Ron Paul scales back hopeless effort, refuses to back McCain

He's not really quitting. He's not really suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He's not promising victory, just to keep on keeping on. But, in effect, Rep. Ron Paul, at 72 the oldest candidate for president and the only GOP candidate to oppose the Iraq war, is facing reality.

In a statement to supporters on his website, first mentioned here early Saturday, Paul admits, "With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get." In a new 14-minute campaign video, Paul says he wants to clarify some confusion

His campaign currently claims a total of 42, 1,149 shy of the total to win and some 650 behind the GOP leader, though other estimates give him only 16. He took third in Washington over the weekend and fourth in Kansas behind even Mitt Romney, who'd dropped out. Even if he won every delegate still available, Paul could not capture the party's nomination in September in St. Paul, which is no relation.

Despite ridicule by other GOP candidates, despite getting significantly less time to speak during debates and, in one instance, even being barred from a GOP debate by Fox News although....

he'd collected more votes than those included, Paul repeated his vow not to attempt a third-party bid, which would drain priceless conservative votes from the party's nominee. "I am a Republican," he said, "and I remain a Republican." He did say he'd be reducing staff and offices.

Now, whether the 10-term congressman with the libertarian ideals, actually endorses Sen. John McCain is something else. Paul has said we should bring overseas troops home and invest the saved money in fixing America; McCain has vowed to stay overseas, especially Iraq, as long as it takes for success.

This morning Paul told one of our sister newspapers, "I cannot support anybody with the foreign policy he advocates, you know, perpetual war," said Paul. "That is just so disturbing to me."

In his website statement, Paul then alludes to probably the largest factor for his refocused campaign: He's trying to run simultaneously for president and his House seat in Texas' 14th Congressional District and faces a challenger in the March 4 primary, Chris Peden, a city councilmen from Friendswood. So Paul will be on two ballots that day.

"If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat," he said, "all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen." In a new 14-minute campaign video, Paul says he needs to clarify confusion over his dropping out, that he is just altering his schedule to allow primary campaigning in his home district and he intends to compete fully in all remaining primaries and on to the convention.

Although largely ignored as irrelevant by many media outlets, though not The Ticket, the story of Ron Paul and his thousands of determined, sometimes aggressive, usually good-natured followers is one of the more interesting of the current election season.

Virtually spontaneously, disaffected Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and newcomers to the political process began gathering around the plain-spoken Paul last summer and with their nearly $20 million in smaller donations turned him into the most successful GOP fundraiser in the last quarter. On one day he raised $6 million online and was the only Republican to increase his contributions in every quarter of 2007.

With some 1,400 meet-up groups across the country, letter-writing and sign-waving campaigns and creative publicity stunts, they helped Paul to some second, fourth and fifth place finishes in states such as Nevada, Montana and Maine. He beat Rudy Giuliani in Iowa and Fred Thompson in New Hampshire and financed an eight-state advertising campaign.

His boosters, who worked the Internet assiduously to right wrongs and make Paul's case, maintain that a corporate-media conspiracy to ignore him prevented the former ob-gyn from getting his less-government message out to most Americans. He certainly was ignored and, only recently, included when providing poll results on TV. But additionally, his strict constitutionalist ideas for reducing the federal government and abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve Bank and returning to the gold standard may be just too radical for a country today facing international terrorist threats and the current economic uncertainty.

Even the tone of hundreds of comments left here by Paul supporters changed in recent days from aggressive advocacy to reluctant acceptance of the disappointing reality of continued single-digit poll results.

It would be interesting if those supporters took the time here now to leave comments explaining why they think Paul never caught on to a wider audience (we already know about the media conspiracy) and what they think about his refocused campaign and their spent donations.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Martin]

It is really a shame that Ron Paul was shunned by Main Stream Media as a result of their views. What is more of a shame is who is being pushed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y395Tftgz0E

[Flo]

Paul hasn't quit and neither has his supporters. They are your next door neighbors. Hundreds of thousands of people now realize just how corrupt both our media in general and our elections have become. The vote fraud and backroom deals should make every American angry because their votes really don't count.

[Ms. Cris Ericson]

Hi! I hope Ron Paul stays in the RACE.
I live in Vermont.
Cris Ericson

[Jon]

I donated to the campaign, and have no regrets. Paul raised many valid points about the war in Iraq and the economy, points which would have been ignored if he wasn't there. He brought many new voters to the process, as well as reawakening many disaffected and formerly apathetic voters.

A message has been sent to the GOP, the voice of many who do not agree with big-government "conservatism" and interventionist foreign policies which cost us trillions of dollars, with questionable returns.

The question is, will the GOP listen? I don't think they will this time, and they will go down in flames in the general election. Maybe four years from now they will be a little wiser, and if so, my investment in Dr. Paul was money well spent.

Plus, those Federal Reserve notes aren't worth much anyway :)

[Michael OBrien]

There are a multitude of reasons Ron Paul never caught fire. The first reason was timing. Had he received his money bombs in July or August, rather than November and December, he could have built a national organization and planned an appropriate ad budget.
Secondly, Paul's Jeffersonian/Madisonesque ideals appeal to independents, and to a lesser extent--fiscally responsible democrats and to an even lesser extent--those republicans who haven't drunk the Neo-Con Kool-Aide. This required the large swath of his supporters to switch party affiliation. Many missed that deadline or were unaware that in many states, independents cannot vote republican.
Thirdly, the self-coronated moderators rationed debate time away from Paul and Thompson, and toward McCain, Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee.
And lastly, America is not ready to return to a republic with Constitutional governance. Corporatism and it's bought and paid for shills, who never met a lobbyist or pork spending project they didn't love, are so firmly ensconced in Washington, that a lone voice like Paul is shouting in the cold, dark wilderness. I long for the America our Founders created. The plain truth is if Jefferson and Madison were voting today, Dr. Paul would be their only option.

[politicalsanity]

In my eyes, the fight is not over.

Ron Paul may not win the GOP nomination this time, but he HAS energised a lot of previously apathetic voters into becoming involved.

It may take a while for the messages to percolate through, but his Revolution HAS begun. The Paulunteers will soon be changing the face and direction of the GOP, away from the neo-con empire building agenda and towards more Constitutionally mandated policies.

[tim, minnesota]

Cute story, I a Ron Paul support and precinct chair will remind everyone the delegate tally reported by the press is inaccurate for caucus states. The caucus state results only reflect straw poll results and not actual first tier delegate selection. In our Minnesota precinct, 42 folks voted about 1/2 for Romney as a protest vote against McCain. Then 22 folks left, we held elections and six of 10 open delegate spots were filled by Ron Paul supporters. This happened all over Minnesota last week even as Ron Paul only garnered 16% of the state straw poll. Those spots are what matters as the county district and state convention occur in Minnesota. Ron has great support in Minnesota and other states far exceeding the straw poll indicated by the media. There may be many surprised folks when the national Republican Party holds the convention this summer. To the diligent goes the prize. I can provide the crow should you need some this fall.

[AJ]

I blame the media almost exclusively. They would rather cover a monkey riding a rodeo dog than talk about less government, sound money and ending lucrative wars...Although I wished that the Paul campaign pushed harder for more mainstream endorsements, I doubt that anyone would have heard about them anyway. The fact that our own active troops support Ron Paul over ALL other candidates never "made" the news is a good example of the "blackout". People voted for McCain because they thought he was against the war! I am afraid that alot of Americans are just too far gone to ever wake up. I truly believe that we accomplished a major goal during this race....Starting the FREEDOM REVOLUTION!!! You will be hearing about hundreds of "Ron Paul Republicans" running for various offices both local and national in the years to come and I will be voting for all of them! God Bless America and support a new investigation of 9/11.

[Kirk Smith]

Here in Washington State, it has just come out that Ron Paul has won at least twice as many more statewide delegates than any other candidate.

McCain may have won the straw poll, but it now appears that Ron Paul has won what counts: the committed delegates to the convention.

Just thought you might wanna know.

[joe momma]

I think ron paul was ahead of his time, oddly enough. I think libertarianism will gain more momentum in the years to come.

[Boots920]

What happened to the recount in NH, money talks BS walks. Voter fraud reported in NH, Washington, New York.
Question: How can people outside the US respect the process when there is media black outs, world wide and no paper ballot. With coruption like this, who needs terrorists. You guys instead of a book burning, why don't you have a Constitution burning. For Leaders of the Free World, you suck...

