The Media Blackout of Ron Paul

August 19, 2011 at 12:17 pm

The mainstream media, like many other things in our Republic is failing to do its job.  The primary purpose of newspapers and news broadcasts is to collect information, verify its accuracy, and present it in a neutral light to the masses.  One news company likes to remind us of this frequently with their slogan “Fair and Balanced”.  Too bad it is nothing more than an empty and meaningless tagline.  In reality, news media is almost never fair or balanced.  This is evident if we look at almost any newspaper ever to come off of a printing press.

In recent history some important top stories have been influenced heavily by the bias of news organizations.  One that everyone is likely familiar with is the trial of Casey Anthony.  Judicially she was found “not guilty” of the murder of her daughter by a jury of her peers.  In the court of public opinion, Casey Anthony was well… utterly crucified.  This was largely precipitated by the mainstream media reports on the trial, personalities such as Nancy Grace, and even some celebrities.  Whether you are in agreement with the outcome or not, the system worked in the case of Ms. Anthony.  If anything can be said to have failed it would be only the prosecutor’s case.  The point is that the media has incredible power to shape the opinions and views of the public.  This power should not be taken lightly, and its abuse should not be tolerated by those possessing the fortitude to question the information being fed to them.  Wielding this influence, the news apparatus is capable of bending public opinion to its every whim.  This idea becomes all the more disturbing when we consider that all of the world’s leading news sources are owned by a handful of obscenely wealthy elites with close ties to government and banking institutions.  Everyone has an agenda, and the more avenues one has available to push their agenda, the more influence one can exert toward meeting one’s goals.  This is particularly true of mainstream media, where all sources of information are practically monopolized with each news organization essentially parroting the words of the others.

A most unsettling media bias was brought to light this past weekend.  Saturday, August 17, marked the date of the Republican Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa.  This event is widely watched by the media as the first real test of Republican candidates for President.  The poll can make or break a campaign depending on the results.  This year was no exception.  The winner was Michelle Backmann.  Following the results of the poll she has been all over the media, on countless interviews and the subject of many talk shows and newspaper articles.  Coming in third was Tim Pawlenty, followed by Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Rick Perry (as a write-in), Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, and Thaddeus McCotter, respectively.   Tim Pawlenty decided to drop out of the race as a result of his third place showing.

Take a moment and read those results again.  Notice anything?

Yes, that’s right.  There was no mention of the candidate who finished second by less than 1/10 of a percent.  A man many are likely familiar with, but few in the mainstream care to acknowledge, as evidenced by the utter media blackout following his virtual tie for victory in the poll.  The gentleman to whom I elude is none other than 12 term Texas Congressman and doctor Ron Paul, who finished with 4,671 votes; a mere 152 votes behind Michelle Bachmann.

News Stories by Candidate by Pew Research Center

This is blatant media bias. From: http://www.journalism.org/numbers_report/are_media_ignoring_ron_paul

For those unfamiliar with Rep. Paul, he served in the US Air Force as a flight surgeon before going into private practice as an OB/GYN.  This marks the third occasion he has run for the Presidency.  His previous runs were in 1988 as a Libertarian, and in 2008 as a Republican.  His 2008 run gave birth to the “Ron Paul REVOLution” and is credited with creating the foundation that became the Tea Party.  He has a record of constancy in his voting as a Congressman that is second to none.  He takes a strict Constitutional approach to government.  As a result he opposes the current interventionist foreign policy if the United States and favors the recommended policy of the Founding Fathers; free trade with all, no entangling alliances or interference with the affairs of other nations.  He is also a strong advocate of monetary reform, free market economics and a return to the gold standard.  Dr. Paul takes a libertarian approach to social issues and believes that most should be left to the states.

As the title character of the film ‘V for Vendetta’ put it, “Ideas are bulletproof”.  Ron Paul has ideas about liberty and the country that no other politician in modern times has offered.  His ideas on the economy and US foreign policy, (which he has been vocal about for decades) alone make him worthy of your attention.  Current events now fully confirm and vindicate his long-held positions, and for that he deserves consideration by every discerning American.  He has been praised as a “modern day Thomas Jefferson” and has well earned his title as the “Champion of the Constitution”.

It is the job of the citizenry of the United States to select their next President.  It is the job of the news media to supply the citizenry with unbiased information on the candidates so that the citizenry can make an educated choice.  While it is understandable that certain candidates who consistently perform poorly in polls may not command much media attention, it is without question a total absurdity that a candidate who performs well in every poll in which he is included should be found in such a state of neglect.  Americans have a right to hear about Ron Paul, just as they have a right to hear about every other candidate running.  Perhaps it is more important that people hear about Ron Paul as he is the orange in the bushel of apples we call the Republican field.  He is unique among his peers.  This is why the media shuns him.  He is deemed an anomaly; a specter, who if ignored will simply cease to exist.  The political machine cannot allow Ron Paul to receive his due.  He already claims as his own a very well organized and passionate following.  Should his ideology gain traction in the mainstream and become accepted by the masses, it would be nothing short of catastrophic for the bloated establishment and its ever-increasing thirst for war, spending, and international power.

As always, the goal of those with power is generally to maintain and expand that power at all costs.  Our government’s ever growing lust for control can only continue at the expense of liberty.  To facilitate the continued fleecing of the American people, the government must convince us not to resist.  More precisely, those in power must convince the populace that what they are doing is actually for the good of the people and anyone opposing that notion must be dismissed as harsh, uncaring, lacking compassion, inhuman, selfish, and evil.  The media is a vital tool utilized to bring about such a mindset by making it fashionable to comply.  By spinning stories, appealing to the emotions of the audience and erecting straw men to then knock down the media purveys the propaganda necessary to lull the citizenry into oblivion.  The dangers inherent in this manipulation are obvious and have many unrealized ramifications which damage liberty at every conceivable level of American civilization.

Regardless of the media’s best attempts to paint Dr. Paul as “fringe”, “crazy”, or simply “unelectable”, it is far too early in this race to count anyone out; especially someone who has current events and history validating his positions at every turn.  The best the establishment can hope is to snuff out these ideas before they have the opportunity to broadly cultivate in the minds of Americans.  Unfortunately for them, Pandora’s Box is already open.  Slowly the spark of liberty is reigniting in the hearts of Americans and soon enough the establishment will meet its rightful end.

It is necessary that time be taken to conduct proper research and fact checking.  The establishment media seeks to provide for their own interests by maintaining the status quo, and in doing so is severely undermining the foundations of liberty.  They will do this by selecting the candidates that support their interests (Perry, Romney, Obama) and displaying those select candidates in a positive light and as “field leaders” as they work to silence and marginalize those who are hostile to the establishment agenda (Paul).  This is why the media immediately jumped on Rick Perry’s announcement that he would be joining the race and began parading him around as “top tier” along with Bachmann and Romney on the very first day of his official campaign!  The media is picking favorites and essentially doing their best to rig the election.

Thomas Jefferson stated in a letter to Dr. James Currie in 1786 that, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”  Sadly the press we see today has been limited, and therefore lost.  The press was lost when it gave up reporting the news in favor of spewing the propaganda of establishment associates.  The information fed to us is tainted and cannot be relied upon.

In the interest of liberty and saving our country from itself, everyone should consider Ron Paul as a viable and worthy candidate for the office of the President of the United States of America .  Research his points.  Research the Federal Reserve, Keynesian economics vs. Austrian economics, foreign policy, terrorism, the gold standard, fiat currency etc… His ideas deserve serious thought.  The fact that the mainstream media is terrified of him should be a big indication of his significance as a candidate.


Unless otherwise expressly stated, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.considerliberty.com.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License