Ron Paul, the Media, and the Web

The mainstream media have largely ignored Ron Paul's presidential bid, until now. But Paul supporters are using the Web to circumvent the media.

Follow this link to the original source: "Ron Paul big on 'Net, but media don't notice"

COMMENTARY:
"Who's Ron Paul?" Undoubtedly many Ron Paul supporters have been asked that question repeatedly when their bumper stickers or signs are observed by passersby, or when they proactively bring up Ron Paul to others. But this writer believes that this question is going to be heard less and less often.

The reason for the question, despite the viability of the candidate, is because of the refusal of the mainstream media, until now at least, to treat Ron Paul as a serious contender. And the reason the question will be heard less and less often is largely because of the power of a new tool — the Internet — to get word out. In a nutshell, Ron Paul supporters have been using the Internet to circumvent the major media, and this end around play is already forcing the media to take more notice of their candidate.

One media voice who noticed is syndicated columnist Clarence Page. In fact, Page has noticed not only Ron Paul's presence on the Web but his lack of presence in the traditional media. "Of all the interesting little fish swimming beneath the currents of the major candidates in this presidential campaign season, none is making waves as surprising as those kicked up by Rep. Ron Paul," Page observed in his column entitled "Ron Paul big on the 'Net, but media don't notice" in the Chicago Tribune. "The Texas Republican, who embraces a libertarian point of view, has been riding an unimpressive 2 percent in the polls, but if the presidential election were held in cyberspace, Paul would probably win hands down."

Page continued: "Paul's supporters flood online polls, such as the unscientific survey ABC News invited viewers to join after the Republican debate last Sunday. Yet, you could barely find the Texas doctor in the network's after-debate coverage, despite the vigorous applause he ignited with his call for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq."

The results of that ABC survey should raise eyebrows. As this is being written (Friday morning, Aug. 10), Ron Paul had 41,981 votes out of 62,977 cast, or about two-thirds of the total vote. Coming in second in that survey was Mitt Romney, with a mere 4,637 votes. Yes, the survey is unscientific; yes, Ron Paul supporters do "flood online polls." But even with "flooding," one does not get 41,981 votes in an online poll without motivated and committed support. Ron Paul may not enjoy two-thirds support of the public at large, but this writer finds it inconceivable that his support is a mere one or two percent as the professional pollsters claim.

Generally speaking, when the media refer to the Ron Paul cyberspace phenomenon, they seem to treat Paul's cyber supporters as if they are virtual realities who do not exist in the real world. Of course, they are not virtual. They are real, and the media do not have to look hard to find them in the real world. The video below, for example, shows a number of them voicing their support for Ron Paul outside the Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa. It also shows the media bias in downplaying their presence:

Media Bias and Ron Paul
But Ron Paul's support will be noticed more and more. The Des Moines Register recently noted that even though Ron Paul "barely registers in the polls," and even though at age 71 "he is the oldest candidate in the race for the White House," he nonetheless attracted "200-plus Council Bluffs supporters" consisting "mostly of college students and young families."

"Paul said he's received tremendous support from young people," the Des Moines Register reported. And it quoted Ron Paul saying, "Parents will say, 'The kids see you on the Internet and watched your videos and got us involved.' "

The Des Moines Register also quoted Paul saying: "Our message is true and clean, and that is to defend the Constitution of the United States." That message is attractive to many Americans, regardless of age. Yet in the past other presidential candidates also tried to run on that message but did not get the traction Ron Paul now appears to be getting. Why the difference? As already indicated, a big reason for the difference (though admittedly not the only reason) is the opportunity the Internet now provides for circumventing the major media and reaching fellow citizens with the freedom message. Using the Internet to spread the freedom message is something that all freedom-loving Americans should be doing, regardless of whether or not they are Ron Paul supporters.

And now a footnote: The above commentary was written one day before the Republican straw vote in Ames, Iowa, on August 11. I have no idea how Ron Paul will do — except that it is unimaginable to me that Paul will only get the one or two percent the media claim he has. More likely is that a few professional pundits will be surprised.