[beava]

The R[evoL]ution is more than the presidency..it is a movement to restore our government. We are Ron Paul Republicans and we are not going away any time soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryMliyeIDp4

[Revolutionary]

First off... thank you SO much to the Ticket for it's continued support. I am more for Ron Paul today than I was on Friday before my caucus in WA State. I am proudly a delegate, and I intend to see this through to the end - no matter where that is (St. Paul, here I come). We have the power now, we are the delegates. We understand the system, and with understanding comes the power to change the system. While the MSM thinks they can wrap it up into a paragraph, the Revolution keeps moving forward. Ron Paul is fighting in his normally uncontested district. Why, who is this guy who's running against him? Where is his money coming from? The GOP is scared because Ron Paul has a natural ability to gather all people to him, something they've tried to do with George W Bush. And failed miserably. Vote for Ron Paul, vote for freedom. The Revolution will not be televised.

[Michelle Gruber]

TO RON PAUL: Go as an independant. Everyone I talk to just does not want to support who is being 'voted' into democratic and replican vote now. I think this might be the year ,that if you focused your efforts on 'others' YOU just might win!!! I know of soooooo many who are campaining for you!!! So get your staff and supporters and focus on the independants....seriously!!!! YOU HAVE TIME!!!!!!!!!

[Mark Abraham]

It would be interesting if those supporters took the time here now to leave comments explaining why they think Paul never caught on to a wider audience (we already know about the media conspiracy) and what they think about his refocused campaign and their spent donations.

--Andrew Malcolm

Andrew, are you kidding? Paul's campaign is growing as you type impotently. His message of constitutional government is spreading like wildfire to American patriots hungry for the truth after having been starved for decades by a corrupt elitist group of neo-Tory traitors who have seized the reigns of government and spew their undemocratic propaganda from every pulpit they own. Having starved on this thin gruel, Americans are waking up and asking for beef. Not satisfied with diet coke, diet pepsi, and diet sprite as the single offering for the presidency from the ultra rich, Dr. Paul's ideas are clearly the Oatmeal Stout antidote they crave!

The ideas you claim never caught on are gaining momentum through face to face neighborhood action -- we canvassed for Ron Paul for two days before the primary in Atlanta and won our precinct -- TAKE NOTE PAUL PRECINCT LEADERS YOU WILL CONVERT HUNDREDS OF VOTERS JUST BY KNOCKING ON DOORS AND LEAVING FLYERS -- THE REVOLUTION IS NOW!!!

[zach]

Thank you Mr Malcolm for your continuous and genuine coverage of my favorite candidate, Dr. Ron Paul.

[Dave]

Simply I think Americans and the media would have voted for somebody like Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld for president over Ron Paul. I am sure the LA times would have advocated those two over Paul if they were running. At least the supporters of Rummy wouldn't be attacked as being anti-semetic racist kooks.

Why ? because I'm sure Americans would take the Iraq war planning by Rumsfeld and others like Paul Bremer to be "some of the greatest planning ever done in war to secure america from terrorists". I'm sure some of the talking head pundits would agree that Iraq had great post invasion planning.

For I know that the mainstream media and republican party thinks Ron Pauls ideas for foreign policy are worthless and unimportant and they'd do anything to support somebody like rumsfeld, who seems to make people laugh, cos he's such a good natured guy.

Lets face it - If Donald Rumsfeld was running for president, with the media and masses knowing what he did with Iraq post-invasion strategy, he would be considered a MAJOR contender in the presidential race.

[Bill]

I think that some of the reasons that Ron Paul didn't get as much support is because of the media in general. Most people today get their information in tidbits from the Main Stream Media. If his name is not constantly mentioned, people wouldn't know about him. I know every time I mentioned his name to friends, they would say they never heard of him.
Also Paul has started a movement and in any movement it takes time to develop, especially when you are going against the "establishment." If this movement keeps growing through the next few years. There could be some surprises in the next presidential election.
Most of his campaign was(is) run by people new to the political process and they had a learning curve. That doesn't go well when you are up against professional campaign people.

[tom]

The Republicans most likely to support Paul have drifted away from the party over the last 8 years. And there are potential Paul Republicans that never joined because of the last 8 years. And there are a lot of closed primaries. The rest of the story is special interests: a lot of people vote their "pocketbook". I'll bet Ron Paul gathered a huge percentage of the vote among those who have no immediate family member employed by the welfare/warfare state.

[John]

Mr Malcolm,

You sir, have been fair in your reporting on Ron Paul's campaign. Thank you.

I have been following RP's campaign for about a year and you are singular in my view. I don't know why there is such hostility to an anti-war, fiscally conservative Republican but there is. (This is only my seventh blog on RP and the three I made on Fox News blogs were deleted. I thought they were polite btw.) I feel, and it is fairly verifiable, that he has not gotten much coverage--especially since Jan 1 2008.

Still, he was in the debates and even with limited time and questions asked and framed that interviewers wouldn't dream of asking "top tier" candidates, he did not sway enough voters. The electorate is scared and confused. They may be institutionalized to large government and that coupled with the Nation's wars are pretty tall orders to overcome.

I believe a movement is underway now and slowly (maybe too late, though) it will return and scale back the Nation to its promise.

Thanks again for the fair coverage.

[John]

Ron Paul has not quit and neither have his supporters. This is just the beginning. There is a lot of work to do and we wont quit until the truth about the depth of curruption in our government, media, and banking industry are common knowledge. This is the age of information, knowledge is power, ignorance is slavery, mass media means mass ignorance.

[Rhys]

Andrew, you know good and well that Paul caught fire with tons of people who heard his message. The problem is, even when media outlets covered him, he was relegated to an aside and called longshot darkhorse.

I still want to know who's father is cruel enough to name them Darkhorse Longshot. Darth Vader?

The point is, even Newsmax put him on the cover with the headline "RON PAUL WONT BE PRESIDENT".

I mean, Andrew, media is respected for some odd reason. When the media, like the host of heavenly angels, in unison sings "Darkhorse Longshot wont win", honestly to God truth is "duh".

But when you say things like his platform is too crazy for people in this day in age of everything sucking, you smear him yourself.

Ron Paul asserts that those agencies and warring is what's caused all those problems. Almost no media outlet ever took that serious or looked truly into why. Ask yourself why millions of Americans are willing to go to the ends of the Earth to get Ron Paul's message out. Just saying "for some reason we flocked to his campaign" is ignoring the question, what was he offering? About 90% of the people who study what Ron Paul was talking about, come away agreeing with him.

However, the same media that couldn't be bothered to question the war BEFORE it started, are the same media that wont ask the emperor why he has no cloths.

Ron Paul did while being fully dressed himself.

Einstein was crazy and a scientific outsider, as are most geniuses. Ron Paul's just ahead (and behind) his time. The rest of you will catch up when it gets worse. He's told us supporters what to expect. We know. The rest of you listen to McCain and Billary. You're screwed.

[Nash]

"But additionally, his strict constitutionalist ideas for reducing the federal government and abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve Bank and returning to the gold standard may be just too radical for a country today facing international terrorist threats and the current economic uncertainty."

That's why he didn't catch on. You nailed it. He's just too radical. Period.

I gave him money. I canvassed my neighborhood and I support him even beyond this current effot. But if you ask why he lost, look no further than that.

[Andrew Levine]

I watched something a couple of months back about how Nader got shut out of debates and media continuously. I don't even necessarily agree with Ron Pauls ideas, although many of them I do. I am voting for him because he is not suppose to win.

It is RIDICULOUS! How is this free? I makes no sense. If someone is running for President, THEY SHOULD BE FAIRLY HEARD. Gimme a break with all of this sarcastic wording on here. He is totally taken out of media coverage and debates, I have to personally tell people about him.

I am registering Republican so I can vote for Ron Paul, and yeah, in the Presidential Election, I just may write him in.

The Media and the people stopping freedom need to STOP.

It's pretty bad when I have to vote for someone because they are being screwed over!

[ted]

It seems that, unfortunately, the American people just don't realize how far their country has fallen. The powers that be have done a very convincing job of setting up establishment candidates who preach change, but practice nothing but politics as usual. Which means? Bending over backwards to secure coporate control of nearly aspect of our lives. Hyperbole you say? Check into some of the films available on GoogleVideo about the the Federal Reserve, or Codex Alimentarius, and you might be surprised.
Ron Paul has given hope to millions, both in America and abroad. I believe its only a matter of time, before the corrupt and decadent ruling class is finally torn down and replaced, with a goverment of the people, by the people, for the people. Thank you, Dr. Paul, for galvanizing a generation desperately in need of heroes.

[Casey Ross]

I am a delegate for Ron Paul and will be attending our County Convention to elect a Ron Paul delegate to our State Convention. I believe in what Dr. Paul stands for. It's as easy to see the 'media conspiracy' as it is to deny it. And this bias has everything to do in limiting the number of Americans who have been exposed to his platform, not to mention swaying public opinion; begging question 'how can a candidate be electable if he's not in the mainstream media?'

