Dr. No Coverage

Matt Welch | April 7, 2008

New Media grump Jon Friedman is busting campaign reporters for missing the story of Ron Paul.

[A]nyone who looked hard enough knew that there was more to Paul than an inability to amass delegates. Most of the media, turned off by his shrill libertarian leanings, missed the real news value of Paul's story -- namely, the Texas congressman's ability to connect intensely with voters. [...]

But the hard-core loyalty of his backers remains one of the most newsworthy, if unwritten, stories of this presidential campaign.

I will one-up Friedman, with whom I usually disagree: It was Paul's ability to connect intensely with voters despite not being a very charismatic politician, nor having a particularly effective campaign team, that suggested there's something going on here and ya don't know what it is, etc.

Brian Doherty's February cover story on the rEVOLution here. Nick Gillespie and I named the Paul campaign as the only one in this election cycle that even hints at 21^st century politics, in a Politics magazine story [pdf] from March. More reason Paul-ania here. (Friedman link via Romenesko.)

Comments

|4.7.08 @ 9:36AM|#

Reason sucks!

Guy Montag|4.7.08 @ 9:37AM|#

Might the 'lack' of reporting on Dr. Paul have something to do with the rabid bands of "Paulaholics" who would flood e-mail boxes and phone banks of news outlets at any mention of the Dr? X 100 for a negative mention?

short, fat bastard|4.7.08 @ 9:37AM|#

Ron Paul convinced at least one 50-something hardcore cynic to donate money and register as a republican to vote in the state caucus. This in spite of the fact that his campaign was run worse than a pimple-faced kid running for class president.

BakedPenguin|4.7.08 @ 9:46AM|#

"...his campaign was run worse than a pimple-faced kid running for class president."

Vote for me!

Taktix®|4.7.08 @ 9:47AM|#

This in spite of the fact that his campaign was run worse than a pimple-faced kid running for class president.

At least the pimple kid got equal time during debates.

ed|4.7.08 @ 9:54AM|#

rEVOLution

Are we stuck with that?

Taktix®|4.7.08 @ 9:55AM|#

rEVOLution

Are we stuck with that?

Like glitter and herpes.

robc|4.7.08 @ 9:58AM|#

Guy,

Considering newspapers and etc. are desperately trying to stay relevant, getting their email/phone lines flooded is the thing they want most. Anything to make it clear they actually have readers/watchers.

They just choose to whine about it afterword.

|4.7.08 @ 10:20AM|#

Paul's ability to connect intensely with voters despite not being a very charismatic politician, nor having a particularly effective campaign team,

Perhaps the message sells itself.

Nahh, that can't be it.

Mad Max|4.7.08 @ 10:25AM|#

"shrill libertarian leanings . . ."

Are there *any* libertarians whom the media regards as non-shrill? Responsible libertarians like Giuliani, for instance?

Edward|4.7.08 @ 10:34AM|#

Unablievable. The entire country is moving left with many new voters poised to vote conciously for the Democrats and a more active, interventionist government, and you livertarian wackos have got your heads so far up your asses that you think Ron Paul's goofy campaign is a sign that things might be turning your way. The fact that news of Paul's viciously racist newsletters caused barely a ripple in the mainstream media means--get ready for this--HE NEVER FUCKING MATTERED!

short, fat bastard|4.7.08 @ 10:39AM|#

The best thing about Paul's campaign is that it upset so many worthless wretches, like Edward.

The down side though is that Edward won't go away.

the anti-ed|4.7.08 @ 10:43AM|#

Edward,
More interventist in some domestic affairs (though also calling for a rollback of interventist civil liberty patriot act violations), less in military affairs. The latter is part of the reason Paul attracted interest from a variety of people including the people supposedly 'moving left.' That and the anti-drug war message and the pro-civil liberties message of the Paul campaign.

BakedPenguin|4.7.08 @ 10:56AM|#

"HE NEVER FUCKING MATTERED!"

He sure does to you. You can't shut up about him.

Edward|4.7.08 @ 10:57AM|#

the anti-ed

So why didn't the racist newsletters make a bigger splash? Did Ron Paul lose any support over them? Wouldn't they cast suspicions on his "pro-civil liberties message"? They certainly would have if anybody was actually listening to the message. Ron Paul's support turned out to be shit, and the Republican nominee is a military interventionist, so his anti-war message sure didn't amount to much in Republican circles. Don't you think reality should play some role in your political analysis? Is there some sort of political placebo effect you're counting on?

Edward|4.7.08 @ 11:00AM|#

Baked penguin

I talk about Ron Paul only in this forum. He's not widely known elsewhere.

short, fat bastard|4.7.08 @ 11:11AM|#

I talk about Ron Paul only in this forum.

