Ron Paulites SPEAK OUT !

Some of you may recall an item we published a week ago tonight on Ron Paul. It was a brilliantly written spoof alleging to expose the massive nationwide conspiracy behind the campaign of the 72-year-old libertarian ob-gyn who's been elected to the House of Representatives 10 times from Texas.

The blog item was tied to publication of a revealing feature by The Times' James Rainey on a particular group of Southern California Paul supporters and their earnest campaign efforts.

Although Paul's vociferous, heartfelt, defensive and offensive supporters, who patrol the Internet at all hours and will be on this item within minutes of its posting, will cite encouraging bookmakers' odds from somewhere, the political reality is that Dr. Paul, as they reverently call him, has, let's call it, realistically a very longshot chance of actually winning the Republican presidential nomination.

So what? It's a fascinating grassroots political story in which a widely diverse collection of dissatisfied Americans have spontaneously congregated via the Internet and some 1,200 meet-up groups to organize and proselytize for their man. It really is grass-roots democracy in action, never mind the outcome. In some TV appearances Paul seems almost bewildered by the wildfire support.

But it's there, as evidenced by growing fundraising numbers that totaled a near-record one day $4.2 million last month. And Paul supporters aim to break Hillary Clinton's one-day record of $6.2 million come Dec. 16, which is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and probably as good a day as any for rebels to try to make news for their candidate. A counter on Paul's website puts the quarter's fundraising at nearly $10.8 million.

But the point of this item is to examine some of the comments submitted here in recent days by Paul boosters and opponents (yes, there are some willing to say so). Hundreds of readers -- 60+ pages of printouts -- shared their opinions, most of them printable. They reveal an eclectic mix of people, who identify themselves as lawyers, Democrats, housewives, first-time voters, young, old, suspicious of established institutions like the dreaded MSM (mainstream media) who resent being portrayed as fringe fanatics.

"Yikes!" one wrote, "you let everyone know that we are mostly normal people with a sense of concern for the direction of the nation." Trevor Winton wrote, "We are ordinary citizens who seriously want our country back." There are many enemies to the Paul Nation -- an overblown federal government... 

that curbs freedoms with the Patriot Act, usurps state powers, the IRS, big banks, the Federal Reserve, a military-industrial complex that makes money involving the country in costly foreign entanglements like Iraq. Many Paul supporters admit they do not agree with him on everything -- say, a return to the gold standard or the perceived threat to American sovereignty of a proposed super-highway across Texas. Paul supporters find it hard to believe that others don't see that threat.

They're not bothered by Paul's suggestion that the U.S. invited the 9/11 attacks by bombing Iraq. They like his plain-spokenness, states' rights and America-first attitude. "The choice for America," one reader wrote, "is simply, follow the Constitution and the rule of law, get the Govt out of your bedroom, and your wallets and live your life as you see fit."

Many Paulites see no difference between the two major parties. "I'm a 46-year-old SAG actor and US Navy veteran," wrote Bruno Amato. "I haven't voted since 1980, when I voted for Ronald Reagan, and never donated to a campaign, but I have contributed and will continue and I will definitely be voting for Ron Paul."

They don't trust the polls, which show Paul's support up from 1% to the 8% range, because, they say, many Paul supporters have no land phones. (The L.A. Times Poll does factor in cellphones, by the way.)  "The supporters of Ron Paul have brought me faith in America again," Chris said. "It is a wonderful, energizing feeling. Hope is powerful. Our power when we work together is stronger than any defense contractor or lobbying groups."

"Ron Paul is the only candidate out there who really wants to take the country in a totally new direction," Heather Czerniak wrote. "Forget about policing the world and sending our kids to die for someone else's freedom."

"I can't wait to see what happens in New Hampshire!" Chris Foster said.

A lot of other people -- Paulites or not -- feel the same.