I've been told that our nation isn't ready for Ron Paul and his ideas... And I'm beginning to agree with this statement. Just like I agree with the statement that I'm not ready to go to the dentist... even though I'm sure I have several cavities. Americans aren't ready for Ron Paul either because they're not willing to move beyond the position of playing armchair politics, drinking deeply from the agendas of the 'establishment' or they simply aren't ready to admit that the 'greatest generation' is nearly dead and they would rather pop pain killers than face the music and finally go in for a root canal.

Someday posterity will look back and realize the wisdom in what the good Dr. Paul has ordered.

[Dale]

Don't paint us Paul supporters with the same broad brush. We're not all conspiracy theorists. I don't think there was a "media conspiracy." Paul just polled low and the media gives attention according to how a candidate's polls.

(You're 100% correct, Dale. Nor did I intend to imply that all Paul supporters are anything. It's a diverse group, which is what makes it so interesting.)

[David Smith]

Andrew-

I do have to thank you on your continuing coverage of DR Paul. The so-called "blackout" tactics by the mainstream media HAVE indeed been very effective as a psychological deterrent for enthusiasm of many supporters. It's easy to see the viewpoint of an average American-send a candidate a couple hundred$$ for the first time and you wanna see him get some national face time! And on the other hand for other supporters with a bit more life experience and fortitude the MSM blackout is just a confirmation that it is imperitive to continue to have our voices and votes heard well beyond November. To be dissappointed and give up is way too short term for me. I want my America to reflect a bit of me, not be anti me! I am choosing leadership that makes me feel proud to be an American, not ashamed and resentful and depressed! Freedom and liberty are lifelong aspirations not a fashion of the minute. Dr. Paul's presidential run has incredible nearly uncontrollable energy, and the power of it extends way beyond electing a genius statesman that we all wish was our Grandpa! The true power of the "Ron Paul Phenomenon" is the lasting revelation that there are MILLIONS of disaffected Americans that believe THEIR America CAN reflect a little bit of them!! PEACE!

[Richard Brodie]

Throw McCain overboard.
gopteaparty.com
Paul/Romney 2008

"Uniting" the party will not be enough. Since they are both pro-war, a McCain/Romney ticket would alienate even more of the 70% of Americans who are sick of our bankrupting military adventurism.

Since most Huckabee supporters will vote for McCain regardless of whether he is the VP, having him on the ticket would gain nothing. On the other hand a Paul/Romney ticket would add both the 10% RP strength (who will otherwise write him in) as well as bringing in many Democrats who would consider a ticket featuring Ron Paul, the one anti-war candidate who outshines both Hillary and Obama in that area.

Paul must have the Presidential spot in order for his foreign policy position to be a meaningful attraction for Democrat crossovers. Romney as Vice President would be highly compatible with Paul on domestic issues. This is the only ticket that can save the Republican party and Conservatism from extinction.

[AmericanCitizen]

Thanks for the laugh. It ain't over my friend, not even close. Watch as we now infiltrate all levels of government. The RƎVO˩UTION is just getting into the toddler phase.

Thanks again.

[Andy]

I think it ultimately came down to a combonation of three reasons why he hasn't caught on, Andrew.

1st. Fear.

2nd. Intellectual dishonesty

3rd. Complaceny

The neocons have been successfull in misrepresenting the Islamic threat to create irrational fear so that many feel justified in an offensive war. I should know, I used to be one.

When confronted with obvious contradictions they choose to revert to the fear as justification. Is Iraq for protecting our national interest- Iraqi oil- or fighting the Moslem 'radicals' that want to kill us becasue we are free and rich? Reason should suggest something amiss when the pro-life Christians are the most pro-war, and pro-death camp are the most anti-war. Those who fear the 'radical' Moslems most are most willing to support the Moslem dictators in Pakistan, Egypt, abd Arabia. There is much more hypocricy to note if interested.

Many people just aren't that interested yet or feel they make a difference if they did. $3/gal gas and $4 pack of smokes and universal healthcare is just inevitable progress and the cheap goods from China in Wal-Mart and the promise of a rebate check this spring keeps the sheep in the pen. Most Dems and many Repubs like the safety of the pen.

Regarding the campaign and money donated/spent I think he did about as well as could be hoped and I will continue to give as long as he stays in the race. Is a 'wasted' vote worth compromising personal values? Not to me. I will write his name in instead of mine this year if he isn't on the ballot.

I admire the man. I admire his convictions and principled record and ethic of life. Every resonse I hear people give for his foreign policy position basically says he is crazy becasue the Moslems will kill us if we let them win an dteh bloddbath WE will have caused if we leave. The WOT, like the WOD most do not see it is the endless and unwinable effort it is.

We can't get rid of illegal Mexican and South American or domestic gangs in LA, NY or Chicago much less Podunk USA. True we aren't dropping bombs on them or placing checkpoints throught the country to find and kill them (not yet), but the ideology of those gangs is also not shared with a billion people like the 'radical' Moslems. Unlike Japan in WW2 we did not get rid of their god so the Moslems have not changed the heart or mind with respect to their agression.

They are convinced setting up weak Islamic democracies will eventually lead to a birth of secular Turkey type governments who will keep the peace themselves but fail to realize more Hamas and Hezgollah type groups will be elected into the government that we wil have to 'contain' or overthrow like we do now with Pakistan, and Egypt. "Caontain' as in send them billions of dollars and weapons to suppress the majority who hate us becasue we support the very dictators that supress them. Either that or they hate us becasue we are free and rich.

[Joanna]

I certainly haven't given up. Honestly though, I think that if Dr. Paul does not win (and I truly believe he could certainly be our next President, as long as Huckabee does not drop out) there is going to be a lot of "I told you so" when our economy crashes and we are subjected to the crazy government health care that Canada currently espouses. Has anyone seen that Canadian guy on youtube who had to wait 4 months for an MRI and 8 months for a brain surgery? He had to come to the U.S. to get both within weeks. Not to mention living in a police state where we have virtually no civil liberties left. Ah well, I'm getting my passports ready and looking into what few countries are left that aren't headed down the tubes. I sure want to stay though. I'm still active with Ron Paul's campaign and will not give up until it's is absolutely over!

[Vance Topp]

Why did Paul never catch on to a wider audience?

When I asked a friend of mine if she had considered voting for Ron Paul, she said he was a little "too extreme." It's amazing that the Republican party has moved so far from its conservative base that a campaign promoting the constitution is considered extreme. People who claim to be for smaller federal government actually seem to get nervous when they hear Paul talk about his plan for truly smaller government (example: abolish the Dept of Education, IRS, etc).

Another reason is that one of the clearest divisions between the Republican candidates and the Democrats is their stance on the Iraq war. The Republicans have made the war in Iraq a vital piece of evidence that they are strong on national defense. Paul's position on the war undermines the Repulbicans' argument, as well as adding questions to the war's legalitly, which the Republicans have no interest in answering. Because of this, the Republican party and all its cheerleaders could not promote Paul as a serious candidate, and mainstream America was left to think they should not take him seriously, either.

What do I think about my spent donations?

It feels great having supported a candidate that actually represents me. For the first time in my life, I cast a vote for a presidential candidate that I do not hesitate to support. I honestly believe Ron Paul has stirred many to a political awareness and hope for returning our country to its foundations. Hopefully, his campaign (with my spent donations) is only the beginning of a movement to restore our government to the Founders' original intent.

[Vince]

A few news sources are misreporting Ron Paul's e-mail from last week. The presidential campaign is not ending, not being suspended, and not even drawing down. It's slimming down and ramping up — with over twenty states having already voted, we've shed staff, and we're concentrating financial and organization resources on the remaining states. We're going to the convention, and we're fighting for every vote and every National Delegate along the way.

Republicans do not want John McCain to be their nominee. He has only been able to become the front-runner because the field was so divided and because he's a media darling. We can see just how unpopular McCain is in the heartland by his performance in the Kansas caucuses today. Kansans resoundingly rejected the Arizona senator, ref: Washington Post Story and McCain's big wins so far have mostly been in blue states — states he won't win in November if, heaven forbid, he's the Republican nominee.

Republicans want and need an alternative. Some people think Mike Huckabee provides an alternative to McCain. But Huckabee, who now tries to sound like Ron Paul when he talks about abolishing the IRS, raised taxes in Arkansas and vastly expanded spending in that state when he was its governor. Huckabee is no alternative at all. Ron Paul, on the other hand, has never voted for a tax increase, never voted for an unbalanced budget or for an unconstitutional war or government program.

At stake here is not just the Republican nomination — which McCain still has not locked up — but the future of the Republican Party and, much more importantly, the future of our liberties. We have to organize in every single state, including the ones that have already voted in the primaries and caucuses, to continue the fight to take back the Republican Party and to ensure that Ron Paul's principles, the principles of Washington and Jefferson, prevail. For the sake of that cause, Ron Paul's campaign continues, all the way to the convention.

