Ron Paul beats Giuliani but loses to Fox News

OK, he didn't get the third place that Ron Paul said he thought his campaign might reach in Iowa. He got fifth, 10%. Which, as we noted earlier, is better than the 4% that Rudy Giuliani got. But then like most Americans, Rudy didn't put that much effort into campaigning in Iowa.

The next big test comes Tuesday in New Hampshire, where the libertarian-like license plate -- Live Free or Die -- gives Paulunteers hope they might score an even larger surprise. Everybody except good ol' boy Fred Thompson has put serious efforts into the Granite state.

John McCain, who won New Hampshire in 2000, seems to be closing in on Mitt Romney there. Rudy is trying hard. If he can tear himself away from being on one national TV show after another, Iowa GOP caucus winner Mike Huckabee will campaign there. But without the large cadre of resident....

Christian evangelicals he had in Iowa, he's trailing and hanging on, hoping for Baptist help come South Carolina.

But before the Big Vote comes the Big Debate. Fox News has invited five famous Republicans to a modified house trailer for a televised debate Sunday. They did not invite Rep. Paul, which has infuriated many people and not all of them Paul supporters, as you may have read in hundreds of comments on this blog recently.

The Manchester Union Leader, New Hampshire's major newspaper, ran a front-page editorial Thursday by its publisher, Joseph McQuaid, criticizing media that do not invite all serious candidates such as Paul because then it's big media and not regular New Hampshire voters making the decision. Fox doesn't return phone calls or e-mails seeking an explanation for excluding Paul, probably because it's very difficult to explain how you invite Giuliani, who's already lost one election to Paul, and the more-famous Thompson, who ran ahead of the lesser-known Paul in Iowa but trails him in New Hampshire polls.

And, frankly, Paul probably leads all Republicans in fourth-quarter fundraising with his nearly $20 million haul. But you won't be able to hear him on Fox Sunday where he would be the only Republican candidate to oppose the Iraq war, advocate pulling our troops home from all around the world to save money for domestic needs and slashing numerous federal departments.

While personally pro-life, Paul, an ob-gyn, would leave abortion or anti-abortion laws to the individual states as part of his strict constitutionalist approach. Paul's followers see the Fox News exclusion as part of a broader corporate conspiracy by the mainstream media to squelch the 72-year-old, 10-term Republican representative.

That doesn't explain how this item and this item and this item and this item, among many others, got into this blog. But that doesn't really matter because no one will hear Paul speak in the debate on Fox News Sunday. Fox says the trailer is too small for more candidates.

Ron Paul supporters have deluged feedback@foxnews.com with complaints. They are urging a boycott of all Fox advertisers and are exploring some kind of alternative event on Sunday. Maybe they could rent a larger trailer and invite Chris Wallace and the five famous Republicans over for a chat. And if those people don't show up, the Paul folks could set out empty chairs and pitch their own platform for the entire program.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[bgodley]

Paul most definitely will take Iows as a win. He did break double digits.

The truth is he will do very well in New Hampshire. He was FIRST place in Iowa among registered Independants. You know what, New Hampshire has almost half of it’s voters registering independant this year - a record.

He will do very well in New Hampshire. Way more than expected. I know that there are still people that love to write him off. They are part of that naysayer crowd that prefers to go with the flow of traffic rather than work against the odds.

Are the odds against Paul large? Yes in ever sense. That is what makes this battle even more exciting and worthwhile. This has given many of his supporters a purpose to involve themselves in the political process. His candidacy has brought many people out of apathy and that is nothing but good.

Is this blind loyalty? No, this is a testament to that great virtue of American ideals - tenacity. The willingness and desire to stick to a purpose no matter how many roadblocks, setbacks and failures.

[James C]

All in all, this is a pretty fair article. If only this were the mainstream news instead of a blog the press could maintain some sort of legitimacy, no matter how warped. The media blackout of Ron Paul should be a wake up call to all freedom loving Americans. Whether you agree with his views or not, the media shouldn't be picking our candidates for us.

[Dale]

What a silly excuse! If that's the problem, then why don't they just use a bigger trailer?

[Anthony]

Its the peoples job to elect the president not Fox! Good job LA Times. This will backfire on Fox!

[M Nimetz]

Thank you for reporting this!

[john]

Decent article on Fox News excluding Ron Paul. Nice to see the press covering the failings of their peers.

[Mark]

Geez, Malcolm, if only you had started writing about Paul like this months ago, we might have a more open and honest contest at this point.

[Jim S.]

Iowa had 215,000 democrats show up to vote and only 110,000 republicans. If the Republicans can’t get behind a candidate we may as well not show up at all.

What this tells me and should tell everyone is the number 1 issue is the IRAQ war followed by our messed up healthcare system.

How about we trump them and put up a real anti-war candidate and an actual medical doctor?

And I’m sorry as much as I like Huckabee he will get slaughtered in a General Election. So will every Republican candidate for that matter. Only one stands a chance against the democrats (albeit a small one) if you truly think about it.

Think GOP think....

[David Howell]

Isn't it against their license to broadcast AGAINST the public interest? This clearly doesn't allow a fair and unbiased platform where all VIABLE candidates can speak their mind. I think that the FCC ought to pull the plug on Fox until they can understand what their obligation to the public really is. Don't JUST boycott them, let's try and get their license REVOKED!(at least suspended) Now THAT would send a clear message to ALL media outlets! Anyone know how to go about getting that ball rolling?

[William Francke]

Maybe Fox News(?!) is giving Ron Paul back handed support. His campaign could not have paid for better PR than what these very smart Fox people are giving him.

[Yukon Dave]

WOW, Nice article. Ron Paul needs to win big in New Hampshire to force the other canidates to take some of his views. Ron has guts to go to Iowa and tell people he will end farm subsidies. Not to good for votes. In the end 3rd, 4th, and 5th are within 3 points of each other. Only Huckabee, Romney and Paul won an entire county and grabed 2 delegates for the Republican convention.

Funny thing about the votes, look at a map of Iowa internet coverage and you see it matches Ron Paul support.

Stay tuned. You can not walk in New Hampshire without falling over a Ron Paul sign.

[Matt]

Andrew,

My resolve is stronger today than it ever was. I hope that you have now seen the light. The news media has their own agenda, and Ron Paul is not part of it. Doesn't that send you a clear message that something is totally wrong?

The polls had him at 3-4 percent and he beat all of the poll predictions. He has raised millions of dollars and he's not a viable candidate? Maybe I'm just a nutjob like Ron Paul, or I smell a rat.

He is what this country needs.

GO RON PAUL!!!!! KEEP IT GOING.

[USAF Vet Dan]

Andrew, I've been critical of your reporting of Ron Paul in the past, but nobody can complain about this one. Your assessment is factual and unbiased. Thanks.

As one would imagine, there are some RP supporters who view a 5th place showing (as opposed to the 3rd place target) in Iowa as the end of the world. In reality, it isn't because 3rd, 4th and 5th were in a tight little group with a spread of only a few percentage points. Also 10% of the total vote is higher than the "official polls" had predicted. Emotions aside, Iowa was not a defeat for Ron Paul - it was a mild victory. I guess too many RP supporters are used to (and now expect) blockbusting victories like they've had with money bombs, blimps, straw polls, etc.

