Take A Look Around

So, about that Ames straw poll...

Michele Bachmann, hometown hero and newest darling of the Teavangelical right, won with 4,823 votes. Ron Paul, 12-term congressman and godfather of the Tea Party came in second with 4,671 votes. Tim Pawlenty came in a distant third with 2,293 votes (and then promptly quit the race). You'd imagine then that the prevailing narrative would be "Bachmann and Paul show the Tea Party's strength!" or something along those lines.

Nope.

Instead you got articles like this:

Based on what is known today, the Republican nominee for President is almost certainly one of the following, in alphabetical order: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) or former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.). These three individuals solely constitute the first tier.

It's ok, though, the article does mention Ron Paul a few paragraphs later (after addressing no-shot filler candidates Rick Santorum and Herman Cain):

But what to say about Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who narrowly finished second to Bachmann in Ames? With his enigmatic libertarian views and advanced age (for a presidential candidate), he will not be the Republican nominee, but he is better funded and better organized this time around. It’s not clear who his candidacy hurts most or when it is likely to end, though it doesn't look like he'll drop out before the Iowa Caucuses.

What a jerk! How dare someone of advanced age and libertarian views run for president! Why won't he just quit already? Everyone knows he WON'T be the nominee!

Ron Paul being ignored by the media is nothing new. They could hide behind his poor numbers in '08, but not this year where he's actually a top tier candidate.

It's actually so bad, the media itself has noticed:

Roger Simon on Reliable Sources

Roger Simon's column

Politico story

Examiner story

The Daily Show opening segment from last night (8/15/11)

This is so typical of the society we live in. Instead of having an open dialogue where ideas are free to stand on their own merits, the media uses their power to tell us what to think and who to vote for. O! Benevolent shepherd yea enlighten us! If Ron Paul was really that crazy wouldn't the better strategy be to shine a spotlight on his views so that we can all see his negative aspects? Wouldn't a free society welcome the chance to debate opposing viewpoints - because, in fact, if they are wrong everyone will see how wrong they are?

By stifling his voice all the elites have done is lend credibility to the conspiracy theories; what are they afraid of?

Let's be clear. Ron Paul isn't advocating imperialistic expansionist policies, he isn't advocating discrimination and racism, he isn't advocating a neo-Nazi ideology worthy of contempt and indignation. No, he's championing the cause of personal freedom and economic liberty. By censoring Ron Paul, the mainstream elite are really betraying their true intentions. By censoring Ron Paul, the mainstream elite are digging their own grave.

Don't Go Off Wandering

So, the GOP Debate was awesome. TPaw and Bachmann were standing right next to each other, staring each other down as they re-hashed all of their old Minny beefs. Great stuff. TPaw then made fun of Romney for being rich. That was awesome. Newt name-dropped Reagan multiple times. Apparently, Newt also hates communist spies - a lot - which is also awesome. And then there's Santorum who whined his way into more time on air, and that was less awesome. Santorum used his bogarted time wisely, though, by attacking the good Doctor Paul. Smart move for him, bad for RP. Santorum wins on hardcore christian conservative social issues and is thus labeled "fringe" or "extreme" but by punching up at RP - and multiple times, too - he drags RP back down to his level. Bad timing, it's just when RP is on the verge of legitimacy. The mainstream was bending his way and he invested a ton into Iowa. Of course he'll never be respected by the establishment, but they have to appease the mob and the mob is quasi-with him. But so long as RP is stuck with the "fringe" label he's easier to dismiss and ignore.