(UPDATE: Extreme Mortman now takes all this Top of the Ticket interest into account too.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[John]

9 of 10 articles from mainstream always mention that Ron Paul doesn't have a chance, yet his campaign is breaking records and winning straw polls. Can you say, "operation: mocking bird"? You're analysis is weak Andrew. By the way, you and your senior editors have done more damage to America than any Muslim. By under reporting REAL issues, you guys (mainstream media) just repackage the same bull, and you know it. The fact is there is a real revolution, an awakening, if you will, going on NOW and it's right under your nose. All you mainstream media people are out of touch with Americans and with the tool of the internet, you are no longer the gatekeepers of information. Take your weak political analysis and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

Ron Paul was one of 6 republicans to vote against the Iraq War resolution. What about Hillary?

Ron Paul is the clear choice. Compare his stand on issues (ronpaul2008.com) to any of the other candidates, republican or democrat.

Paul will probably run as a Libertarian. This election is shaping up to be the 3rd party election many of us have been waiting for.

[Metin]

Republicans who still don't realize their identities have been stolen will not vote for Ron Paul.

Ron Paul has a better chance winning a general election by receiving Republican, Democrat, Independent, disillusioned, protest, as well as Libertarian votes cross the board, if he elects to run as a third party candidate.

And I hope he does!!!

TalkTurkey.us

[RuthieM]

I think Ron Paul supporters need to take a chill pill and morph into Barack Obama supporters. He is a defender of The Constitution, he wants to take our country in another direction, he wants to take our country back, but he is for ALL people where Paul is not. I think the Paul supporters have much of the same sentiments as Obama supporters, it's just that Obama goes with HOPE and RULE OF LAW and Paul seems to push these too but with RADICALISM. Paul supporters remind me of the 1960's hippies, and civil rights and black panther awakening moments where youth were angry about what was going on in their country and demanded their rights and demanded change. I think Paul is right about Iraq, the government, taxes, and more perhaps but Obama believes like this too only Obama is best to lead this country because he is true democracy where Paul is true Republican, and I beileve the reason the people who are supporting Paul are doing so because he is white and they have found their radical ideologies and government oppositions in this white candidate and that is why they are so excited about him too, he is one of them. I think it's just like the blacks who have found this same voice in Barack Obama at this time in history and why those who are, are supporting him. Ron Paul makes a lot of sense, he is correct about what he speaks and I thought so from the very first Republican debate I saw. It's just that he's not doing something right, and I can't put my finger on just what it is that's missing with him -- yet.

[Vlad]

You have to ask yourself where all the "mainstream" candidates' supporters are. Ron Paul supporters come from all over the country and they are very enthusiastic about his candidacy. Aren't the people who are just this energized the only people who vote in primaries? There is a number of technical reasons why the old-style polling is not accurate at the moment. And yet the media keeps ignoring this. Why compare Ron Paul to either Dean or Kucinich? Some similarities exist, sure. But their level of support from such a cross-section of political spectrum was never there. The last candidate to get such a support was, in fact, Ronald Reagan. So some aspects of Paul's support (the technical ones) are similar to Dean, some to Kucinich, but some are also similar to Reagan's. Why dismiss the real people who want to vote him and concentrate on numbers which by all accounts are inaccurate at the moment?

[TxSundance]

I am a 47 year old father of 3, married for 26 years, and self employed as a Realtor for 22 years. The most important thing I look for in a presidential candidate is honesty and sincerity. Someone who votes based on their principles not on which way the political winds are blowing. No other candidate of either party comes close to his integrity and consistent voting record.

I live in central Texas and the first leg of the "NAFTA Super Highway" known here as the Trans-Texas Corridor has been hotly debated over the last couple of years. There have been ads recruiting Realtors and appraisers to travel across Texas to work for sub-contactors of the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) to determine the market value of land that will be bought or taken through eminent domain for the Trans-Texas Corridor. So whatever you call it there are plans for a highway system to run from Mexico through the US and into Canada. This is not some paranoid figment of people’s imagination. There is plenty of documentation and it is really not hard to find, but it may require a few hours of research if journalists still do that sort of thing.

"GIVE ME FREEDOM OR I'M GOING TO GET UP AND GET IT MYSELF!"

VOTE RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT!

[Theresa]

Well all I have to say is look at the real polls, the straw polls taken from flesh and blood real people. I think you'll be surprised. They don't report this. They only report when Mitt wins one. That ain't nice. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-poll-results/

[Terry Jackson]

"They're not bothered by Paul's suggestion that the U.S. invited the 9/11 attacks by bombing Iraq."