Please volunteer to become a precinct leader and walk door to door for Ron at Voters.RonPaul2008.Com
Please visit the official website for the most up to the minute information: RonPaul2008.Com

Please donate to the campaign at: RonPaul2008.Com/Donate

Become more informed about Ron Paul, his voting record and rationales in his own words at RonPaulLibrary.Org

[Paul]

If Ron Paul's campaign was such so hopeless; if his ideas were so out of touch with the American people, then let me ask you this: Why wasn't he allowed to be heard? Why was every single other candidate given national coverage except for him? Candidates who had virtually no support other than in the media have come and they have gone. ALL were anointed front runners at one time: Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee. All were given nationwide publicity to air their views and were pushed into the national consciousness and given endless time to express their views, and support fell by the wayside for each one. So if Ron Paul's views were SO outlandish, and he had NO chance to win, then why is he still here, and why, OH, WHY, was he not given the publicity of the rest? Even you, in your final paragraph, admit that you already know about the media conspiracy, and it's evident that you are part of it. There is no question at all that if Ron Paul had gotten equal time with the other candidates, that he would be the overwhelming favorite to be the next president of the United States, and that is EXACTLY why he is not given the air time. He is STILL challenging (in spite of your continued lies and marginalization) in spite of a nationwide, yearlong media blackout. This campaign has shown me just how deeply into corruption our election process has sunk. Congratulations for your part in it. In the coming years, as the dollar continues to crash and the economy goes completely down the tubes, as has so many before us, you can reflect on your complicity in this devastation.

[Prija]

Ron Paul has tons of supporters... yet we do not lose steam. We conserve our energy just as they have conserved their resources of money.

It should be clear that they cut back spending b/c now that Super Tuesday is over, they can spend less, which is good b/c this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Ron Paul will still fight for every delegate. No one has claimed all the delegates needed to become the Republican nominee and everyone deserves a fair and balance opportunity until someone does. Ron Paul supporters will continue to fight until one candidate receives 1191 delegates.

I would like to see a clean article on why Ron Paul supporters are so passionate about his views. I believe it is the case that some young voters have never seen a recession. The US has boasted they have had growth and prosperity for over 25 years... yet they fail to mention that the value of the dollar has inflated for over 25 years as well, yet the average income has not increased with the standard of living.

The young are scared and frustrated that they must endure this suffering. With Paul's message, some have realized that we have the ability to change it. The idea is bigger than the election, its a frame of thought that we are able to change.

I know LA times has it's views, which is fine, but I hope that both aspects can be discussed for open discussion. I hope that News Media will realize that Ron Paul is popular and that lots of people flock to his Google.com/News search: Ron Paul for the latest information.

Why can't media capitalize on the truth and expose what internet users are searching for on google.com/trends search: Ron Paul.

Cheers,
Prija

[mr. ruiz]

...make sure you cover the "hopeless" march on washington d.c.

while your there, try the crow sandwich.

[Greg]

Now how could it be that upwards of 70 percent are against the war in Iraq and the only Republican speaking clearly against it receive such low results in the polls? You would think he would garner at least 30 percent even from Republicans just on the clearness of his message compared with all the other candidates.

I don't know, maybe some "journalist" could do a little investigative reporting and find out how these polls were conducted and at least test the hypothesis of establishment sabotage, especially given the fact that, unlike the other Republican candidates, Ron Paul speaks openly against the Federal Reserve, and other establishment institutions.

Do you consider yourself a journalist? Why don't you investigate the phenomenon of Ron Paul dominating Internet polls, straw polls, post-debate polls, supporter signs, donations, volunteer workers and generally everything that the establishment couldn't control - and yet managing to poll in the single digits.

[Diane]

This isn't close to being over.

When more and more people wake up to what a disaster John McCain is, they will be begging for Ron Paul to come forward as the presidential candidate.

People, John McCain is a delusional psychopath that should have been committed to an institution years ago.

Just you wait, this information will be coming out soon.

Please save our country Ron Paul. You are our only hope.

[Craig]

The American people unfortunately are the biggest problem. Regardless of the issues facing us, and the candidates' stands on those issues; they will choose someone based on purely stupid reasons, such as because they think a woman should be president for a change, or they think a candidate is charming, or vote for someone becaus eof their religion. The biggests issues facing us is the economny, the weak dollar, and the war. All of which Paul has the most sensible positions on. Yet the sheep are too blind to see it, and the media blackouts and smears didn't help either. One thing you can count on: with a warmongerer like McCain as the republican nominee a Democrat will be in the whitehouse after the election.

[Richard M. Connelly]

Ron Paul and his supporters haven't quit! We've only just begun!!!!

We're marching in Washington!!!

The 2nd Continental Army is forming. Our weapons? They will be our voices as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

[LibertysLegacy]

The movement marches on;

To All Ron Paul Supporters And Our Friends In The Grassroots

This is the beginning, ladies and gentlemen. The beginning of the end for the stranglehold of the mainstream media. The beginning of the end for the masters in high places. The beginning of the end for the media blackout of the values and philosophies expressed by Ron Paul and other political candidates that share his views. The beginning of the time when we take our country back.

It starts right here, at BreakTheMatrix.com. We are forming a grassroots organization and movement that will carry the words and values of freedom off the Internet and out to those millions of Americans who only receive their news and entertainment from mainstream radio and television. As Dr. Paul himself said so well on February 9, 2008: “The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me.” Indeed. The tired, empty mantras of “right and left,” of “conservative and liberal,” of “Democrat and Republican,” will no longer stand unchallenged in our mainstream media outlets. Freedom, prosperity, peace, hope—the great ideas are coming to America.

Very truly yours,

Basic Media, Inc. (in formation)

Rick Williams
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
rdw2008@gmail.com

Trevor Lyman
Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer
lyman.trevor@gmail.com

We are not associated or affiliated with Ron Paul or his campaigns for President and Congress.

[4liberty]

The reasons, I believe, why RP never caught on with a wider audience are numerous and multi-faceted. Just to touch on a few:

He ran as a Republican and most states having a closed primary system, allowed only Republicans to vote for him. His lack of support for the Iraq war nixed most traditional Republican votes. His supporters, while enthusiastic, may have been somewhat unsophisticated or less than diligent in registering Republican. I believe he lost a lot of votes there.

His Libertarian views will NEVER catch on with the mainstream...they are just too scary.

But I think the biggest reason, the BIGGEST reason, is that he was viewed as unelectable. People still believe their vote should count and will choose the lesser of two evils. (Personally, I find this thinking very unfortunate) I can't tell you how many people I spoke with who liked a lot of what RP had to say but wouldn't vote for him because he couldn't win. They were right, there was no way he could win and if by some miracle he got the Republican nomination, we would be guaranteed a Democratic president in 2008.

Ron Paul is a courageous man! I am a fairly "by the book" Libertarian and many of his stances differed from my own. But I supported him nonetheless and without any regret. He is truly an AMERICAN HERO.

[Keith]

chirp. chirp. chirp.

What's really going on is another example of RP's master stroke of genius. By pretending to fall back, he will no longer be a target of the MSM black helicopters suppressing his name in the media coverage. In the dark of night one evening his masked millions of supporters will rise up after so recently casting their planned false vote for the MSM candidate and joyfully with much song elect RP to lead this nation. It's all part of the master plan, gotta fight fire with fire, Sun Tzu, Feng Shui, Kama Sutra, all that with a bag of chips. You know it's true. Didn't you get the memo?

[Billa]

When the republic crashes down. When the Economy buckles and sends governmentally forged currency into bottom basement depression. When the same government that handles the DMV, FEMA and the Federal Reserve becomes the goverment that also provides your prostate exam. When a nation attacks our frail defenses and the U.N. deploys no one to help. When our troops are engaged for the 100th year in a fruitless occupation. When crude oil hits $500 a barrel. When the world grows tired of our world policing. When massive schools and Hospitals close because illegal immigrants are given an open gate to flood into our country and exploit our welfare system. When the attacks begin on our soil again, due to "reserves" being the soldiers with the longest enlistments abroad. When our country has been completely raped and pilaged of all that the elites can pilfer and we are left to bleed and cry in the ruins...

I will stand then alongside the few who cried out for freedom and reduced goverment. I will stand amongst fellow patriots who opened our eyes to the truth and stood firm in our resolve. I will clench my fist and raise my head knowing that the voice of men striving to be free will never end. We will not shirk off our roles because the polls say we should. We will continue to fight for the revolution that our Forefathers have declared is not only our right but our Obligation. Ron Paul is my candidate and my vote is for Ron Paul.