A few supporters will fall off, more will join, and the battle will continue. On to New Hampshire... on to victory for the Constitution!

Thanks again for fair and unbiased reporting. Fox should take lessons from you.

[Sean]

Is this surprising to anyone? John Stossel did a series of interviews with Ron Paul for a 20/20 segment but it was relegated to "online-only" status by ABC. It isn't just Fox, it is all of the big media conglomerates that will lose money if this man is elected President.

Beware the fight of the downtrodden and outcast.

[Andy K. Kuo]

Thanks for the great post, Mr. Malcolm!

We Ron Paul supporters were hoping for better than 10% but hopefully we will win NH and start picking up momentum.

[Jim]

Hmm... You appear to be suggesting something near the end :).

Actually, I think your idea would be excellent; It would blow the "trailer is too small" argument out of the water.

Fox News should be ashamed, they won't even step up to say why they've excluded him. The reasons they cite don't even remotely stand up to scrutiny. Paul beats Giuliani in Iowa, blows away Thompson in the NH polls...

The obvious reason they aren't inviting him is that he is the only one advocating a true "conservative" foreign policy... Where's the "Balance" in "Fair and Balanced"? They truely are "Faux News".

It's been well known that Fox traditionally has leaned to the right, but now they don't even appear to do that, they only lean to the "War" and "Terr'ists are gonna steal my Freedoms!". People need to wake up and see who is really stealing their "Freedoms".

[John]

I talked to a fox vp yesterday. Paul Moody decided to exclude Ron Paul. You can get his number from ronpaulforums.com in the Fox/Debate section.

[Sonja]

Thank you Mr Malcolm. Fox is truly exposed here, without the minimum excuse. BTW, we are not just boycotting all Fox sponsors, we are calling and emailing them, We are also dumping and shorting the stock. Enough is enough.

[Winghunter]

The results of Iowa proves only one thing, they have no idea who these candidates truly are...don't be one of them.

Candidate Research - Know Who You're Voting For
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/candidate_research_know_who_youre_voting_for/

[Pete Mackin]

I still maintain that Newscorp is violating US Code Title 47, Section 315(a) of the Communications Act. The Act allows stations to exclude candidates if they if it is bona fide news coverage of an event, candidates stopping by, random encounters, stories, etc.

But I believe, and have forwarded this concern on to the FCC and the appropriate congressional subcommittee for investigating such matters, that because Newscorp is actually hosting the event and "making their stations available", and is creating the discrepency in equal time deliberately, they may be in violation. I have forwarded the concern on to Rep. Bart Stupak (D), Menominee's office, who is the chair of the investigations committee for telecommunications.

I suppose a healthy fine or perhaps even pulling a license or two may wake these Newcorp monopolistic twits up. By the way, I'm going to urge President Paul to apply the Sherman Antitrust Act to Newscorp as well. Skewing a presidential election presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States. Start preparing your notes for the hearings Mr. Murdoch.

[Ed.]

Fox News hates Ron Paul, and always has, because he is anti-war and anti-Empire. Fox News loves war because its rating go up whenever America throws one, and it loves Empire because it provides it access to ever more markets. Its all about money for Murdoch and Co. But wait a minute...supporting wars for money and access to markets? Killing people for profit? Isn't that fascism? So there you have the real reason Fox hates Ron Paul...he's not a fascist. No wonder Fox loves Rudy Giuliani.

[Steve]

Those empty chairs wouldn't be empty for too long! Remember what happened a few months ago in Iowa when Paul was excluded from a certain debate? You'd think FOX would have learned something on that day. Excluding Ron Paul always backfires big time.

[N. Otter]

Fox News should be ashamed of itself! For a news service that has the motto "We Report, You Decide," how does excluding Republican predidential candidate Ron Paul from the New Hampshire Debate fit in with the "We Report" part of the motto. They are excluding a candidate who defeated Rudy Giuliani in Iowa and garnered double digit support. He's also the top earning Republican this quarter in polictical donations. Those fund raising numbers indicate he has quite a bit of national support and people want to hear what he has to say so they can make a good decision come primary election day in their state. Fox News should not exclude a candidate from a debate just because that candidate disagrees with military adventurism, wants to bring the troops home and use the money we save for domestic spending and to slash unnecessary federal departments. Remember Fox News We the People are the ones who are supposed to Decide whether or not we like what you Report! Please don't exclude someone just becuase his politics don't agree with yours. That's called censorship and is generally practiced by overbearing Communist countries and dictatorships, not by American television news networks. Whatever happened to objectivity and letting every candidate have his say. Why are you so afraid of letting Ron Paul speak at the debate? Afaid he might win even more converts to supporting the American Constitution instead of the status quo?

[Matthew Clark]

Paul must win NH or he has lost his chance at a GOP bid. I'm a RP supporter and I recognize this fact.

I think Andrew has grown rather fond of Dr. Paul :) Or, he likes the high traffic he generates from Paul pieces.

Thanks Andrew for the coverage and your opinions, even if they are often contrary to mine. I, unlike many it seems, appreciate them.

(And we appreciate all of our readers and commenters. This is supposed to be a place for dialogue and we're getting lots of it.)

[charlie adams]

This is definately a matter of the people verses the government.we have, little at a time allowed our government to run away with our country and all that it was created to stand for.Is that how we want this great country to end?.i dont think so, I believe for the first time in a long time we the people have been given back our freedom to affect this process through the internet.the government has not figured on this or they would have and will evetually find a way to control us in this also.
THE TIME IS NOW FOR WE THE PEOPLE

[bgodley]

Paul most definitely will take Iows as a win. He did break double digits.

The truth is he will do very well in New Hampshire. He was FIRST place in Iowa among registered Independants. You know what, New Hampshire has almost half of it’s voters registering independant this year - a record.

He will do very well in New Hampshire. Way more than expected. I know that there are still people that love to write him off. They are part of that naysayer crowd that prefers to go with the flow of traffic rather than work against the odds.

Are the odds against Paul large? Yes in ever sense. That is what makes this battle even more exciting and worthwhile. This has given many of his supporters a purpose to involve themselves in the political process. His candidacy has brought many people out of apathy and that is nothing but good.

Is this blind loyalty? No, this is a testament to that great virtue of American ideals - tenacity. The willingness and desire to stick to a purpose no matter how many roadblocks, setbacks and failures.

[Scott]

I will be boycotting all sponsors of Fox News and Fox radio stations for their support of censorship.

[lsr57@yahoo.com]

I think we should look deeper than fox. R Murdoch owns newscorp . Who owns Murdoch ? Surely he licks someones boot .A banker or banking family perhaps

[Judy]

It's unfortunate that Ron Paul has been excluded. All of the other candidates are the same. How does Ron Paul plan to get the attention of the other networks to have them outside of the Debate to talk to Ron about where he differs from his Republican opponents?

[Patch]

Fox News is making a HUGE mistake. If the Ron Paul camp can raise 20 million dollars this quarter, most of it online and in small amounts, they can do a lot of damage to the Fox News advertisers.

