Thursday, January 17, 2008

Power of the Press (to be lame)

Following politics this year has been an education for me about the power of the press.

I am truly amazed at the way the media has excluded Ron Paul. It is yet another example of what? censorhsip?...not exactly. They just don't report all the info. Check it out:

- the New York Times excludes RP from their election guide:
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/votes/index.html#1

- Fox excluded RP from the New Hampshire debate, then deleted his best answer from the South Carolina debate: http://people.ronpaul2008.com/campaign-updates/2008/01/17/unbelievable-when-fox-cant-exclude-dr-paul-they-cut-him/

- Today the Wall Street Journal has an editorial looking at the tax policies proposed by the Republican presidential contenders. Suspiciously missing is Dr. Paul’s proposal to completely eliminate the income tax and the dreaded IRS. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120053079762196023.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

I'm not even getting in to how many minutes they (don't) give him during debates, or the grumpy picture they put next to his name , while all the other candidates are handsomely smiling.

I'm not saying he's going to win. But the guy beat Guiliani and Thompson in the first three primaries. They're not being excluded and edited. What would people say if Guiliani was left out of a debate? It would be a scandal! Ron Paul? Well.....he's a crank (translation: his beliefs and principals are far from mainstream, and threatening to the status quo), so it doesn't matter. No one says a thing. (except us Paulians)

I learned this when I tried to gather info. about the Iraq invasion - you can't trust the media. They totally twist things. It is hard to find a trustworthy place to get news. So disheartening!

4 comments:

Mike said...

I gotta say that although I think some of Paul's ideas are unworkable, I'd love to see the guy get a chance. I'd like to fail his way for a few years since we've failed the "traditional" way for eons.

Anonymous said...

hey you and craig are voting for the same person what a trip.

Sue said...

Mike - actually, we've been failing the traditional (ie. govt. intervenes and taxes everything) way only since the beginning of this century. Before that we were doing pretty well. Aside from the Civil War and all that. What is "traditional" and what is "modern" is all relative to your point in history. I happen to take the long view....

Anonymous - that is a trip. my respect for him has grown.

Anonymous said...

he rocks the status quo, ie, he plays a different game within the rules. It's easy to find flaws with him and and pick on his campaign, but there are moments where he's solid.

I think he scares them.