[Jim]

I've never donated to a presidential campaign until this one. I gave $750 to Paul's campaign so I think that qualifies me to respond as a supporter. First, I'm very satisfied with his effort to date and not upset about the investment in any way. I've lost much more in the market for much less potential reward.

I do wish he caught on to a wider audience. Media conspiracy aside, I think we are too entrenched in the status quo, and simply too comfortable. And "all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." - Paul's ideas are too radical a change for the average citizen to accept, right as they may be.

I also think people are looking for leadership qualities that Paul doesn't possess (the main one that comes to mind is we just love that! not enough "hope", "change" - and no slick smile an nice haircut). His debate answers (those few he got) were short to the point and rather narrowly focused on two repeating issues of monetary policy and non-intervention foreign policy - which is exactly what I want to hear but may have bored some. I wanted to hear more nuanced answers regarding policy but they were never asked and he never interjected (I think he could have been more aggressive at getting time in the debates).

[jmarkoa]

I am voting for Ron Paul.

If he is not the Republican candidate, I will still vote for him, even if he decides to run under the Constitution Party. Better yet, even if his name is not on the ballot in my state, I will still vote for him as a write in candidate.

Why, you ask?

My views line up exactly with his, and I refuse to throw away my vote on someone less deserving. I am not one of these mindless idiots that believes my vote has to be the same as the person who won the election in order for it to have counted. It is a matter of conviction for me; I will know that I was strong enough to cast the vote for the best candidate, period. I will have done my part regardless of others decisions. This is our responsibility as US citizens.

[Stephen Dupont]

Love your articles Mr. Malcolm,
But I have to respectfully disagree with you, we have not given up at all. We are planning for a brokered convention. Add up the remaining delegates and no one has enough to take it. So on to the brokered convention and you will see the Ron Paul delegates Sir, this I promise you. Just to touch on the media conspiracy issue for a moment. You can not, in good conscience, suggest that if the media had rallied behind Ron Paul's campaign and hailed Dr. Paul as new republican messiah or the most conservative candidate that the mindless sheep of this country would not have followed.
The party tried every dirty trick they had in order to subvert this honest man's bid because they knew if he had caught on that the size and scope of government would not be nearly as large and unconstitutional as it is today. They tried to prop up every candidate but Paul, in an effort to defeat him. First they tried Goulini, but his shady past, present and no doubt future was recognized as the same political sleaze as the Bush regime. Then they tried old insane McCain but he to faltered early on, then they heralded Thompson as the savior but he to soon fizzled, then it was Romney who was much more successful but they knew the American people saw through this plastic man as well. Romney got the order to drop out, that is fairly plain to see, he will surface with a cabinet position if the impossible happens and McCain actually wins the nomination and then beats the dems, which will not happen. Now they are promoting the age old standby, a pseudo Cristian righty against the comeback kid to see who sticks.
Yes sir, the media has a lot to do with who the public perceives as a viable candidate and to deny this very plain fact is not increasing my admiration for your journalistic prowess. Nevertheless your articles have been very fair in the past which has earned my respect for your journalistic integrity.
I have never voted Sir, never. Not because I'm Lazy, but because I have been holding out for someone that I didn't have to hold my nose and vote for. But was idealistically reserving my most sacred right in order to cast it in consanguinity for just the right Statesman. You see sir, My mom loved the movie "Mr. Smith goes to Washington " and consequently I was sorta forced to watch it many times because we only had one television, Ha ha ha. I fear I have been waiting for a James Maitland Stewart type or at least someone close to it for so long that I had all but given up hope. But then this Ron Paul guy comes along and turned my world upside down by making me believe that I didn't join the Marine Corps for nothing. Or become a Police Officer because I wanted to bust balls. This crummy little movie planted a seed in my still forming brain that principles were meaningful and integrity wasn't simply a matter of paying lip service but actually conducting ones self in the manner that matched what comes out of your mouth. And as I researched Dr. Paul's political career, then his family values, virtually from his childhood as a champion milk bottle filler on his daddy's farm in Pennsylvania I thought,"there is an honest man in politics, and holy crap, he's running for president". I can't give up on him now Sir, I have been waiting my whole adult life to cast my vote for a person who is worthy of that vote. I apologize in advance for the length of this post and would at this time like to thank you for your honest efforts to call things as you see em.

Warmest regards,
Stephen Dupont

[Al]

It is sad the Paul did not get a fair shake at presenting his views and goals. However what he has done is make millions of Americans understand that we cannot continue to spend money we do not have. Dems tax and spend, Reps borrow and spend. When you realize that every candidate (except Ron Paul) are members of the the Council on Foreign Relations who have a desire to create a North American Union through trade agreements which will bring Mexico, the USA, and Canada into one entity with new money called the Amero. BTW most of the media are members as well. Its not important who votes, but those that count the votes.

[Trans-Mutant]

The Ron Paul rEVOLution is going to march in Washington! this is planned to be the biggest march on Washington ever.

[Erik]

I supported Ron Paul for two primary reasons:

fiscal/monetary policy
foreign policy

Until Barack Obama starts to mention inflation, the dollar, the Federal Reserve's role, the govt debt, I will continue to support Ron Paul first.

I would rather have a pro-life country (I'm pro-choice) and a sound fiscal/monetary/foreign policy than the reverse. Americans are missing the fact that fiscal/monetary policy and foreign policy are BY FAR the two most crucial factors going forward. Alas, just as every other empire has done, we will react instead of acting in advance, and we will reap what we have sown...

[George]

OK Malcom -
__________
"But additionally, his strict constitutionalist ideas for reducing the federal government and abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve Bank and returning to the gold standard may be just too radical for a country today facing international terrorist threats and the current economic uncertainty".
__________

As Dr Evil states - "You just don't get it, do you Scott?"

The international terroist threats and economic uncertainly are precisely WHY Ron Paul advocates reducing the federal government, abolishing the Federal Reserve and it's "interest-payment" support mechanism of income taxes, and a return to the Gold Standard.

Today, the Federal government must continue to find reasons to borrow from the Federal Reserve (a private bank), through growth in government entitlements and foreign militariism, to keep the fiat dollar afloat ($70 Trillion in debt and counting). But why would "elect me!" politicians, and central bankers want this changed?

We can never repay this debt without returning to a sound currency and stopping entitlements.

The government can only pay the interest on these phony "loans", through income taxes, making every American man/woman/child a perpetual serf, until our economic system collapses, since our currency is not pinned to anything of real value (e.g. Gold Std).

However, the rest of the global marketplace isn't so duped - watch the price of gold, as (unfortunately) the fiat dollar continues to tank!

____________
"It would be interesting if those supporters took the time here now to leave comments explaining why they think Paul never caught on to a wider audience (we already know about the media conspiracy) and what they think about his refocused campaign and their spent donations."
____________

1) American citizens are duped sheep. The perpetuation of this ignorance by the major media, serves those already in government, and the media outlets owned by a small minority.
2) He HAS caught on to a wider audience (but not to the sheep).
3) Correct - you DO know about the media conspiracy, and LA Times is part of it ("...reluctant acceptance of the disappointing reality...). Your glee fill your pen.
4) Spent donations - Ron Paul's donors represent true idealists - not supporters of the "big-corporation" political duopoly designed by McCain-Feingold's treacherous destruction of American free speech.

As our economic woes continue (and with the likely Demopublican President) they will, we may yet see, before it's too late, that Dr Paul represents true insight into saving America

[Mike]

He hasn't reached a wider audience because of the media bias you acknowledge.

He also suffers from preaching a philosophy of individual liberty...
Not a, "What can the government do for ME?!?" with a complete disregard for personal responsibility - or care about the cost to your neighbor.

Ron Paul has not lost.
He has started a movement that will surpass him in every way possible.

The Alaska GOP platform has been changed - because of Ron Paul delegates speaking out - to support industrial hemp and Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy.

You're also misquoting the results in Washington - as you are calculating the pre-caucus "straw-poll" equivalent votes.

The undecided delegates are expected to be strong Paul supporters trying to get into the system under the radar of the state GOP - as they were blocked at every corner in Louisiana and suffered losses due to what most consider fraud - where McCain ran on 2 ballots - the "Uncommitted Pro Life/Pro-Family" and his own.

The thing is, Giuliani was on the pro-life/pro-family ticket.
So I don't understand how pro-life or family it could possibly be.

McCain didn't win Louisiana on his own.
The GOP broke the law and changed the caucus rules at the last minute to disenfranchise Paul's supporters who switched from other parties - or were newly registered supporters.

The reason he isn't catching on is because the GOP is united against him - and is using deceit and voter disenfranchisement to keep his numbers down.

44% of the people voting for McCain in New Hampshire believed he was against the war.

