Are the media scared of Ron Paul?
Are the media scared of Ron Paul? The Texas congressman and GOP presidential candidate believes they are.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Representative Paul ticked off the reasons that reporters should list him in the top tier of Republican wannabes. Paul noted that he did well in the Iowa straw poll, has a strong organization, and can raise money.
But news outlets routinely treat him as a hopeless case, if they mention him at all. Paul says the reason for this is fear, pure and simple.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to discuss my views because I think they鈥檙e frightened by us challenging the status quo and the establishment when it comes to foreign policy and monetary policy, the entitlement system, because my views are quite different than the other candidates鈥�,鈥� he said on Fox.
Hmm. Well, he did do well in Iowa, that鈥檚 true. And Paul has gotten a blip of coverage for that, if he hasn鈥檛 noticed. Thanks to comedian Jon Stewart scolding the "lamestreamers."
Paul had to have a pretty good organization to do well in Iowa, since straw polls essentially are tests of how well campaigns can round up supporters and bus/cajole them to the polls. And he can raise money. on file with the Federal Election Commission show him in second place in the GOP cash race behind moneybags Mitt Romney.
But 鈥渇ear鈥� might not be the right word here. (OK 鈥� maybe we鈥檙e a little leery of how Paul supporters flame our in-boxes if they deem us not sufficiently supportive.) We鈥檇 used the word 鈥減uzzled鈥� instead, as in the media are puzzled by how Paul fits into the Republican primary picture.
See, reporters like to reduce candidates to easily labeled boxes. Mr. Romney is the front-runner, Rick Perry the Southern hope, Michele Bachmann the tea party queen, and so forth. Paul does not easily fit any of these boxes.
Is he even a Republican? True, he鈥檚 conservative, with a small 鈥渃鈥� 鈥� so antitax and antigovernment spending that a few years ago, an as having the most conservative voting record of any person to have served in Congress between 1937 and 2002.
But he鈥檚 also anti-interventionist to the point where he sounds like the left wing of the Democratic Party. He鈥檚 complained that President Obama is moving too slowly in getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, and he says US national-security establishment warnings that Iran wants nuclear weapons are 鈥渨ar propaganda.鈥�
鈥淭hey just want No. 6 war. We have essentially five going on now and we鈥檙e broke, and the American people know we can鈥檛 afford any more wars,鈥� Paul told Fox on Tuesday.
Many pundits think this stance alone means Paul can鈥檛 win the GOP nomination, since many Republican voters lean hawk.
Paul has 鈥渄eep support,鈥� but his 鈥�Dennis Kucinich-esque foreign policy agenda is anathema to most Republicans,鈥� and he鈥檚 thus 鈥渘ot a credible candidate for the nomination,鈥� , an analysts at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, on the center鈥檚 鈥淐rystal Ball鈥� blog in the wake of the Iowa straw poll results.
Paul鈥檚 view that US monetary policy should be nudged back toward the gold standard is also, um, pretty unorthodox. Fellow candidate Perry just called the head of the Federal Reserve 鈥渢reasonous鈥�, however, so perhaps Paul鈥檚 economic policies will look less outside-the-mainstream by comparison.
Paul says that he鈥檚 disturbed by the how the press ignores him, but he knows how the system works, so he鈥檚 not surprised.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like I鈥檓 just trying to win and get elected. I鈥檓 trying to change the course of history,鈥� he said Tuesday.