To be clear, Edward, YOU HAVE NEVER FUCKING MATTERED.

Edward|4.7.08 @ 11:18AM|#

Baked penguin

To be clear, nobody here fucking matters. We're in political coo-coo land.

Edward|4.7.08 @ 11:19AM|#

Sorry, my last remark was directed to short fat bastard, not that it matters.

|4.7.08 @ 11:26AM|#

Haha, you are the nuts! really!

Since you didn't listen to Dr. Paul's message, you would have no idea where the economy is hiding, you would never know what is causing all this bail outs, the recession and the up coming depression .... You will be the first ones to suffer, have fun with your liberal and socialist "leaders", what you hear from them is all what you'll get ;)

In the same time, RP supporters are taking the republican party back from the neo-cons and soon the country back to it's roots and you sheeps can't do anything about it but calling them names! Sheeps: meahhhhhhhh

short, fat bastard|4.7.08 @ 11:27AM|#

To be clear, nobody here fucking matters.

Which gives you complete license to be a condecending prick on a regular basis, right?

Edward|4.7.08 @ 11:30AM|#

"Which gives you complete license to be a condecending prick on a regular basis, right?"

Absolutely! It's also a health thing. Making fun of political morons keeps me regular. Oops, gotta run.

|4.7.08 @ 11:48AM|#

@Special Ed

The entire country is moving left with many new voters poised to vote conciously for the Democrats and a more active, interventionist government,

Um, and what are they getting now - hands-off government?

I notice McCain, despite being a Republican, is running very competitively with his Democratic opponents. Given that the voters have realized the Republicans have no intention of giving them the less active and interventionist government they've voted for, their left-leaning most likely has more to do with a desire to throw the bums out in favor of a fresh set of bums, than any affection for big, interventionist government....

Skoal|4.7.08 @ 11:48AM|#

Oops, gotta run.

The patio table is waiting.

|4.7.08 @ 12:41PM|#

On the online portion of Bill Maher's show, he answers questions emailed by fans. One of them was asking what Ron Paul did with all his money, and the consensus Maher and his panel came up with was that Paul embezzled it and will run off to another country.

It is a good question, and with Paul raising somewhere between $30 and 40 million in the campaign, where the heck did all of it go?

|4.7.08 @ 1:11PM|#

The entire country is moving left with many new voters poised to vote conciously for the Democrats and a more active, interventionist government,

As evidenced by McCain's current lead in polls on head-to-head matchups with both Dems.

Guy Montag|4.7.08 @ 1:18PM|#

RCD,

Maybe the public really does want the RINO version of 'conservative'?

|4.7.08 @ 1:22PM|#

Skoal for the Win!

Edward gets Honorable Mention for his contribution.

|4.7.08 @ 1:22PM|#

Most of the country is in the middle. We move center-left or center-right depending on certain conditions, but even if we are moving to the left right now, we could very well move to the right by November or after November.

Maybe the public really does want the RINO version of 'conservative'?

Yeah. Most of America is where RINOs and Blue Dogs are. The fact that we have so many politicians at the far left and right is just a reflection on politicians being good at politics.

Guy Montag|4.7.08 @ 1:46PM|#

One of the few Ron Paul stickers I have seen on a car in VA:

In Suffolk, VA on one of those silly Honda "greenie" cars.

License plate: "Peak Oil"
Ron Paul bumper sticker.
Some silly hippy bumper sticker trashing subdivision construction.
Blue metallic, IIRC but can not be sure at this point.
Slowed me down laughing.

|4.7.08 @ 2:12PM|#

Maybe the public really does want the RINO version of 'conservative'?

Hard to argue with that, but RINOs are not the choice of those "moving left" or "voting consciously Democrat". The latter are not to be confused with those who, presumably, vote Democrat unconsciously.

Brandybuck|4.7.08 @ 2:27PM|#

As I've made clear from the beginning, I support Ron Paul, but I don't support the nutjob wing of the movement. Now that that campaign is effectively over, many libertarians and conservatives are going back to their old lives, so that most who remain in the movement are definitely on the nutjob fringe. There's got to be three Truthers or Amero freaks for every one sane supporter.

I suspect that for every one vote Ron Paul gained, some Truther managed to lose three for him.

terribly smart|4.7.08 @ 8:03PM|#

You know what's most creepy about this site? The lack of females.

|4.8.08 @ 7:54PM|#

Reason covered the newsletter story as legitimate, ignoring Kirchick's grosly out-of-context selective quotes.

Reason showed itself to be far less libertarian than a non-charismatic pol with non-skeletons in is closet.

Justin Raimondo exposed Nick, Radley, and Matt as the tools they are.