Truth is, a boycott is the only thing Fox News will respond to in this situation. But, it has to be something that isn't for a day or a week. It has to be serious enough to make it hard for the Fox News sales team to overcome. Advertising agencies need to get the message.

You can tell when something isn't square, they come up with stupid excuses. The trailer isn't big enough? WHAT? Is this THE Fox News? They can't afford a double-wide? I plan on joining this boycott and being a vocal part of this REVOLUTION!

[R. Nieva]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LOS ANGELES TIMES FOR PROMOTING FREE MEDIA.

[Mark McLain]

Andrew,

3rd, 4th, and 5th place finish were how many votes apart?

(Pretty close. Good point.)

[Rhonin]

While I am not a Ron Paul supporter, I do believe he should be in the debates. If he doesn't get in, everyone should not watch the debate. Pass that word around on the Web!

[Jessica Murray]

Have you seen how small Ron Paul is? He doesn't need much space.

[IRguy]

Thank you for a great post Mr. Malcolm.

Go Ron Paul!!!

[dave]

Extremely well written article,with no bias , How is that possible that there are real news people out there when the media is so rife with CIA these days
good job keep up the great writing

[WarPropaganda]

Ron Paul said it best himself. Fox is a pro-war propaganda machine and they're afraid of his message. Ron Paul exposes them for the fraud that they are.

I don't think it's any secret that Fox News is more propaganda machine than news service.

[Bob Logan]

I deleted Faux news from all 7 of our TeleVisions. I don't want to hear their fair and balanced propaganda or hear any opinions from their "super spin zone". How dumb do they think American's are? Ron PAUL,Keep telling the truth and informing us of the real facts . Ron Paul is fighting to save America and our constitutional rights. Good luck, you have my vote.

[Bill Hicks]

Dr Paul should volunteer to rent a larger trailer so FOX wouldn't be so cramped.
Out fox, FOX.

[MoodyMemos]

Fox News has the blood of thousands on their hands for orchestrating and hyping this phony war in Iraq. Of course they don't want someone like Ron Paul with his dissenting views on their network.

Have you guys watched Outfoxed on Google video or Youtube? Also, search for "moody memos" to get an idea of how Fox News is influenced from the top ie. Paul Moody each day. Moody's memos are a lot like Rumsfeld's snowflakes.

Fox is a travesty and is one of the greatest threats to the republic.

[Elizabeth]

Dear Mr. Malcolm,

I have been following your articles, and I have to say I have noticed a shift in your writing about Dr. Paul, a pleasantly more objective shift, which I thank you for.

Each of these primary skirmishes are given weight by the media, but what Dr. Paul has brought to America is something that will outlive this election and far beyond; he has woken up an entire generation to the disturbing truth about the monster of a government that has been created in our name, and how we must first shackle and then start to dismantle that monster and replace it with the small, limited government our Founding Fathers envisioned.

Difficult? Yes. Doable? Yes. How will it be done? With a small (3-5% of the population) group of energized citizens working tirelessly to bring it about. Mr. Malcolm, I challenge you to become part of that small group of energized citizens; I challenge you to start reporting on the real meat of the issues that Dr. Paul rails against. I am guessing you know what they are: North American Union, the robbery committed by the Federal Reserve, and many other issues. Use your writing skills to educate your readers as to these issues.

I would like you to consider my challenge to you. Thank you again for your contributions. It is an exciting time to be alive.

(Thanks for the challenge. More importantly, thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a comment. But while we appear criitical at times and perhaps praising at others, we're really not trying to take sides. Read over time--and we've had nearly 1,100 of these items so far and going on 8,000 comments like yours--we try to be an equal opportunity offender and promote discussions like this one. If I was for one candidate and wrote that way, what's to discuss?)

[Sean]

I'm wonder how Ron Paul will do in Wyoming tomorrow. From the news reports, RP is one of the few that have been campaigning there. If he comes in 2nd, they may play it off by not mentioning him at all, and focusing on the winner. If he happened to win Wyoming, the heat against Fox could go supernova . Hard to ignore his absence from the debate if one of the Sundays news stories is him winning a state. (Even one penalized as Wyoming)

[badmedia]

Rudy using the excuse he didn't try is pathetic. He didn't try because he knew he didn't have a chance. To give him a pass for this reason is just mind blowing bull.

If Ron Paul had not tried - And he honestly didn't put much into Iowa at all, would it be a valid excuse? Nope, it's only considered valid because that is what the media wants to be valid.

[Matt]

Excellent ideas Andrew.

[mike]

There was a traffic jam last night in Dubuque that was miles long. The other caucus location was the most people ever to be at Senior high (and mostly Paul and Romney) I wonder how many people lost their vote because of poor planning in the non-rural areas for a large turnout of Ron Paul supporters.
As for Fox news, I'm reminded of what Mark Twain said "Nothing is harder to tolerate than a good example!" I will no longer support them as a news agency because of this apparent and shameless tactic. Maybe they can make room for Alan Keyes, though.

[Jeb]

Being the trailer trash they are, Can't Fox get a double wide so they can fit a skinny Presidential candidate among their forum members? Sheesh, that's a no brainer. So why are they really excluding him?

[scott]

I find your commentary condescending and not really journalism. So even though you cite blogs, the message that Yes, Paul did break through expectations and Yes, the pundits were wrong has not been heard by the vast majority of Americans. Blogs are the whisper in the din of corporate sponsored media.

Its appalling when blatant censorship is applauded by lambasting a candidates supporters. I suggest your tone should change to an unbiased tone if you want to be considered a journalist.

[Brian]

Heres what I just sent in an email to Fox regarding this .....

"This is in regards to your exclusion of Dr Paul in your upcoming forum in New Hampshire. If the issue is really space, thats the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. Why don't you just get a bigger space? I imagine Dr Paul's supporters would even be willing to pay for it for you. Another suggestion ... Ron isnt nearly as large as Fred Thompson in physical size. Get rid of Fred to save space and you could possibly bring in two others. Anyway those are just a couple ideas from a dumb American who obviously isnt nearly as intelligent on these types of issues as yourselves. Best of luck on your future censorship of U.S. politics."

(Funny line, Brian!)

[TESS101]

Andrew, thank you once again for writing about Ron Paul's victory win over Giuliani, and Foxnews corrupt and manipulative/unfair reporting of the Republican New Hampshire Forum. I cannot believe that the GOP is not stopping this. I really believed that our media in the United States of America would be fair and balanced, but I, like many other Americans have been fooled. I am thankful to Ron Paul and his supporters for opening my eyes, and for revealing the truth about Foxnews. I am thankful that the L.A. Times will share information regarding Ron Paul in Blogs. I am sad to see that this very important information regarding our Presidential election process, Ron Paul, and Foxnews isn't making to the front page where it really belongs.

Ron Paul has my vote and support. Foxnews will feel blowback real soon if they do not reconsider inviting Ron Paul as well as Duncan and Keyes to the New Hampshire forum on January 6th. They need to remember that we the Ron Paul Supporters are everywhere just as Hannity stated on his radio talk show.

Integrity is everything, and Foxnews has none.

