systems, as well as his serious activism in favor of a ban on partial-birth abortions. Sincerely, David B. Levenstam ? in 2000 ;)