- BIASED reporting.. very unethical.. author should be ashamed

[Walter Reddy]

"... realistically a very longshot chance of winning..."
We hear this over and over again in EVERY MSM piece done. The ONLY basis for this false statement comes from the FALSE "UNscientific" polls. The most ACCURATE polls today are the GOP straw polls. These are the MOST likely primary voters. These are the voters whom have taken the trouble to spend their time and money to drive to the polling place and cast a vote. They are the same voters who will show up on primary day!

[Andy White]

This article seems sligthly disrepectful and given your own words,

"Hundreds of readers -- 60+ pages of printouts -- shared their opinions, most of them printable. They reveal an eclectic mix of people, who identify themselves as lawyers, Democrats, housewives, first-time voters, young, old, suspicious of established institutions like the dreaded MSM (mainstream media) who resent being portrayed as fringe fanatics."

it seems odd to me you would want to offend so many people, if that is the case. That being sad, I do appreciate you writing this article. Thank you very much for covering the Ron Paul R3volution.

You said "(The L.A. Times Poll does factor in cellphones, by the way.)" How do you factor in cellphones? Its not some math equation.

[Kash]

The 2008 election isn't about Democrat versus Republican.

It is really a contest between sheep and wild geese.

Both sheep and wild geese like to dine on green grass.

Sheep need a shepherd to guide them to green pastures. The shepherd controls his sheep so that he can either fleece them or make mutton stew.

Wild geese can find the next green pasture on their own. The wild geese poop on the shepherd's head as they take flight to fly in a V for victory formation with the Ron Paul blimp.

Those who support Ron Paul will appreciate this metaphor. Those who don't are sheeple who like to be chased around by the shepherd's border collies.

The cackling of the wild geese is rising in a deafening crescendo as they prepare to darken the skies and blot out the sun on the coming election days.

And they will manage this phenomenal feat without air traffic controllers! The FAA could learn a thing or two from these wild geese.

[John]

All you mainstream people are old fools. My Christmas wish is for the baby boomer generation to just retire and leave the country to the hands of the next generations. You guys have caused enough problems for our generation. Since you guys just love this entitlement system, foreign entanglements, off the charts taxation, and big government, why don't you all just retire, get your checks and ride off into the sunset? I beg you PLEASE! Since you're not helping this cause of freedom, please RETIRE and just go away!!! Please just go away and let us keep our income, protect the borders, and have sound currency. Is that too much to ask?

[barry b.]

Glad to see the positive press. It's been a fun ride for ron paul. And all of us.

[Tom]

Will Terrorists "Follow us Home" if we leave Iraq? Have they ever said they would?

No.

They just want us out of their country just like we would want them out of ours.

No terrorist have ever said "we will follow the American's home".

Why are we afraid to unilaterally pull-out, then?

[tomo]

Hillary never raised 6.2million in one day. If she realy did she violated champaign finance laws galor because there is no record of this 6.2million dollar day with the FEC.

[funny]

This guy is a joke. In one article he mentions thousands of meetup groups, huge fund raising events and massive internet support, yet in the same article he claims Ron Paul doesn't stand a chance?

Did you even read this article after you wrote it?

[True American]

Support the troops
Support America
Support Life
Support Freedom and Liberty
Support Ron Paul for President

Enough said!

[Nicolas Martin]

I'd be surprised if Dr. Paul used the term "state's rights." He knows that people have rights and states have powers.

[Edward]

My household has two democrats and one Independant. All three of us CHANGED our party affiliation to Republicans in order to vote for Ron Paul in the Florida Primary. Do you think the pollsters call people like us? How many others are like us?

[Matt Goodley]

This is what American politics are all about everyone. Real people supporting their candidate because we actually believe in him and the message. Not supporting a candidate because he or she is the lesser of two evils. I'm simply tired of that mentality. This election will be a defining moment for the United States. Is the government truly OF, FOR, and BY the PEOPLE, or is it determined by a party system no more legitimate than that of Russia?