[Eye Openser]

Hel-lo. Media black out is not limited to Ron Paul. Media black-out is in the nation's busiest court. If Britney Spears wasn't demonstrating the rich are different...their lawyers get into court on a moment's notice while normal litigants wait months...and that Adam Liptak wrote in the NY Times that judges favor actions that support the legal industry...which is certainly true in Family Court, but the good news is sites like www.FamilyLawCourts.com educates the public to fake attorneys, fake therapists and judges supporting all comers in the divorce and custody industry.

So thank Heaven for the Internet. Imagine what we wouldn't know, otherwise.

(Thanks for making us one of your internet stops.)

[Robert Moore]

You would think that they could move up about 2,000 unused and rotting government-purchased Katrina Trailers from Mississippi and make a little Fox-News trailer trash mobile home park that would be able to accomodate thousands.

[mketcher]

You suggest that because the LA Times covered Dr. Paul in a few articles that this proves that there's not a conspiracy by the mainstream media against him. However, there's a good reason Fox doesn't want him in the debates -- they don't want to show the Ron Paul pitted against the other candidates, because in previous debates, he's wiped the floor with them. This is proven by Fox's own post-debate polls, which showed Dr. Paul winning the debate. What's even more astounding is that by not having Dr. Paul in the debate, Fox is not only hurting its credibility as a news organization, but also guaranteeing less viewers. You would think the advertisers would be furious at this attempt by Fox to sabotage its own programming. I think it demonstrates how much Rupert Mudoch, who is a Giuliani supporter fears Fox. Every time one of Dr. Paul's opponents in the debate has tried to use him as a whipping boy, they've only helped raise Dr. Paul's profile and his popularity. Even though in previous debates, the networks have given Dr. Paul less time than the other candidates -- and less relevant questions -- he still manages to prevail in the debate.

People are disgusted with politics as usual and want someone with honesty, integrity, and authenticity.

(No, only suggesting there's no conspiracy HERE, which is all we can do. Up to you where you go to read. But if we were part of some conspiracy, we sure wouldn't put your pointed comment right here for all to see.)

[Joe Ryan]

Paul's followers see the Fox News exclusion as part of a broader corporate conspiracy by the mainstream media to squelch the 72-year-old, 10-term Republican representative.
That doesn't explain how this item and this item and this item and this item, among many others, got into this blog.

Are you kidding us? Because a few comments are allowed in to major media blogs then it follows that the major media powers aren't trying to shape the contest? I can find hundreds of articles in the major media concerning Ron Paul and some include positive comments; but that has no close relationship with the level and kind of coverage Ron Paul would get if he was well regarded by the beltway crowd. The emperor has no clothes. The powers that be in the CFR have shaped this race from day One. They have done everything that they could do - without going so far as to expose their biases to the average, distracted voter - to twist American Public opinion to their preferences. It's been obvious for months that the polling is manipulated so that the American public will decide that their favorite candidate has such little support that it would be best to abandon their first choice and vote for one of the 'viable' candidates. Nobody wants to waste their vote, so after the major media gathers up a con man like Frank Lutz and starts pushing their candidates, support for the 'non-viable- candidates drifts away. Then guess what's left; CFR members. Huckabee is a nightmare to the CFR weasels so they have unleashed Rush Limbaugh and others on him. They tried to endorse him out of the race and that didn't work. People have become so accustomed to bias from major media outlets that the more Huck is attacked, the higher his stock rises. That's very encouraging because it indicates that gradually some segments of the population have all but given up on major media being straight about the agenda being pushed by the Billionaires club members that own or otherwise exercise great control over what Americans think every day. Now the Billionaires have two problems; they must crush both Huck and Ron Paul. Edwards, Hillary, and Obama are all CFR members, so if Huck hangs on or Paul gains enough momentum to win the nimination, then the major media will push for the Democrat to win. Party affiliation is trumped by CFR membership. The billionaires don't care what party your from as long as you can be counted on to their bidding. I'm sure Malcolm doesn't see himself as part of some 'conspiracy' to elect CFR members. But, from the tone of Malcolm's writing it's pretty clear he has not really considered why some people get and keep jobs that give them great influence over public opinion while others don't get the same jobs, or why they don't keep them. Americans realize that there isn't some man behind a screen that gives marching orders to all the members of the major media regarding what they will think today and how that will inform their writing. The major media likes to use absolute terms like 'control' to describe what the 'conspiracy gang' believes about media power because it basically disenfranchise their opinion; since it's obvious to rational people that a media godfather is not dictating EVERY move every reporter or writer for major media outlet might make. I've seen the same tactic used by the Media elites for years and years. Whenever the tactic is trotted out, you get the same reaction; what's wrong with those people who believe someone or some group 'controls' the media? Can't they see that my favorite columnist trots out some populist views once in a while? So, the way the major media defines the parameters of any debate related to 'media control' always ensures that the people who say that 'certain affiliated groups have too much control over the media' look foolish. If the major media acts so independently then how come they ALL covered the pointless, distracting D.B. Cooper story on the same day. It was a 30 year old dormant piece of nothing story. Some nobody FBI agent from Oregon gets excited and holds a news conference detailing how he's going to waste time solving a 30 year old case, and EVERY major media outlet jumps on the story like it was a mini-911 and a big currently developing story. I watched NBC Nightly News and they didn't mention Iraq; the origins of the subprime conspiracy (crisises aren't planned out ahead of time) and who made money on it (Goldman Sachs). Instead EVERY major news outlet in the entire US used enormous amounts of air time covering D.B. Cooper. If anyone still doesn't believe the major media is doing hit jobs on candidates it doesn't favor, remember what the Des Moine Register did with Keynes; and how it eliminated Kucinich; and how it's moderator asked Obama an interview style gotcha question (about having Clinton advisors) a couple days before endorsing Hillary. And of course, I can't wait to hear Romney, Rudy, or Hillary asked about whether they believe in UFO's. Just curious how one on one gotcha questions are appropriate for a debate format where the question can only be effectively answered by one person. We can all see the hand of the powers that be in the questions being asked at Major media debates. Whether the participants realize they are being used as tools is immaterial. Understand Malcolm?

(Sure, understand your passion. We're not really responsible for your anger or any conspiracy out there against--or for--Ron Paul or anyone else. Sure, all campaigns have people leave positive and negative comments on blogs like this. All we can do here is not be a part of a conspiracy, but be part of an online dialogue with people who choose to come here to read our thoughts that start the discussion. Thanks for reading. Thanks for coming here. Thousands more are coming here every day, in fact. The numbers show it. They must be liking something. And we welcome them and their comments. Now, that's a good kind of conspiracy to have.)

[KC Hicks]

If space is the concern - Fred Thompson is a big fellow. If Fox didn't allow him in the trailer then there would be room for Ron Paul and the other guy. Ron Paul beat both Guilani & Thompson in Iowa.... but Fox News is still trying to rationalize their decision - err national polls. Spin spin spin, Fox news slogan should be, We decide what we report, so you will decide on what we report. Fox doesn't rely on public airways - their news is transmitted via cable.... so they have different rules to follow here. Fox will not cave in to Ron Paul supporters protesting... Fox is not THE NEWS - they are a News entertainment and propaganda show. After the treatment their news people have given Ron Paul - when he has appeared on FOX - all they do is try and present Ron Paul in an unflattering - can't win, fringe candidate. So maybe it is better he NOT attend even if he were asked now. I hope the folks in charge of spending the 20 million - decide not to pay for TV ads on Fox!