The media hasn't been honest - and the people haven't looked for facts on their own - and this article is another show of force against Paul and his campaign.

He did not call it quits - and is still hoping for a brokered convention.

With Romney's delegates still in the air (and Paul's 2nd place finishes in NV and MT - both Winner Take All states - he could have all those delegates if they drop the delegates to the 2nd place winner - after Romney drops out) it is possible for Paul to seize them and still succeed.

But you can't help planting the seeds of failure... Ensuring that those free to still cast their votes do not - for fear of wasting their votes.

It still comes down to the media.
It always will.

From day one Paul has been labeled as a "long shot" and a "dark horse" candidate... With no hope of winning.

Yet he's already won - financially...
He's already won in grass root support...
He's already won in creativity of his supporters...

And now he's winning - because his delegates are changing the Republican platform at the state levels so that McCain cannot be a part of their republican platform.

The revolution is just beginning.
And if the media refuses to acknowledge it, the revolution will be the media's undoing.

[Kevin Beyer]

It would be interesting for me to explain why people didn't vote for someone they NEVER heard of and knew NOTHING about. Sorry Andrew Malcom...it's THE MEDIA'S FAULT!!!!!!!!!
Give my regards to Anderson Cooper

[John Haigh]

It is a little difficult to explain Dr Ron Paul's poor showing in the primaries without referencing the mainstream media blackout and the mandatory "fringe" or "long shot" tags in the early days when he got occasional coverage.

My guess is that only quite a small percentage of Americans ever got to consider his message; and that it was quite often accepted by those that did.

I would be very interested in the results of an unbiased national poll that asked, "Who is Ron Paul?" and if they answered correctly that he is a Republican presidential candidate, asked a series of True or False questions about his platform.

OK. The first battle for the presidential nomination seems lost. But I have some hope that a decent number of the Ron Paul Revolutionaries will battle on and win later.

America and the rest of the World would be happier, richer, safer places if his message took root.

I still dream about a world where American foreign policy is framed with respect for the concept of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

The vast majority of Americans I meet are friendly, generous, energetic and fair minded. How do they let their foreign policy get shaped by such vicious evil men?

The rest of the world regards America as a bully. And, if a bully doesn't stop bullying, most people want to see him lose his power.

I'm sad to say I saw a lot of smiling faces on 9/11. The people were sad for the innocent individuals killed and injured, but were very glad to see a bully get a bloody nose.

[impassion]

The author stated... "his strict constitutionalist ideas for reducing the federal government and abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve Bank and returning to the gold standard may be just too radical for a country today facing international terrorist threats and the current economic uncertainty."

The radical principle here is the opposition to such an approach by Dr. Paul. Should the US continue it's feeble attempts at boxing ghosts around the world, selling debt to China and Japan, and outsourcing production, it will shore out it's own foundation.

How obvious it is in what is being 'un'accomplished with the current approach to coach the world to our liking. It is aggravating to other sovereign countries, extraordinarily expensive, and all of us patriotic citizens must continue to push 15 to 30 percent of our salaries so that this madness can continue until our grandchildren berate us for our inane malinvestment.

Funding war that begets war is an endless proposition, and with the almost 10 trillion in foreign debt owed (almost 1 trillion a year), the dollar through inflation may lose its reserve currency status in the world as more money is printed to try to prevent the invevitable.

And so, we will elect a soap opera president to fix it.
Pretty sad, but not unexpected from those who do not pay attention.

[james]

Dr. Paul was deliberately shunned by a the corporate owned media. The media owners have their own agenda. It is not the interests of the People. So, those into the internet get the other side of the story. The majority of the population chooses to get information from the media and so are dumbed down to the level of media programming. That's what got us into this war. The public just doesn't get it and so will get the best president money can buy, whether it is a Democrat or a non-Paul Republican. You can call either of them Republicrats.

[Curt]

Andrew,

Thanks for supporting Paul. I think that Paul's, and any such future campaign, is now doomed from the outset.

Firstly, Americans are afraid to leave the nanny state no matter how much in-fighting it foments,

Secondly, warmongering and imperial interests seem to have acheived their coup-de-etat. I have become utterly cynical and paranoid. I've been following politics all my 55 years and am convinced that the 'fix' is in. I've never seen such nonsense. The existing democratic congress has blatantly betrayed their constituency. Celebrity worshipping Brittany-bots seem to have carried the day and now Obama will either get shredded in the general or be a weak president willing to go along with the crap to have his moment in history. Who am I to judge, I've sold out for less. Kids still starve in the world and I've got a roof over my head.

I find it all very sad. We haven't hit rock botom yet, and now rock bottom will be much bloodier. Karma for our sins? I hope the Indians have a good laugh after we're gone.

Thanks again.

[Tony Angel]

The majority of people are sheople, happy with their ever increasing debt that if they really give it much thought hope they will escape by death anyway.

We have been brought up to be good consumers and keep the cycle going.
Our parents were frugal when they saw their neighbours get laid off, and never had the opportunity to get into so much debt so easily....
So inflation is our friend when it comes to debt and the pundits say we gotta keep going they way we are cause it's best for all....

I don't care about the moneys already spent. what was, is.

But for the refocused campaign...
Take a look at the movie idiocracy and come up with a Faux News Monster Truck Show with Ron Paul as Host screaming down everyone else and running over all his opponents in The Biggest Motha Truck Ever Concieved By Man Or Beast, One show every 3 days with lotsa teasers permanently running on all affiliated channels and magazine covers etc etc
And that's about the only way to get the sheople behind you.

[blakmira]

Oh, Andrew. Really. "never caught on to a wider audience?"??

8,500 people showed up to hear Dr. Paul speak in Virginia this weekend at the Liberty University; nearly 5,000 showed up at the University of Minnesota last week. What other candidate with a "wider audience" do you know that can raise over $6 million in one day?

You will have no REAL idea just how many of us there are until we show up to march for Ron Paul in Washington in a couple of months (per his own suggestion in his latest message video), which we are now in the stages of planning! No way is he quitting and neither or we!

Of course, Ron Paul and his supporters realize the overwhelming amount of VOTE COUNT FRAUD going on; if it wasn't so sad it would be a joke. Some of us are trying to get our states to decertify the electronic voting machines, but it's all part of the corruption and predetermined winners.

[TheFightGoesOn]

A message from Ron Paul from yesterday:

Ron Paul : Going the Distance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryMliyeIDp4

You see guys, there's more to Ron Paul's candidacy than a wish to be president or a grasp for power and influence.

Ron Paul and supporters are fighting for the liberty of us all. You jaded and cynical journos might think it's all idealistic nonsense but have you honestly looked into Ron Paul's message and done your research? Have you read his books? Do you really understand what he's saying? Have you tried to counter his arguments intelligently or do you just take cheap shots at his supporters?

You political journos are supposed to know and understand the positions of all of the candidates in depth but the mainstream media just seems to cluelessly follow the herd and report the latest poll numbers. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.

[Web Smith]

What you don't seem to be able to realize, Andrew, is that we have already won. We continue to win more every day.

We have exceeded our expectations and everything else that we gain is icing on the cake. The money keeps coming in and the number of supporters continues to grow. We continue to educate more people every day. Have you compared the poll results to the actual voting results in the caucuses and primaries? We won.

There is nothing radical about Ron Paul's objectives. The continued presence of the Federal Reserve as the result of an act as opposed to an Amendment is unconstitutional. The 16th Amendment, which may or may not have been ratified, is in question and was created contrary to the Constitution by a Congress that wanted to spend money which is what has gotten us to the point we are at today..

I took the following oath about 40 years ago:

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

While my service commitments have been fulfilled, there is no expiration date on the oath. Men and women entering the military or public service in the Senate, Congress, or Presidential office, take this oath today. While the Senate, Congress, and the President ignore the oath that they took, the ones who actually fight for your freedoms do not. If you had taken the oath, you would know what we mean. There is nothing radical about it. It is a dear to us as the word of God.

We include more soldiers in our ranks than all of the other candidates put together. The noise leading up to the primaries and caucuses was called for in the face of media exclusion. We are settling in for the long haul now. The longer the battle rages, the more we will win.

Do not begin to think, for one moment, that we have gone away. If you, like many others, misinterpreted Ron's words and commitment, view his latest message here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryMliyeIDp4

[James]

I never thought Paul had much of a chance in 2008. But this isn't about him, it's about a free society, something we continue to move away from. Hillary wants to force people to buy insurance. Yes it's a problem but force? Neo-Conservatives want to force our democratic ideals on people who may not appreciate them. How many democratic nations has our CIA undermined for our financial interests and those of our allies? Paul is about freedom not force. The lefts think we can be a Sweden or Norway but they do not realize this sort of socialism will fail in our culture and will not tolerate our tradition of immigration and letting people build their own lives. It's about not hitting rock bottom before we make real change. Paul wants true conservatism, not quasi-liberalism. If McCain wins (In November) the GOP will become a centerish party (and will probably fail). If the Democrats win we will become more indebted. We no longer produce wealth, the rest of the world is slowly buying us. The communist party in China exercises more control over our economy than our own government. Oh well, Free enterprise is over rated I guess.

