For many months I have tried to be fair and ahead of my colleagues in the media in giving serious treatment to Ron Paul as a candidate, his campaign as a campaign, and his movement as a movement. Something is happening. There is a widening public interest in the Paul campaign, a passionate support from his followers, a professionalism from his campaign managers, and growing, though not yet sufficient, respect from the major media..
For the next few weeks, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney will be calling each other names and questioning each other's conservatism, which just might open the door for Ron Paul to charge through the gap and win the Iowa caucus. If he doesn't win, I predict a strong second.
I have suggested for some time that Paul's organization in Iowa is stronger than pundits realize, the loyalty of his followers is deeper and his performance in Iowa will surpass his numbers in the polls. Recently I have added emphasis to the well-managed Paul campaign and the strength of his ads.
Today I will add two additional factors. First, many younger voters support Paul, and many of them have cellphones, not landline phones, and are not picked up in polls. Second, while Gingrich and Romney attack each other, Ron Paul not only looks better, but there is now a growing "protest vote" that might go to Paul because GOP voters are fed up with both Romney and Gingrich and the insiderism they represent
Friday, December 9, 2011
'Widening Public Interest in Paul Campaign'
The Hill's Brent Budowsky writes:
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Spot on. Although I'm curious as to why NOBODY in the media has acknowledged Ron Paul's front-runner status for the entire campaign. I mean, everyone knows that the telephone polls used by the mainstream media are trivial to manipulate, so it's easy for the media to make Ron Paul look like he doesn't have support, but how can you possibly ignore all the straw poll wins? The straw poll is a MUCH better indicator of actual support in a real election, since it involves people feeling strongly enough to get off their couches and go somewhere to cast their vote. Anyone can sit on their couch, answer the phone, and tell a pollster that they are voting for someone, but straw-poll voters are actually *doing it*.
ReplyDeleteAnd who wins the most straw polls? Ron Paul by a HUGE margin. I'd say Ron Paul has been the front-runner the whole time, despite the media and the GOP establishment bending over backwards to try to marginalize him. Newsflash - it's not working!
Yes Brent, a voice in the wilderness, but
ReplyDelete"...The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is reporting today that the “secret letter” sent to Prime Minister Putin by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda contains a warning that United States President Barack Obama has issued an executive-level “kill order” against US Congressman Ron Paul over fears this charismatic politician, who many believe could capture the Republican Presidential 2012 nomination, is about to expose to all Americans what can only be described as the largest mass theft in human history. The “kill order” is a metaphor for silencing down congressman Ron Paul in the mass media as if he doesn’t exist..."
Gingrich the Rothschild puppet is still their pick.
Not sure media coverage will ever be sufficient....even if Ron Paul makes it to the general election. However, a Ron Paul victory in Iowa will definitely throw egg on the media's face.
ReplyDeleteThe average Joe may wonder why he's only hearing about two candidates, and not Ron Paul.
I personally wonder how the media will spin a Ron Paul Iowa win...Will they try to make the Iowa caucuses seem irrelevant?
Possibly.
But what happens if an Iowa win catapults into a NH win?
I have yet to see a story on Ron Paul that does not show considerable positive response in the comments. Further, he is making good ground in the landline poll showings. The problem as I see it is that most of the establishment media is still stuck in the late-90s and early 2000s, so they are entirely missing what's going on in the new media. But, if you pay attention to both, you realize that RP is making great headway in BOTH!
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at local polling within early voting states (the straws), RP is winning fantastically. When you look at old school landline polls, he's polling in the top tier. When you look at what people are talking about on Twitter and Facebook, RP is #1 (not to mention online polls).
It seems to me that the internet, with its decentralized nature, is both ushering in a new media, as well as new ideas. I think that not only is Ron Paul instrumental in this shift, but he is also going to benefit greatly from it in his showing in Iowa.
To write off or disregard the power of the internet media in today's day and age is synonymous with political suicide-- it's a truly free market of ideas. I guess that would explain why Ron Paul is so successful in this market of information.