(As a point of fact, Thompson did finish ahead of RP in Iowa. Not by a lot.)

[politicalsanity]

Andrew-

Thanks for the unbiased report on the result of the Iowa election.

My only 'complaint' is that since you mentioned that Ron Paul came in 5th with 10% of the vote, IMO you should have also mentioned that 3rd place was Thompson with 13% and McCain, at 4th place, had 12%-- so Ron Paul had A LOT of people come out and vote, despite the lack of press coverage given his campaign.

Thanks also for the headsup on the front-page editorial by the Manchester Union Leader. Hopefully that may influence Fox to do the right thing. Probably not, but its nice to hope.

I realize that this is only the blog-- but can you influence your editors to allow some articles about some of the lesser known candidates in the PRINT edition? TIA, if you can. 8)

(Not really, but they have done some good individual RP articles in the paper, more than on some other candidates actually. All the paper's presidential political articles appear on this page:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/
So you can check there. You can also use the search function to find previous Paul articles. And, of course, you can always come back here, which is often now among the most-viewed pages on the website, by the way. Thanks for reading.)

[jatcagirl]

can anyone tell me why the ron paul interview on larry king was never aired? not that it would be his best forum, but at least he'd probably have been able to answer a question without getting cut off...

(Ask CNN. We "aired" it here.)

[Greg]

Hey Andrew. I've always been polite to you, so I just wish you would stop making blanket statements about "Paul Supporters". Especially when it comes to corporate conspiracies.

Also note that Ron Paul didn't put that much energy into Iowa either. This is a huge win for us. He got into double digits in on of the most theoconservative states in the U.S. That bodes well for New Hampshire prospects.

(Truly, quite an accomplishment, which is why there were 2 items here on RP today. Clinton also had 2.)

[ed in kc]

Faux News - They Decide, You Report

[Dale P]

This is all about censorship. After all, censorship is becoming America's favorite past-time. The US gov't (and their corporate friends), already detain protesters, ban books like "America Deceived" from Amazon and Wikipedia, shut down Imus and fire 21-year tenured, BYU physics professor Steven Jones because he proved explosives, thermite in particular, took down the WTC buildings. Free Speech forever (especially for candidates).
Last link (before Google Books caves to pressure and drops the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0

[CFR]

Ron Paul is against the principles of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Rupert Murdoch, Fox News and News Corp founder, is a member of CFR. Therefore, his company will do whatever they can to keep Ron Paul down. By the way, Obama is also a member of the CFR.

[Jim Smith]

I wonder why Fox is keeping Ron Paul out of the debate? Could it be because they are a mouthpiece for the Bush administration? Check out who watches Fox news exclusively:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0322061cheney1.html

[Outside observer from Canada]

Fox News is proving that it is the joke which most Canadians always knew that it was!

Here's the score for Fox News:

Paul 10% -- Guiliani 4%

Hopefully, this snub of Paul will put an end to that joke of a network once and for all South of the Border.

[Marine]

The American people and their democracy have the responsobility to choose the next President of the United States, not Fox News. Thank you for shedding light on the situation Mr. Malcolm.

[Jason]

Sorry Malcolm, but the old Guiliani excuse of "he didn't do any time in Iowa" doesn't work here.

Guess who spent more time in Iowa than Ron Paul, ( Data for 01 Aug - 03 Jan):

- Paul - 27 Appearances, 11,598 votes

- Giuliani - 35 Appearances, 4,013 votes

See LewRockwell.com for more info.

[Joe]

What about Ron Paul's big pot of cash? Will he be able to use it after the primaries, if he runs as an independent or as a Libertarian in the general election?.

One strong voice for liberty in the general election could upset the regulars of both partys and their nice stable little applecarts.

Imagine what 1/2 a dozen Libertaians could do in the House Of Representives, or 2 or 3 in the Senate.

GRIDLOCK?! Better than the activists on either side. and perhaps a step towards a true revolution.

Joe

[BB]

Fair and good article.

Thanks

[Cam]

There's one small innacurracy in your article, "While personally pro-life, Paul, an ob-gyn, would leave abortion or anti-abortion laws to the individual states as part of his strict constitutionalist approach." Though that is his stance, he is also advocating a constitutional ammendment which would guarentee innocent life, thus preventing abortion.

[Joel Brown]

The real reason that Fox News doesn't want Ron Paul to debate is that they know that once their so-called small government hear him, it will wake them up. Ron Paul is the only true low tax, small goverment candidate, the rest are going to spend us into bancruptcy. Only Ron Paul will reform the Federal Reserve Bank by backing our dollar with Gold. Read more at http://www.apfn.org/apfn/reserve.htm

[T.H.]

We will be boycotting all Fox stations. Ron Paul should be included in every debate and given fair air time like all the other candidates. GO RON PAUL!

[Greg]

Hey Andrew,

I don't know if my previous comment posted, so I'll just say it again. I like your work and I think you're pretty fair to us Paul supporters even when you tease us. But I would prefer if you didn't use blanket statements about ron Paul supporters. I don't think there's any conspiracy within the mainstream press...insofar as they actually have to conspire among one another. I just think they live in a world of cynicism where belief in the possibility of reform strikes them as naivity or even craziness. I think Fox takes it one step further with an outright disdain for Republicans who's platforms are at odds with the neoconservative agenda. If neoconservatives maintain a hold on the Republican party, they'll have some semblance of power even when they loose in 2008. But if they lost the Republican Party...well...that a helluva bigger threat. So they've come out in force agianst him (Kristol, etc).

In my opinion, that's the broader cause for Paul's press problems. Fox is neocoservative, so they have no love for Paul. Many others are liberal, so they have no love for Paul. And (maybe) no one in the press really wants reform because it would crush the established b1tch-session form of punditry.

At any rate, Paul does have friends in the press (Tucker Carlson, John McLaughlin, Pat Buchanan, Glen Beck), they just took longer to come around given their environments.

[JohnMatthews]

Thank you for your fair and informed reporting on Ron Paul and his positions.

I voted for McCain back in the 2000 NH primary and have since been incredibly disappointed by his apparent willingness to compromise his integrity for the sake of political expediency.

Ron Paul's consistent principled record while serving in congress and his performance in the debates gives me hope that he will remain a man of his word and continue to speak truth to power and to the American People.

[Tannim]

The Fox News trailer is actually a converted bus.

Considering who's on it between the included candidates and the people running the roundtable, it must be a short bus...

Oh well, at least ABC had the courage to include him. I feel sorry for the other 5 guys on that one, because it'll be 5-on-1 and the 5 don't stand a chane...

[Torqued]

I will boycott Fox and their endorcers for life if they decide not to invite Ron Paul !!!

[Chip]

This discussion has been if the physical size of people would fit in the trailer. The real question is the size of all the egos going into trailer. With all those overinflated egos I'm sure it will be very cramped. I'm surprised some of them can get their heads through the door.

