In this interview, Ron Paul inadvertently coined what should be the new slogan of his campaign.“What are they afraid of?”
He was talking about the blatant suppression by the media of any positive news about his campaign. For the few somewhat principled journalists that have admitted that it is intentional, the excuse offered has been that the media ignore him because he can’t win. However, this is counterintuitive. Is it not largely media coverage that propels candidates to the “top tier” in political races? Does anyone seriously believe that even Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton would have won their respective primaries, much less the presidency, if the media had not covered their campaigns?
And this is not just a matter of ignoring Ron Paul or failing to cover him. Headlines like this one, “Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll, Pawlenty takes 3rd,” demonstrate that the media are not just ignoring Paul, they are tripping over themselves to actively suppress news of his campaign. In what other competition in any context does a headline feature the 1st and 3rd place finishers and not the 2nd? This anti-Paul campaign was so obvious to comedian Jon Stewart that he put together a hilarious (yet disturbing) lampoon of it on his show.
No, Paul’s “unelectability” is not sufficient (even if it were valid) to explain a blackout so pervasive that “ignoring the elephant in the room” is hardly a sufficient metaphor. If nothing else, Paul’s virtual tie in the Ames Straw Poll demonstrates that he is at least as electable as Michele Bachmann, whom every media outlet in the world now places in the “top tier” of Republican candidates, while at the same time going out of their way to avoid mentioning the name of the candidate who trailed her in that poll by an amount of votes that any statistician would deem “statistically insignificant.”
What are they afraid of?
There is an answer to Ron Paul’s question and he knows it as well as anyone. For any government-connected special interest, whether conservative or liberal, Paul is the grim reaper. He openly opposes it all and cannot be bought. He puts conservatives to shame for their hypocrisy about “free markets” and “small government,” while doing the same to liberals for their hypocrisy about “ending foreign wars” and “protecting civil liberties.” Worst of all, both conservatives and liberals know that he is not in the tank with anyone and will actually do what he says if he gets into office.
Conservative media do not want Americans to hear that Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush grew the size of the government more than their Democratic predecessors by large orders of magnitude. They do not want to hear that W’s only significant economic policy was Sarbanes-Oxley, which W himself compared to the New Deal. They don’t want Americans to be reminded that the conservative platform used to include eliminating Jimmy Carter’s Department of Education, but that Republicans under George W. Bush greatly expanded its power. Neither do they want attention called to the fact that Republicans under Bush expanded the welfare state more than any president since Lyndon Johnson. They are desperate not to let Americans find out that Ron Paul gets more support from active military than any other Republican, despite his anti-war stance. Most of all, they do not want conservative American voters to know that Ron Paul polls better against Barack Obama than any other Republican candidate.
Liberal media have similar motivations. They do not want liberal voters to know that there is a Republican who is truly anti-war, an embarrassment to their peace-candidate-turned-warmonger president. They do not want liberals to know that it is a Republican who is truly against the corporate state, which Obama has jumped directly in bed with, if he wasn’t born there. They do not want liberals to be reminded that all of the civil liberties violations for which they excoriated George W. Bush have been expanded by “the One.” Most of all, like the conservative media, they don’t want liberals to know that Ron Paul polls better against Barack Obama than any other Republican candidate.
Being a corporatist cabal, like most other industries in the post-New Deal American economy, the media are not interested in the truth being known. They are interested in preserving their government-protected privileges and those of all of their special interest associates, both conservative and liberal. They are terrified of Ron Paul’s message even being heard. Why? Because the truth has a way of “ringing true” that propaganda does not, no matter how much money is behind it.
In short, the corporate media is afraid that Ron Paul will wake up average Americans to the fact that liberal and conservative special interests captured the government many decades ago, that their perception of American society as free and prosperous is a lie, that the leviathan state was never their benefactor, but rather designed specifically to rip them off, and that the whole thing is coming to an end. They are afraid because Ron Paul will open their eyes and minds. Once he does, the party is over for conservative and liberal special interests alike. The days of growing wealthy on the backs of average Americans – and most shamefully, on their blood – start coming to an end the day he takes the oath of office.
What are they afraid of more than anything else? That if Americans actually get the chance to hear him out, he will win.
Tom Mullen is the author of A Return to Common Sense: Reawakening Liberty in the Inhabitants of America.
Amen! Give’em HELL!
Thank you for a thought provoking article
His views on the economy are OK, bu he is a against abortion, doesn
t believe in evolotion, climate change by humans, and other texas right wing views. He will never make ir.
Isn’t that what they said about GW?
Climate change is beyond our scope and control. It;s not man made but that notion creates a great rally for some people to make money. The changes are “way out” and governed by universal sources and on a local level are very much solar in nature.
Thanks for explaining it Mr Boyer/
.
Are you perchance related to the Smyths of Tel Aviv?