(Thanks for taking the time leave a thoughtful comment.)

[Galen]

First of all Ron Pauls ideas have not been made public by the mainstream media as you fairly mentioned. That is the number one reason for Ron Pauls ideas not catching on with the publid. Then when Ron Paul did get media attention it was always loaded questions or someone on the attack. Ron Pauls Ideas are that of the founding forefathers that made this nation so great. This nation is quickly losing that and moving towards a mixture of fascism and socialism. The council on foreign relations controlled media and political candidates scratch each others backs and many are waking up to this fact.
Ron Paul would be the president of the United States if the media did not slander and black him out both. How can we tell you what caused Ron Paul to not catch on without telling you the truth ?
Ron Pauls ideas of less tax, smaller governmnet, no preemptive wars , no fascist patriot act, no North American Union , stoping illegal immigration, and obeying the constitution are actually very popular and very much what a Republic like the United States is about. But Im sure the mainstream propagnada machine known as the mainstream media will not tell anyone that.

[joe martell]

The rEVOLution has just begun! The biggest march in history is soon to come on Washington.

[Tim]

No. It isn't the media. They didn't give him a fair share, for sure, but they did give him just enough airtime to get his message through edgewise. Anyone with at least one ear who was in a room during the several debates got the flavor of his platform.

People just aren't attuned to his sort of platform. I think people are just so hypnotized by the allure of the welfare-warfare state that they can't imagine life without it.

Well, maybe it is the media. The main failure of the media is that it doesn't do a very good job of reporting on our unsustainable government fiscal policy. When I heard that Congress recently raised the debt ceiling--for the fifth time since Bush took office--to over $9 trillion, I had a Dickens of a time finding the story reported on a reputable news source. Nobody was outraged. Nobody even cared. 60 Minutes did a report on David Walker's Fiscal Wake up tour, but is anyone really following this? Why is it that every time Britney Spears blows her nose, I get a full report, but when America's Comptroller General is on tour trying to tell the American People that our government is spending itself into oblivion, nobody cares? And here our Commander-in-Chief, an alleged 'conservative' has proposed another budget with yet another record-breaking deficit. Where is the outrage?

This is why Ron Paul didn't win. The American people are sleeping. They are hypnotized. The nanny State has lulled them into a false sense of security that things can just keep going the way they have been. It will take an economic catastrophe to wake them up.

[Ned Leiba]

First, I want to thank you for your excellent reporting and reflections. I am very grateful for your column and coverage.

It’s probably a very long road for someone like Ron Paul to travel before he will enjoy wide popularity. The popularity of Obama, Clinton, McClain and Huckabee is built on weakly held beliefs of many folks. The Paul supporters are very committed, very focused. They have strongly held beliefs. Weakly held beliefs are rather easy to change and influence, and they are widely held. Strong beliefs take sometime to acquire. The gestation period is longer. There must be big changes in outlook for the average voter to embrace Ron Paul. It’s pretty easy to go along with chronic status quo.

Folks want the security of big government, and they are scared. In deed, big government is built on crisis or at least the image of crises. In the shadow of crises or desperate need, general principles give way to the promise of security, or relief from economic risk and downturn.

So Dr. Paul received fewer vote than hoped because he offers a difficult message for folks to swallow.

Also, perhaps Dr. Paul does not have the booming, articulate voice and style of his professionally polished competitors. I find his manner very appealing. Paul’s speeches and comments are content laden.

In contrast, the speeches of Obama, Clinton, McClain and Huckabee all project a magnificence, although I think they amount to a rather sad magnificence. I see the continuation of chronic problems, erosion of adherence to principles of a free and liberal society, the growth of petty and acute tyrannies and a war economy we cannot afford. But, they are very good orators. They could probably make a decent living in the wasteland of TV.

With other supporter of Dr. Paul, I hope and work for a change, and I will not be deterred. Its rather heartening to see so many others similarly determined - folks who care deeply and will work for a better nation.

Finally, I hope the supporters of Dr. Paul don’t get too exuberant or become nasty irritants to the press or other politicians. The lamentable drift in America is not the result of evil people hatching evil plots. We should keep our good humor, goodwill, perspective and humility.

Thanks again for your coverage and, dare I say, your concern.

[Sally]

MAJOR ELECTION UPDATE!

Just released Ron Paul video - he wants a March on Washington!

http://people.ronpaul2008.com/campaign-updates

The video is already on Pat Buchanan's blog, as well: http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=944

And a great Lew Rockwell article about Ron Paul was just posted, as well:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/rp-meaning.html

[Rolland]

What we (Ron Paul supporters) can do is very simple: Vote for the Libertarian candidate in the general election.

If Paul supporters vote Libertarian and the candidate wins 10-15% of the vote, I can guarantee that it will get notice. Even though the Libertarian candidate will probably not be Ron Paul, it will be apparent exactly where this support is coming from.

Is Ron Paul's stand on the issue much different from the Libertarian Party's stands (http://www.lp.org/issues/issues.shtml)? Some differences, but not that substantial.

Your other other choice is to play the game MSM and the power elites have orchestrated, and that is, vote for the lessor of two evils, of which, there is no fundamental difference between the two.

The choice is yours: carry the rEVOLution forward, or continue to play a losing game and waste your vote on someone that doesn't share your beliefs.

[sean truitt]

andrew, i have to know. do you believe that there is a media brown-out exclusively against ron paul? why or why not?

thank you.

(Thanks for your comment, Sean. I have to agree with Patrick just above or below here. There is no organized conspiracy in the media. That would be impossible, frankly, because of competition and especially now the internet and your many alternate choices of information, such as this blog, which has written often about Dr. Paul. Also, news coverage is built around "news," something happening, something new. For instance, when the campaign had that record-breaking money bomb in November, how was it released? In a news release at Sunday midnight on the website. Nobody would ever see that, except us because we were waiting for it. So we did an item. But imagine if there had been a pre-announced news conference the next day at noon with Dr. Paul himself receiving a giant $6 million check from his finance chairman for all the TV cameras to see. There's a show biz element to getting your ideas across in a competititve marketplace these days. Also, Dr. Paul never won anything meaningful; straw polls don't count for anything. As Patrick points out, notice how Huckabee's coverage jumped after he won Iowa.)

[Patrick]

As someone working in the "mainstream media," I know there is no conspiracy operation keeping Ron Paul from getting coverage. The media don't cover Paul because the media don't think he has a realistic shot of winning. This mentality started from the moment his "hopeless" campaign began, and it continued throughout the campaign season. Paul never garnered enough votes in any single primary or caucus for the media to take notice, so he was ignored. Contrast that with someone like Mike Huckabee, whom the media ignored until he won in Iowa, then was summarily ignored until he recently did well in the South. And Huckabee will be ignored again unless talk of a John McCain-Huckabee ticket starts up.

To the media, the presidential campaigning season is a race to see who will win, not a larger discussion of the candidates' ideas. The media cover the act of campaigning and trying to win elections as a competition, as a sporting event, with story lines -- McCain surges to top of GOP ticket on Super Bowl (er, Tuesday)! But wait, Huckabee lands punishing blow with string of victories in South! But the media essentially ignore the political issues that the candidates espouse. The only time those issues are addressed is when the media need to label the candidates. (In print journalism, that's usually in first, second, or third paragraph of a 20-inch-or-so article.) Once the candidate is labeled as a evangelical Christian conservative, maverick, agent of change, etc., the journalist moves on, rarely touching on why those candidates are labeled as such. They just are.

Even if journalists would do what they should do -- reporting and fact-checking policies and political philosophies that the candidates support, not the pathetic wannabe-sportswriter, political horse-race coverage -- I don't believe Paul would have done any better. And he may have done worse. Here's why:

Paul, with the exception of a few issues, is a libertarian. Although libertarianism is the political philosophy that best matches the Founding Fathers' ideas and what was put in the original Constitution and the first 10 amendments, most Americans aren't familiar with libertarianism and wouldn't accept it if it even were more mainstream. Though libertarianism maximizes personal liberty, that's sometimes inconvenient, and Americans don't like inconveniences. I am a Paul supporter, and of all the articles and videos I've seen about him, Paul never directly refers to the word "libertarianism" or "libertarian," and he shys away from the term if an interviewer brings the word up. Instead, Paul calls himself a member of the Republican Party, even though he ran for president in 1988 on the Libertarian Party ticket and his political have remained mostly unchanged. Why doesn't Paul talk about libertarianism? I think it's because he knows how unpopular libertarianism really is. It's why he tried to frame his libertarian ideas as what the modern-day Republican Party should be embracing but what Bush neocons, et al., have lost.