They still should let Paul in because his ego is very malleable. There is always room for someone like Ron Paul.

[Jimmy4truth]

Ron Paul is so truthful and honest, and relates to the American people so well he would have surely won the New Hampshire Primary. In the straw polls done in New Hampshire Paul won by nearly 40%, and since New Hampshire is an Independant State, Paul would be a shoein. Then Paul would receive all the media coverage, and that just threatens the corrupt establishment in power. The news media chose the candidates here, not the American people!

[Earl E]

Dr. Paul was on Bill Moyer's Journal a few minutes ago and I wept several times.

will never give up on Dr. Paul.

Thank you for this article, you are growing a large base of readers who respect your ethics.

Keep asking the questions no MSM outlet will ask.

[Ann]

HERE IS A LIST OF FOX NEWS SPONSORS (boycott them)

Crest whitestrips & Dawn
Mercedes Benz
Comcast
Best Buy
Travelocity
Capzasin
Ditech.com
eloan.com
toyota
Centrum
Nextel
Vehix.com
Gold Bond
Aspercreme
American Express
Holiday Inn Express
priceline.com
L.L. Bean
Jet Dry
Bankrate.com
Cars Direct.com

YOU CAN BOYCOTT THESE SPONSORS BY EMAILING YOUR OUTRAGE
OR JUST NOT BUYING THEIR PRODUCTS......GO RON PAUL
*********PLEASE PASS THIS LIST AROUND TO YOUR FRIENDS OF RON PAUL*****

[Alice]

Fox and ABC should let Paul and Kucinich participate in their respective debates. Let voters hear from all viable candidates.

[Tess101]

Mr. Andrew Malcolm,

I know you read these responses, and comments, and I do know you are an intelligent, logical thinking individual as well. Please if you will answer one question for me, honestly why do you think Ron Paul is being blackballed or whatever you want to call it? Do you think foxnews and the big television media types are afraid they won't have much to report if Ron Paul is doing a great job as President and there isn't so much drama. The news nowadays is so full of junk and drama queens, look at Hannity and O'Reilly, what a joke. Please share your thoughts with us normal Joes of the United States of America.

(I really can't answer that. My attempts to get an explanation were met with the statement that it was the NH GOP making the candidate decisions, as written here.)

[john]

Cancel your subscription to the Wall Street Journal with an appropriate comment. The Financial Times and Investor's Business Daily are suitable alternatives.

[Busy lawyer]

For those interested and serious about taking action against FOX Television and a fairly obvious bias, 47 CFR 76.205 and 76.209 (Code of Federal Regulations) pertaining to the "fairness doctrine" and "equal opportunities for legally qualified candidates for public office" FCC rules. Sending a complaint to the FCC is a small token that citizens do not want to be told who the leading candidates should be.
Good luck

[Rory]

Thank you, Andrew.

[James Hines]

NO ROOM IN THE TRAILER?
Who is fooled by this???
Do you really think that Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter have been excluded to accomodate the small amount of room in the TRAILER?
Or is it more likely that a TRAILER was chosen for this forum to justify excluding Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter?
Having trouble with that one?
Ask yourslef this: "How many other debates have been held in TRAILERS???
All of the other forums were also held in front of a live audience.
Gee, I can imagine that once you put Rudy, Mitt, John, Fred, Mikey and the audience in the trailer - not to mention the FAUX NEWS STAFF, it really is going to be won't be any elbow room. No what I mean? (Nudge, Nudge, Elbow, Elbow)???
Ron Paul is right: these people MUST be afraid of him.
James Hines

[J. Thomas]

How can we get a list of sponsors to fox news? I would be interested in writing a letter to all of them explaining my boycott and then following thru with it. Even if it's just me, I know that I will be doing it and that's all that matters in the end. Did I (you) really stand for your beliefs or not? I think everyone here would also follow thru. I also like the license revoking idea. The laws that are put in place to do good should be used relentlessly.

(A fellow commenter provided a list above.)

[Anonymous]

Fox News has done this type of thing for a long time. It seems whenever somebody wants to do good or isn't self absorbed in corrupted interests, that they do everything they can to put them down and use whatever disinformation tactics they can. It's nice to see somebody who's good for the country like Ron Paul, be intelligent enough to not fall into their traps and setups.

[xtrabiggg]

Fox News should change their name to 'PRAVDA', since they seem to have adopted that media outlet's editorial and censorship policy. And, if the Republican Party Of New Hampshire and the National GOP do not insist that either ALL the candidates participate, or NONE of them do, they should change the name of the GOP to the 'COMMUNIST PARTY', since thier advocacy of censorship of legitimate candidates for President would be in line with the traditions of the rulers of the now-defunct USSR and those still in power in the People's Republic of China.

Furthermore, sanctions and fines should be levied by the party against any candidate who participates in this travesty. FOX News and the GOP should also be charged by the Federal Election Commission with violation of the "Electioneering' laws, whereby they are using pubilc airwaves to unfairly favor or disfavor one candidate over another. In addition, they should be charged with violating Federal Campaign Finance laws, as instead of a News event, this would become an advocacy broadcast for the candidates appearing, and would, in effect, amount to an illegal campaign donation to the tune of MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to the campaigns of the candidates who appear on the boradcast. Of course, this will never happen, as the FEC, the Justice Department and most of our government has been corrupted and taken over with billions in lobbyist dollars by the very powers that are seeking to impose this un-American censorship- the multinational corporations who OWN the Media outlets, and who are profiting obscenely through the war and the monetary policies that Ron Paul advocates changing and eliminating.

xtrabiggg
+++++++++++++++++

[Doesn't Matter]

Who cares? I doubt many people will watch them anyway. How could this even help RP? He'd get the least amount of questions, and would be in a hostile environment.

According to all the talking heads on tv and their mouth dropping reaction to all the Ron Paul signs and bumper stickers they see there, I am pretty sure RP's name is well known to NH voters. If they haven't looked up on he is by now, I doubt a few second responses to questions in a debate is going to make them curious.

If anything the exclusion will just make people more interested it him.

[uk employment law solicitors]

wow! really awesome . this posts what talent and experience you have ... great work done !

[Ron Paul 2008]

Fair and balanced, yeah right.

[MR]

Here's what I sent to Faux News:

As a former Fox News supporter, I think you should go ahead and ban from your debates whoever you disagree with, whether it be Ron Paul or anyone else. Why not? The "fair and balanced" slogan has become an ironic self-parody. And I suggest changing your other motto to "We Decide, Then Report."

[Dan J]

You mean to tell me the local Fox affiliate doesn't have a studio that affords more space than what a trailer can provide?

Right...

Whatever, just toss out Romney's ego and you'll have plenty of room for Dr. Paul. Toss out Tax-abee's moral high horse and you'll have room for the Democrats too!

[Dustin]

It's so important to allow contrasting viewpoints in a debate so we do not get too caught up in the "group think." Ron Paul is what will keep us honest and healthy as a democracy and Fox's exclusion is truly the evidence that the corporate machine, the institution if you will, is truly afraid of these ideas.