Actually, he has said that there isn’t enough evidence to fully support either evolution or creationism. In addition, belief in design or evolution aren’t important in a political arena where economics and foreign policy are the matters.
He has also said that we do contribute to global warming and that the military being one of the biggest contributors of this but that it has been blown way out of proportion.
You’re also not including the fact that he predicted the the recession, the housing bubble and gold rising in value against the dollar. Sounds like a genius if you ask me.
Excellent article.
Great Article, some stupid comments.
The climate change by humans is a complete and total lie. Humans make 3% of world CO2 emissions and it is a trace gas 350PPM. The sun drives the climate…sorry you had to hear it here first. Wherever you got educated, you should go back and ask for a refund. Any fool who would believe that humans can change the weather deserve to have their taxes raised 100% and pay it to the deniers.
The president can no more change the abortion laws than they can cause/stop global warming.
Ron Paul = Truth, all others are party hacks who will say/lie/do anything to get elected and then keep doing the same thing the last guy did. They are all bought and paid for. Ron Paul would shut it down, he is the only alternative to the obscene madness in Washington. He is pretty much our only hope for Change. Obama is the most inept leader in the history of the world. Far worse than Bush, but Bush probably had his Daddy to help him. Just think, Kerry and Gore got C’s and D’s, worse than Bush did. That’s all we need to know that they were far more inept than Bush along with Stupidobama.
Obama let the illegals free today, he gained a million latino votes and lost 20 million White voters that are out of jobs today…that’s a smart move eh?
Thank you! I am so sick of the “it’s preposterous for anyone with a brain to deny the science!” from people who have NO. BACKGROUND. IN. SCIENCE.
The amount of CO2 put into the environment by volcanoes dwarfs the amount put in by humans, so much so that the percentages are published in a well-known PPE Study guide and it all but discounts the notion of human-driven climate change.
The casual person who believes research their car is killing the earth is a rube.
However, the deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest actually DOES (or will) play a huge role in climate change, because the forests create such a massive portion of our world’s O2 and clean the CO2 up. The Amazon is the world’s air filter and air conditioner, but we gladly sell that for the sake of McDonald’s and Folgers making cheap beef and coffee.
In any case, educate yourself, people!
Check that, I stand by portions of my previous comment. What I intended to say is that the amount of CO2 put into the environment by natural causes (volcanoes, bogs, forest fires, animals, and the like) exceeds the amount put in by the USA.
China is a huge contributor and will continue to get worse. However the deforestation issue is valid and largely under reported.
Out of any of the candidates, Ron Paul is the only one who would lead with 100% percent integrity. If Americans don’t want that, sadly they don’t deserve it. Thank God for a man like him, a man that our forefathers would be behind 100%. I hear even good principled people who like him that say he couldn’t win and I fear for America. I hope we can repair the constitution that is hanging by a thread, and I see the man Ron Paul as about the only one willing to be so audacious as to want to. I’m behind you all the way Ron and pray for you and OUR cause as true blue Americans.
If he wins, he could be killed.
Histroy does repeat itself.
you cant eat gold- plants for a future
– in danger of falling food
2 hours a week all food for 2 people and a restaurant
… any better ideas?
there needs to be a website- all flip flops, now plans, interview summaries, indepth links, official group statements on plans.
right now it is all over the place people might not have enough time and might hear only one side.
Your article is right on target, Ron Paul is the most interesting and important political figure on the American political scene today. The fascist monied elite is scared to death by Ron Paul. After blatantly telling lies forever the empowered elite can’t handle someone who boldly tells the truth.
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Perhaps a headline featuring Minnesotan Michelle Bachman and Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty reported in Minnesota on Minnesota news outlet Minnesota Public Radio? They might just possibly have found the Texan less relevant to their context.
I’m a Ron Paul supporter and there’s no doubt that there’s suppression in the general media. But some ducks are just ducks!
Politico originally carried an identical headline, but changed it due to backlash. If you watch the Jon Stewart video, there is plenty of other examples of reporters tripping over themselves not to mention Ron Paul’s name in a poll he virtually tied for the win.
This has been the best piece I have read about Ron Paul’s campaign blackout so far and I want to thank you for writing it so eloquently and truthfully. This is refreshing to see after watching Katherine Mangu-Ward of Reason trample Ron Paul on Fox Business. Someone like you should have been in her place to say how things really are.
I also hope to see you again on Adam vs. The Man.
Tom,
You are an elegant and perceptive writer, and your comments about why the bought media fear Ron Paul are 100% correct. They are tripping over themselves to such an extent it’s obvious to anyone watching what they’re doing, and for that reason they’re winning recruits for Paul’s campaign. State journalism posing as the real thing has worked in other times and places – in the U.S. during WW I, for example – but it won’t work today, not with the internet, and not without throwing Jon Stewart in prison.