Additionally, and this is somewhat of a tangent, but I'm curious how many Paul supporters only supported Paul superficially on a few issues or because he was the only Republican candidate supporting "change," mainly in the form of ending the Iraq war and stopping the U.S.'s role as the world's policeman. I suspect a large number of people who say they supported Paul -- and perhaps many who even donated to him -- didn't know much about Paul's other libertarian ideas. It's why you see so many people say they support both Paul and Barack Obama. Both are "change" candidates, but their policies -- libertarianism and socialism lite -- are the most different from each other other than both opposing the Iraq war.

But if these people are consumers of the mainstream media, it's unlikely they would have ever been introduced to those ideas, anyway.

(Patrick, you make many excellent points here. Thank you.)

[Janelle Stewart]

I am proud to support Ron Paul and I understand why main stream media has shunned Ron Paul. It is 'We the people' not you, the corporations making money from death and sickness. Ron Paul said if he doesn't win the election, we the people won't stop trying to make our country a kind, benevolent nation through education and communication. I don't agree with everything Ron Paul stands for and I am afraid of big change, but the time has come to be morally responsible for our destructive role in the world.

[carlos gonzalez]

anyone reading this,please do realize...that are rights and our freedom are being slowly ripped from our grasp by the very ones who swore to respect and protect our constitution and plan to sell or sovereignty and our souls right before eyes...the founding fathers warned us...Mr Paul you are my last hope that my children might live in a nation that is still for the people,by the people and that our perfect document the constitution will be respected and will not perish

[Debbie]

I think that part of the reason that Ron Paul's message has been slow to reach so many people is that people have a tendency to hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see; we listen and accept things that fit into what we already believe and reject ideas that don't fit. We have been conditioned to believe that Americans are "fighting for democracy" all over the world and to reject the notion that we are essentially killing people because they have something we want. It is too ugly to contemplate the thought that we are in Iraq out of greed and not for some noble cause. I read a story today that claims 1 Million Iraqis have died since we invaded their country. 1,000,000 mothers, fathers, sons, sisters, brothers. Some people would justify that as payback for 9/11 even though Saddam Hussein and Iraq had no part in that. Everyone has heard that now, but since we are the self-proclaimed protectors of the free world, it just doesn't fit our collective self-image to believe we made a mistake. It is just easier not to think about, or to say, "Oh well, we just brought the war to them before they brought it to us." We have to be sending our young men and women over there for some good cause because what kind of evil people would that make us otherwise?
People freak out when they hear that Ron Paul wants to abolish whole departments of the Federal Government. They have the mistaken notion that our income taxes are what pays for everything our government does. They can't imagine how our children would get an education without the feds. People say they want change, but that much change seems too scary. Only a kook would even think that much change is possible. It is much easier to sound sane if you push a flat tax. Everybody knows that Huckabee will TRY to implement a flat tax, and hope he can get enough support to get it done, but somehow they think Ron Paul has the notion that he can just move in to the White House and declare the IRS dead.
We have to keep this revolution alive and continue to educate the masses. I woke up; I have to believe others will too. It is not just about putting Ron Paul in the Oval Office, it's about putting good, solid leaders in every level of government and taking back our rights and responsibilities from those who have abused their right to represent us.

[MICHAEL]

GIVEN UP??? WE HAVENT GIVEN UP !!!!! RON PAUL MAY BE IGNORED BY CORPORATE MEDIA. RON PAUL MAY BE IGNORED IN THE NATIONAL DEBATES. YOU BASTARDS CANT IGNORE THE PEOPLE. WE ARE COMING TO SPEADF DR> PAULS MESSAGE LOUD AND CLEAR. WE ARE MARCHING ON WASHINGTON !!!! YOUNG, OLD, RICH, POOR, REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT, INDEPENDANT. WE ARE ON THE MOVE. WE ARE NOT GIVING UP ON DR. PAUL. DR PAUL's MESSAGE WILL BE HEARD.

[Diego Montalvo]

Andrew Malcolm it seems that you write the same ole sorry stories every other mainstream writer expels. Why write something positive about Ron Paul, when you can sell out like everyone else and write about Obama or Mccain. Never have read the L.A. Times but if it is anything like Hollywood, why not focus your energy on some Britney stories. Ron Paul Revolution 2008!

(Hmm, it would seem numerous other commenters here disagree with you.)

[AmericanCitizen]

We as Ron Paul supporters and American Citzens determined to get America on a track towards success and restoration of the Constitution are more energized and optimistic than ever that we are making progress in winning this war again the criminal terrorists in charge. It will take time and it will be difficult but just like the American Revolution we will win and we will get America restored to a country of good versus evil. Ron Paul is a galvanizing force in this but with or without Ron Paul the desire and drive by many of us in America to get America out of criminal wars against other countries like Afghanistan and Iraq - and keeping America from unilaterally attacking others like Syria, Pakistan, and Iran - will prevail. The candidates now offered by the corporatist gang - Hillary, Obama, Huckabee, and McCain - are not worthy of any honest consideration for president of the US at all. The crimes of the Clintons are well-known and growing by the day. McCain sold out America with his plans to legalize the illegal invasion of America proving he doesn't care a whit about protecting America at all from alleged terrorists or other invaders. Obama seems a nice fellow, but look at who backs him within the corporatist elite and any hope for change fades fast. As to Huckabee, you've just plain got to be kidding. None of these people are even remotely capable of doing for America what needs to be done. Many of us have long ago realized that real CHANGE must take place, and we are working every day on making this change real. No matter what the success of Ron Paul - and I wish him the very best - we will CHANGE America for the best. Many thanks go to Ron for standing up and acting as a unifying force for all of us!

[James Golff]

I contributed to Dr. Paul's campaign and I was genuinely excited by his message. I worked for Dick Gephardt, Fred Harris and George McGovern. Dr. Paul's supporters truly represent a "rainbow coalition" that cannot be stereotyped. Perhaps you can speculate as to why this candidate was virtually ignored by the media - especially in the caucus and primary results - when you continually leave a candidate who is still running off of almost every results list - what do you call it? A coincidence perhaps? We as a nation should be outraged and take heed....

[Spencer]

The media would rather cover candidates full of hot air that say things that only pander to what Americans want to hear. Ron Paul's message is painful because it is true. People are just so brainwashed into thinking that we are the greatest, most prosperous country in the world when in reality we are THE POOREST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. Our government is over nine trillion dollars in debt, Americans alone hold 1.5 trillion dollars in unpaid debt for credit cards and loans. We as a nation are going BANKRUPT and our only solution seems to be to print out more money when we need it with absolutely nothing backing it!

Dr. Paul has made his diagnosis, and unless we follow his prescription, our country will continue to grow sicker and sicker with each day that passes.

Here's another thing Andrew:

It's not like McCain is acceptable, the media just says he is. If they actually admit he's a racist, angry old crank with no clue on economy, and his military experience is as a prisoner, then no one would vote for him.

I just watch Lions for Lambs last night. I like how, just like the media, the movie stops just short of actually calling shenanigans on the whole system. Also, I like how the reporter fesses up that she's a sell out who sold the war without bothering to report or investigate... she just did what you all do, pass on the BS from Washington.

Do you honestly think, Andrew, that the system we have now isn't the insanity, that Ron Paul is? Every thing's so broke, and you act like McCain or Obama are serious. They don't even know why it's broke, all they have are big ideas on how to spend our way out of it. Well, if anyone in the media would bother to listen to Ron Paul, yes, even you, Andrew, would be able to understand why we're in the mess we're in.

Ron Paul said, "everyone likes to talk about how we're the greatest nation on Earth, but no one likes to talk about how we got that way. Then, everyone wants to talk about how we're going down the tube, but no one wants to understand how we got that way."

The very sad truth is, the media is a mouthpiece for power. The media should speak Truth to Power, not prop up it's misdeeds and undeserved trust.

Will things get so bad that the media aids in our total collapse, followed by aiding in our takeover by a strong man? What makes you journalists think we're so great anymore that this sort of thing can't happen to us? It happened to Rome, and they had the good sense to pay for their conquest. History's not so ancient to the people it happened to, you just weren't around to meet them.

On every statistic down the line, save for most military and debt, USA is slipping. The reason isn't because we don't have enough government, foreign bases, or socialism, it's because we have too much.

Wise up for God's sake. Isn't it bad enough CNN never flinched when Colin