I believe that even if Paul isn't elected the fact that these ideas he is proposing will have a great effect on future elections and should be promoted despite what chance you believe he has in winning the election.

[A UK observer]

In an ideal and 'high standards' world of politics for the people, this also says quite a lot about the other candidates. Why don't 'they' demonstrate democracy and boycott the Fox debate themselves until there is a fair semblance and debate amongst them all in the trailer? What are they afraid of?

[Philip]

The fact is Ron Paul got 10% and beat out Rudy. Its not very fair or balanced, I for one am going to take a closer look at what the man has to say considering Fox seems to wants to censor him. I wonder how many others follow my line of thought. "dont pay any attention to the man behind the curtain!" keeps echoing through my head!

[john lench]

i will not buy anything advertised on any FOX station ever>>>fair and balanced, what a joke>>>this will backfire and give RON PAUL a big boost>> FOX SUCKS

[Ray Vallee]

Fair and balanced my foot. This is an outrage!!!

[KL]

Paul needs to be in that debate.. All eyes are on NH and millions of americans will be watching the fox debate. most people dont pay attention to the race untill the first caucus so this is tons of potential newbies hearing pauls views for the first time. Censoring him on sunday will degrade his chances of catching on to the mainstream american and they know this.........

I hope the Paul campaign has something massive planned for this debate............ we need to get out there and make some big noise!!!!!! We must demand attention or we will continue to get written off!!!

[Doesn't Matter]

RP did get 10%, but Rudy is indeed ahead nationally and is a fox favorite. The rest of them all did better than RP in Iowa and poll higher nationally. I do see their point. I like RP, but I really don't think this is a big deal.

You NH RP supporters should worry more about getting out there trying to 'convert' independents, the apathetic and the undecided, in my opinion. The die hard republicans (who won't vote for someone like RP) and those curious about Huckleberry will most likely be the only ones who tune in, anyway.

[James Davis]

Don't Let FOX CHOOSE!
VOTE FOR RON PAUL!

[Judge]

Perhaps Paul could run as an independent candidate if he does not secure the Republican nomination. Then he could play spoiler to the party and the media that chooses to ignore him.

[Mike]

You say the LA Times is giving Ron Paul msm coverage? Writing a BLOG on the backpage LA Times website does NOT count as news coverage. Who really reads this drivel? The only people that read this are RP supporters out scouring the nation for a decent Ron Paul article. Then we run across another smear piece like this and are forced to defend our man Ron Paul or try to set the record straigh. I give you no thanks for your sarcastic comments here. If you think that there has been no news blackout on Ron Paul or mostly negative biased covergae than you are either not doing your job or are on their bandwagon. You do a dis-service to your readers and this country, you should be ashamed.

(Geez, you're the only one saying we're msm. I hope we're just an interesting unpredictable blog. We're giving RP coverage because he's a good political story, plain and simple. And so are his followers. And I don't know where the front or back of a website is, but, Mike-o, thousands of people are finding this blog wherever it is, making it the busiest page. And I see you're here too. So thanks for being one of them and reading.)

[kiki Curry]

There is a FOX in the hen house. Fair new? HA! The American people are AWAKE AND AWARE, so beware!

Go Ron!!!

[Jive Dadson]

Side note: Giuliani spent more time in Iowa than Ron Paul did.

[Republicae]

Ya know, for decades the people of this country have suffered at the hands of politicians who have sold this country down the river. The bureaucrats have burdened this nation and its people down with so many regulations, codes, laws, licenses, taxes that it is impossible to do anything without having to think about the government sticking it’s long nose into your business.

They have, through their policies and legislation, destroyed our manufacturing job base, allowed illegal immigrates to invade our borders, taxed us to the point that we must now work 6 months to pay those taxes, they send a vast majority of our tax dollars overseas while our own people struggle to make ends meet! They pay no attention to the voices of their own people while listening to the voices of special interest groups both here at home and from foreign nations. They have allowed the Federal Reserve to steal the wealth of the people through a fiat money system designed to lose its value through inflation while providing the government the ability to spend without restraint.

People who make $10 per hour today have the purchasing power of $1.84 in 1970, in other words your for every $100 you make today it actually has the same buying power as $18.40 dollars did in 1970. You think your wages have gone up, please don’t be fooled by a government that is in the pocket of the wealthy bankers of the Federal Reserve.

There is only one candidate that is not in the pocket of anyone and that is Ron Paul. He is passionate about restoring this country to the People, to tear down the walls that keep the People of this nation in a constant struggle. The other candidates offer nothing, none of them offer no solutions just empty promises.

We have been sold for a price that no one wants to think about, no one really wants to face, but much sooner then later we will have to face a reality that is unthinkable and that is the collapse of this fake fiat monetary system. What will you do when the entire monetary system that you have built your life around fails? No fiat monetary system has lasted over 40 years and ours is approaching that terminal point. All your investments, your savings, your pensions, your 401ks, your life insurance, government bonds and Social Security is completely built on a fiat money system that will terminate. If you think that the Central Banks can prevent it then just keep believing, keep voting the same ole establishment Democrats and Republicans into office, but if you want real change, change that will help secure the future of this nation and the future of you and your family’s well-being then vote Ron Paul in 2008.

Something to consider, I read a piece in the Canadian Financial paper the other day that stated the Canadians were worried that Ron Paul might be elected President. The reason they gave for their worry was that Ron Paul would institute Sound Money policies in the United States and it would make the U.S. so financially stable and so competitive on the global market that Canada would have to totally revamp their monetary system just to compete.

Imagine, the United States competitive again, prosperous again! Imagine that instead of being the Number 1 Debtor nation in the world that we became the Number 1 Creditor Nation again. Instead of being servants to those who lend to us we would once again be Masters of our own land and our future.

Ron Paul has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to economics and despite his detractors, his knowledge is based on common-sense monetary policies that would once again make the money you and I earn with our labor our property. Money use to belong to the person that earned it, that is no longer the case, the government controls how you make it, what you can do with it, and now keeps track of every dime you spend. Do we really want that type of country?

At one time your money was your property and the government respected the right you had to use your property. Ron Paul wants to restore the right of private property to the money you and I earn and take back the power of private property from the government.

If you believe that any of the other candidates either understand the economic problems we face as a nation, or have solutions to those problems then just ask them about the Federal Reserve and what they intend to do about the inflationary policies of that extra-government organization to restore the purchasing power of our money…they cannot answer those questions because they either don’t understand that there is a problem or they are so deep in the pockets of the special interest bankers that they simply don’t give a dang!

VOTE RON PAUL 2008…STOP THE THEFT BY THIS GOVERNMENT AND THEIR PALS AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE!

I can promise you this, that if Ron Paul is not elected in 2008 then by 2012 we will all wish he had been!

[JRG]

I'm supporting Fred Thompson but Ron Paul is my second choice. I used to think people who went on about big media conspiracies were nuts, I guess I went nuts because this election cycle has provided some eye openers.

[Kevin C.]

According to Rasmussen, Ron Paul is polling in third place at 14% in New Hampshire. Shame on the Fox Propaganda machine. Shame on our "Democracy."

