Ron Paul Supporters Use the Internet to ‘Defeat’ Mainstream Media
Posted on January 5, 2008 - Filed Under Elections |
If you just came home from a trip to the moon and didn’t know anything about the 2008 Presidential race, a quick online search of polls, websites and blog would tell you who the overwhelming front runner is to be the next President of the United States.
Not only does he have the largest support base online, he also set the record for online fundraising, raising $6 million in just 24 hours. With a vast network of grassroots supporters and a proven fund raising record, it sounds pretty clear that this person is a top tier presidential candidate. In fact according to one report, he raised the most money of any Republican presidential candidate in the last 3 months of 2007.
Is this the vaunted Hillary Clinton machine we read so much about in 2007? No. Is it the savvy campaign skills and business smarts that made this person Mitt Romney? Nope. How about that young guy out of Illinois who talks about change all the time? Negative.
In fact, it is Ron Paul, a Republican Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas that has set the Internet ablaze.
If you don’t go online much and get most of your news from TV, radio and newspaper, on the night of the Iowa Caucuses you might have been surprised to see Ron Paul finishing ahead of such noted candidates as Rudy Giuliani. But to those plugged in online, it wasn’t a surprise at all. It was something months in the making.
Following his surprising finish in Iowa, Lew Moore, Paul’s campaign manger told supporters in a message posted on their campaign website: “This campaign is just beginning, and we are starting off better than anyone in the ‘mainstream’ media imagined.
This passionate group of online supporters now have a fight on their hands and the target is Fox News. An online protest is growing over Paul’s exclusion from a Fox News debate on Sunday, even though other Republicans receiving fewer votes in Iowa (Fred Thompson and Giuliani) were invited. His supporters are not taking it sitting down.
They responded by flooding a Fox News Web page on the debate with over 580 comments and creating a “Protest Fox” Web site. This site says: “We need to send a message to Fox’s Rupert Murdoch & his fellow Neocon buddies that he is not Musharraf and the US is not Pakistan, yet! Fox News cannot just stifle public opinion. debate and impact a primary election by excluding Ron Paul just because they don’t like his message of freedom and liberty.”
A blog at the Los Angeles Times site declared: Ron Paul Beats Giuliani but Loses to Fox News.
The Manchester Union Leader, one of the most important and respected newspapers in New Hampshire ran a rare front-page editorial against the Fox News decision to exclude Paul and Duncan Hunter (who did about as bad as possible in Iowa).
Before the Internet came of age, the Ron Paul candidacy would be dead in the water. But now, thanks to youtube, an army of bloggers, social networks, and meetups, Paul’s supporters have created their own online community, rooted in their ardent support of their candidate. There is a feeling among Paul supporters that the mainstream media is not only rooting against Paul, but also conspiring to stop his candidacy.
Now with Fox News they have a direct confrontation with the mainstream media elite that they have wanted for so long. If they are successful in getting Paul back into the debate it will further validate the Internet’s new power in shaping politics. Blogflict recently discussed the possibility that 2008 could be the year the Internet does what TV did in 1960 - change the outcome of an election. Could Ron Paul be that candidate? His supporters think so. What do you think?
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11 Responses to “Ron Paul Supporters Use the Internet to ‘Defeat’ Mainstream Media”
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Power To The People, No Delay!
Great article.
I’m so excited about the internet’s role in democracy. I honestly think the internet may basically save our country. Why? Because now instead of the people being spoon fed their “news” from the TV they can actually go out and find unbiased sources of real information. They can have discussions about the candidates and issues instead of being told what they should think. It’s incredible. The internet will change everything and it’s just starting now.
[…] Below The Beltway wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt If you just came home from a trip to the moon and didn’t know anything about the 2008 Presidential race, a quick online search of polls, websites and blog would tell you who the overwhelming front runner is to be the next President of the United States. Not only does he have the largest support base online, he also set the record for online fundraising, raising $6 million in just 24 hours. With a vast network of grassroots supporters and a proven fund raising record, it sounds pretty clear […]
Right on! I’m glad to see that the NH GOP is taking steps to distance themselves from Fox. All candidates should be outraged by this, Fox and ABC should not be excluding any candidates from televised debates. Its simply not their place. I hope the Dems get mad enough to say something to Fox as well. The people, not the media, get to choose the President.
[…] Here’s another interesting post I read today by Blogflict […]
[…] post by Blogflict and software by Elliott Back This entry is filed under Internet blog. You can follow any […]
[…] Ron Paul Supporters Use the Internet to Defeat the Media […]
I agree with everything the first poster said. I think it’s going to be a while before the generation that is currently in power realizes the impact that the Internet will have on Politics though. It’s very clear to younger generations though!
check out this website: it allows any US citizen to run a campaign for any publically elected Office in the US, in a relevant environement!
http://www.WriteInYourVote.com
talk about how the Interent is going to affect Politics! Just imagine if every US citizen utilized Write In Your Vote! Now that would be an impact!
Andrew
by the way, I do think 2008 will be the year the Internet affects the outcome of the election.
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