Keep writing, Tom.
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Way back in the late 1960’s two articles were published in a second tier magazine. They were named “Teleslick” and “Who Controls the Press.” Evidently you missed those. Go find them, read them, and see if YOU have the guts to bring up the heart of what they said. Yes, we are still run by The Money Trust. The site linked gives abundant relevant information.
Wait until Ron reveals the truth about the US dollar. I’m sure he’s aware since the proof is right in front of all our noses. The USD was never developed for the lone purpose of just being a currency, although that “necessity evil” is/has been part of its life cycle to its ultimate role.
The dollar only acts as a currency within a fiat currency paradigm. It also plays a hugely powerful and important role in the newer (here & now) real-time gold-as-money paradigm.
Gold, as a form of money, in order to be efficient (in terms of liquidity) needed to be set free to float in its trade value, based on a very limited and finite supply. A fixed peg on gold cannot and did not work. Once the fixed peg was severed (1971 …. $35/oz), gold was set free to find its value as per the market (all of us). The only thing that held back the remonetization of gold was the inability to split the enhanced weighted value of gold and distribute it in a simple and user friendly fashion. The logistical problem of history had to be addressed.
The liquidity issue was solved in the mid 1990’s with the advent of 100 % gold backed digital currency where the currency is the actual titled ownership of reserved gold. This is what the e-gold and goldmoney.com business models represent.
You and I can now buy a single stick of gum on the other side of the planet, make exact gold payment with a debt-free gold backed currency and close out the transaction with no new debt created and no lingering debt left over. Debt-free store of value has now married with instant global liquidity …. in REAL-TIME.
The free floating dollar and its development (yes, some evils are necessary in “the script”) is what led to the development of gold-as-money that floats in REAL-TIME. The fixed peg had to eventually be severed. The dollar is the real-time measure for gold weight in view of the fact that we price things in fiat currencies. The dollar bridges the two paradigms.
In any migration, it’s imperative that neither the legacy system (USD) nor the new system (gold-as-money in REAL TIME) crash. This is exactly why the motivation to shift to goldmust come by way of the market and cannot be a top-down process. The elite cannot offer “the carrot” but can only employ the pain of “the stick”. INFLATION ! The shift must be by the market and driven from the grass roots of demand. It is only in this way that the “breakthrough” can be lasting by way of the total restructuring of power. If left in a hierarchical structure , history would simply repeat.
You cannot pour new wine into old wineskins
just a note to tell the world that Russia is, as we speak bringing out a gold coin about the size of a current penny, the equivilant of$500.00 and a silver coin of similar size value about $5.00. This should put a different spin on the fiat currencies. This is happening right now, I am certain that the Euro will fall quickly and the USD will reach it’s true value very shortly. Some people in the money business view the USD as less value than most of the worlds other currenciesI If this comes to pass on the world wide scale the a hundred dollars would not buy a loaf of bread. I am certain the Mr. Ron Paul is aware of this.
Very well said Mr.Tom Mullen,
Congressman Ron Paul is a Beacon of what integrity actually looks like, in fact he is the only genuine beacon in Congress. All his actions back a Republic whole heartedly, his principals well known and his direction unscathed by the dominance.
He is also a real beacon that you can live through having integrity no matter who does not want to hear the truth because many people are starving for a peak at the truth but the representations around them so poor the visuals become obscured.
They are scared of him and anyone like him who wants and does the acts of a Republic because they know if these becomes recognized they are done. The more motion that builds in this direction the farther they become from their own poor intent. Their scared because good results may become visible and they would be out of a job and the truth is We the People are the most force in all the universe because once we decide to deliver and idea, there is literally nothing to stop us from achieving such a destination.
When you produce very poor products and someone comes along and competes with you with something far more valuable, what takes place? FEAR and its time we change the direction of fear to its proper location, the government. The Government is supposed to be in fear of its people and not the people of its Government. It is very much time to reverse this role and it will be us who recognize what integrity actually looks and start applying such a principal to their own lives.
We the People are to be a Republic with the principals that support all life, all liberty and enable pursuits to be happy by achievement and not one thing less. Honesty for sure is the best policy of all regardless of those unwilling to hear it now becomes their problem instead of ours.
Lets deliver our Republic brilliantly so even the most stupid will recognize its astounding brightness.
Ron Paul will win, 2012 or not. He is merely the mouthpiece for a broader message of liberty. This message is timeless and immutable.
We CANNOT be defeated. The cat is out of the bag. Come what may in 2012, the People WILL have their Liberty, one way or another.
Restore the Republic!
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Thats right!!!! Great article!!!! If the American people got hear Ron Paul out, he would win by a LANDSLIDE. there would not be any competition from any other candidate. They will all be exposed for snake oil salesmen/women that they are! Ron Paul 2012!!!!
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