[Angela West]

Excellent article. Two thumbs up and I am very critical of the stuff written about Paul, but you even got the Abortion part right. Thats great.

I've already cancelled my directv package and got one that doesnt have Fox News.

I spoke with my money and they ignore me. I can ignore them too, and everyone that supports them.

(FYI, News Corp/Fox sold off its share of DirecTV last year. So you can re-subscribe safely.
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=73298

[Thomas A. O'Brien]

Thank you L.A. TImes for spotlighting Ron Paul's decent showing in Iowa and helping expose the corrupt agendas of Fox News. Good New is that the NH GOP has pulled their sponsorship on the Fox debate!! Fox is on their own now.

Also, I urge all folks who intended to tune in to the farce Fox "roundtable" sham - to tune it out and reconsider any support you would have given to a any candidate who would take part is such a farce. Fox News is a rotten ship afloat in their own sea and sinking more daily.

[Saul Tanner]

How did Paul lose to Fox news?? You never explained that. Sure, you described the situation well enough, but not how Fox won anything by excluding Paul.

This has been GREAT for Paul; it has gotten the base motivated (raises hand), the NWS stock is being sold off in protest, other media outlets are writing stories about this, and further, has created quite a buzz of curiousity about Paul's message.

Thanks FOX, WTG!!

[Greg Georgas]

ts a sad thing when we have come to the point that the Republican party that is hosting the primary has no say in who gets a say in the primary...everyone shouyld think very hard about this and being a moderate Republican I believe Ron Paul to be in the right and I will vote for him

[Wes]

HERE IS A LIST OF FOX NEWS SPONSORS (boycott them)

Crest whitestrips & Dawn
Mercedes Benz
Comcast
Best Buy
Travelocity
Capzasin
Ditech.com
eloan.com
toyota
Centrum
Nextel
Vehix.com
Gold Bond
Aspercreme
American Express
Holiday Inn Express
priceline.com
L.L. Bean
Jet Dry
Bankrate.com
Cars Direct.com

I'll boycott them! WE THE PEOPLE are standing up and will not tolerate this crap anymore!

[Mom in Ohio]

Andrew,
I think I might like you enough to invite you to dinner at our house!

(Gee, thanks, Mom. I always knew I could count on you.)

[C. M. Mc]

I was unaware, until today, that Mike Huckabee named Richard Hass as his official "Foreign Policy Advisor"

I'm sorry, but there is no way I could ever support a man who listens to the likes of Richard Hass. Hass wants to do away with National Borders, National Sovereignty and wants to Cede the authority of the Constitution of the United States to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Have any of you read what Richard Hass espouses?

Richard Hass is a radical globalist promoter and has said:

“For 350 years, sovereignty -- the notion that states are the central actors on the world stage and that governments are essentially free to do what they want within their own territory but not within the territory of other states -- has provided the organizing principle of international relations. The time has come to rethink this notion."

"Moreover, states must be prepared to cede some sovereignty to world bodies if the international system is to function. This is already taking place in the trade realm. Governments agree to accept the rulings of the WTO because on balance they benefit from an international trading order even if a particular decision requires that they alter a practice that is their sovereign right to carry out."

Necessity may also lead to reducing or even eliminating sovereignty when a government, whether from a lack of capacity or conscious policy, is unable to provide for the basic needs of its citizens. "

[OscarDeGrouch]

Ron Paul's absence from the Fox Forum will be the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

[g. smith]

Rudy Giuliani had 3% of the vote in Iowa. Ron Paul won 10%.

So why is Fox not allowing Paul to debate?

We know their reporting is incompetent, but their math skills, too? Perhaps they're better at counting ratings. Fox, you're minus one more viewer.

Anonymous
New York, NY

[Joe Ryan]

I was unaware, until today, that Mike Huckabee named Richard Hass as his official "Foreign Policy Advisor"

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't realize he had been compromised until I read your post. I knew the CFR would be working overtime to bring Huckabee under their control now that it's almost inevitable that he'll be the Republican Party Nominee; but getting Hass into Huckabee's campaign was a real coup for the globalist. Now, Every single Candidate recognized by the major media except Ron Paul and Kucinich is either a CFR member or under the CFR sphere of influence. They booted Kucinich out of the race already, and that just leaves Paul. Rupert Murdoch- the 'owner of Fox News is a CFR member. So, the CFR front (Fox News) says Paul's got to go.

[Richard Wicks]

If anybody actually bothered to look at the vote tally in Iowa, Paul didn't really do as bad as you might think, having finished 3rd. Look at the #s:

Huckabee 40,841
Romney 29.949
McCain 15,559
Thompson 15,904
Paul 11,817
Giuliani 3,097
Hunter 524

Paul got almost 4 times the number of votes Giuliani did, and didn't really finish that far behind McCain and Thompson.

[tony angel]

Great blog piece from the author... congrats for a nice extension on your previous piece about the Ron Paul phenomenom.

The 10% vote from Iowa has really pushed Ron Paul to a serious contender position.

That fox debate by itself equals nothing in comparison to the Ron Paul versus status quo debate.

The academia i hope are gearing themselves up to be answering questions from journalists because there's lots of questions I, as a Ron Paul supporter want to see asked and presented to me in a coherent way.

The realistically low support results from first states shows the RP crowd they need to get themselves organised real quick in their own states...

Paulites could suggest to all of their local Ad Agency owners etc that they should offer campaigns that ppl can donate to. Then the best campaigns should attract the most donations.... Keep all the donations on a live ticker same as RP does on his site... It's such a great example of the RP way it seems..

As i read somewhere else there's really only 2 candidates, Ron Paul and the others... where's the msm? Could you please ask your editor to get some journos working on the articles that the at least 10% want to see?...

Peace Love & Freedom Go RON PAUL

[Ron Paul Revolutionary Guard]

We have known that they are neither fair or balanced, and their motto YOU DECIDE 2008 should be called FOX NEWS DECIDES FOR YOU 2008. Does Faux Noise really understand the backlash that has begun against them. We will dump their stock; boycott, call, and e-mail their advertisers; and worst heckle their talking heads wherever they are seen in any public venue. Did they want a war against us, it won't be any conventional war, but it will be just as devastating to their ratings, their earnings, and their sanity if they had any before it. Faux Noise is going down this time and will pay dearly for their attack on democracy in this country. No wonder why the Democratic candidates won't even appear on their network.

[Dave Smith]

This will shoot Paul ahead and leave Fox behind.....

[gary madrigal]

I am a Democrat, but I am voting for Ron Paul.
I think the people of this country are finally uniting, like we did the day after 9-11.
The feeling I had the day after, was of togetherness with my neighbors and friends, you know. Now this guy has me feeling like, WE THE PEOPLE, can vote to have someone finally stand up for us. I also think that the peple of this country should BOYCOTT FOX NEWS AND ANY OTHER NEWS AGENCIES that has done this to this man. He has done nothing but stand up for us. I hope he wins to really shake up the government.

[onassar]

im curious what you guys think that real staying power on ron paul is.. i put at the poll http://www.ifimpresident.com/d1508_the_great_ron_paul_question/ that i didn't really know, but am curious what others think..

some great beliefs on the fed in my opinion