Thank you for writing this article. You are a saint.

[Hope]

Andrew Malcolm,

Thank you for your coverage of Ron Paul!

I very much enjoyed your ‘brilliantly written spoof’ from last week as well as James Rainey’s truly outstanding Ron Paul article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-ronpaul1dec01,0,678486.story?coll=la-home-center

The Los Angeles Times has provided some of the best Ron Paul coverage of the MSM.

It is the internet, blogs, YouTube, as much as Ron Paul’s message that gives me hope for America. Traditional passive TV and print media did not allow for feedback and corrections. All we could do is yell at the TV or crumple the newspaper. But this new media is changing everything allowing the truth to find it’s way to the surface through debate and discussion.

Your willingness and courage to discuss politics and allow uncensored statements of opinion speaks highly of your integrity. Keep up the great work!

(Thanks for your kind words. That's what we're here for. Hope you and others return often.)

[Richard]

Let's put this Ron Paul coverage issue to rest once and for all.

The claims by the older established media are that Ron Paul is not being ignored; i.e. he is being given the same prime-time coverage as all the other candidates, and the real reason his poll numbers are so low, is simply because his ideas only resonate with a very small group on the internet, and are being rejected by everyone else. Conversely, the claims by the newer internet based media and RP supporters are that he is being ignored by the older established media, and that only if more people could be given a opportunity to discover Ron Paul and his ideas, his support outside the internet would grow substantially.

O.k. then, let's have a test, if the older established media really believe what they're saying is true, and want to prove that the internet based media and RP supporters are mistaken, the older established media should do the following.

1. For a period of one week, as a public service, every news media outlet; print, network, radio and cable, should run the following announcement during prime-time, or front page:

'An open letter to the American voting public. It has been alleged that we, the media, are purposely ignoring and censoring the news coverage of the presidential candidate Ron Paul. As a result, his popular support is much lower that it would be if the same media coverage, given to all the other candidates, were given to him. We disagree - we believe that Ron Paul has been given proper coverage, and that all our viewers, listeners and readers know who Ron Paul is, and know where he stands on the issues, and the only reason his support numbers are so low, is simply due to the rejection of his ideas.

To end this controversy once and for all, we want everyone to visit Ron Paul's web site at http://www.ronpaul2008.com, search his name on Google, and on YouTube. Read and view the material presented on these sites, good and bad, then draw your own conclusion. If you agree, support him, and or donate to his campaign, if you don’t agree, support one of the other candidates. To be fair, we want you to visit the web sites of all the other candidates also, search their names on Google, and YouTube, then make up your own mind. Here are their names and web sites (…list of names and web sites…).'

2. Just prior to conducting step 1, record the campaign contribution dollar amounts for all the candidates.

3. For the weeks following step 1, track the campaign contribution dollar amounts for all the candidates. If Ron Paul's contributions don't get a bump, then we'll know he has been given proper coverage, but if they do get a bump, then we'll know that a lot of new people have just discovered him and agree with his ideas.

Well anyway - just a dream.

[Jill G]

Just wanted to say - thanks to all the Paulites out there making this happen! The MSM is the 'old' news. Go Ron Go!

[Drew]

It's a well written article. Kudos. Count me among the RP supporters who are veterans, professionals, and love their country.

Sure RP has a slim chance of winning but I don't see that as a reflection of him or those who support him. Instead it's a sad reflection on what's wrong with America. People are weak-minded and accept dumb-down news and commentary with challenging it. People are more interested in appearence than substance. Ron Paul is the only unique candidate, all of the others desire power and are willing to sacrifice the truth or their principles to obtain it. Although I do not think that RP will win the nomination I will not go away quietly while our elected representatives destroy the country I love by bankrupting our children in debt and tarnishing our name abroad in new and endless wars. Our constitution is what makes America great, unlike any other it defines the limited role of government and the supremacy of individual rights. When we ignore or corrupt our Consititution we cease to be Americans.

[Erik Tyler]

Entangling Alliances have caused us untold amounts of trouble and cost us billions, if not more. Our first President warned against it, and our next president will avoid it.

Ron Paul can not lose this election, because Ron Paul carries our message.