Mainstream- and neo-conservative news outlets have been whirring overtime in their attempt to spin Texas congressman Ron Paul‘s impressive straw poll victory at this weekend’s CPAC convention as “irrelevant”, even though the event is normally considered a bellwether for the direction the Republican Party will go in the following year.
FOX News lead the charge during its live coverage of the event, calling the poll “unscientific” and merely giving “bragging rights” to its winner:
Fox News continued downplaying the victory on its Web site, saying that the vote is “not necessarily a good forecaster” of conservatives’ leanings nation wide.
Several news outlets, including USA Today and FOX News micro-blogger Jake Gibson, tried to taint the win by reporting that “boos” were heard when Paul was announced as the victor. USA Today also quoted Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio as saying that a strong showing of Paul supporters was the only reason why he won.
Mike Huckabee
Former presidential hopeful turned FOX correspondent Mike Huckabee reportedly whined to co-workers that he did not bother voting because the poll had been taken over by “libertarian activists.”
“CPAC has becoming increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year,” Huckabee said.
He also knocked the conference’s relevance this year in particular, with so much activity around the tea parties.
“Because of the way that it solicits sponsors, it’s almost becomes a pay-for-play,” he said, taking a shot at the group’s credibility as a whole. “It’s kind of like, who will pay money to be able to be a sponsor and get time in the program. That’s one of the things that has hurt its credibility in the last couple of years.”
Michelle Malkin’s blog Hot Air questioned whether the poll could be taken seriously, adding: “53 percent say they wish the GOP had a better field of presidential candidates. Is that an outlier produced by the Paulnut contingent too, or genuine proof that there’s room for a dark horse?”
Mitt Romney
Strangely, in The Washington Post‘s Monday coverage of the GOP’s 2012 presidential contenders, the congressman from Texas was not mentioned once. Staff writer Chris Cillizza instead plugged Romney as the party’s “nominal front-runner.”
There was surprisingly little coverage of the event on talk radio Monday. In 2009, CPAC was arguably the biggest event in conservative politics all year, featuring right-wing all-stars like Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and many more. However, there was small dissmissal of it on Tuesday.
“CPAC doesn’t mean much,” neo-conservative talk radio host Steve Malzberg said during an on-air discussion with ABC News Senior Political Reporter Rick Klein Tuesday. “It will totally forgotten about next week, and what does it mean? It doesn’t influence who will run for president, Ron Paul is not going to be the candidate, I mean, big deal! It happened, It’s over! I just think that the mainstream media tries to read too much into it, to try and make villains out of the people who attend.”
Rush Limbaugh got tons of press coverage from his speech last year.
“There are fringe people in every political movement,” replied Klein. “Whether it’s a liberal one, or a conservative one, there’s people, unsavory elements that you wouldn’t like to have associated with you as a right-thinking person. That doesn’t define the movement.”
In 2008, pollsters were shocked when Romney beat Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by just one percent of the vote, even after announcing the suspension of his presidential campaign.
That year, Paul tied for third with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 12 percent of the vote. In the same poll for 2009, Ron Paul again came in third place, this time with 13 percent of the vote. He was bested by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, at 14 percent, and Mitt Romney, with 20.
“I believe we are on the verge of something very significant,” Paul told CPAC in 2010.
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oh how I despise neo-cons!! Go back to where you came from, the democrat party! Ron Paul is a breath of fresh air, a true statesman. Ron Paul 2010 and 2012.
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. THEN THEY FIGHT YOU. Then you win.
We’re getting close! Ron Paul 2012!
Ron Paul is a true (one of the only true) conservatives in Washington. Maybe that’s why republicans bend over to marginalize him – he makes them all look bad in comparison.
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Support Campaign for Liberty candidates! Let’s get constitutionally minded people in Washington for a change!
Fun to watch the neocons squirm. Go get them Ron Paul. You have our support.
Paul, 74, charges Wall, is a “career politician” who ignores the wishes of voters back home, a conservative poseur who doesn’t walk the walk when it comes to pork-barrel spending.
“While he claims to be a fiscal conservative, he’ll put millions of (dollars of) earmarks and pork spending in bills,” declares Wall, one of the organizers of last year’s Lake Jackson Tea Party. “He’ll vote against it, but he knows it’s going to pass.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6882107.html
In written requests he submitted to the House Appropriations Committee,
$8 million for Wild American Shrimp Marketing requested by the Texas Shrimp Association.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-ronpaul_27tex.ART.State.Edition1.43bdd5f.html
I’ve never understood the anit-Paul arguement, which is why I still support the man and give him my money.
As a once life-time supporter of the G.O.P. (except for voting for Ron Paul as nominee of the Libertarian Party) I will flat-out say that I will never vote for a Palin, a Huckabee, a Romney or any other Republican unless Ron is the nominee. You neo-con supporters of continuous warfare and lack of true faithfulness to the Constitution just don’t get it Your party has lost its way…both Bush’s saw to that (especially the son).
Finally, I see a republican that I can support. Regardless of how the media may downplay his success in the straw poll, it appears his competitors will have to deal with a real republican that is williing to represent the “real American people.” I can finally get excited about 2010 and 2012. Go for it Ron!
Mommy! Look at all the white people!
One speaker called it the “Conservative Woodstock”. But unlike the first one, “our women are beautiful.” Apparently this freak has a thing for Phyllis Schlafly.
So I guess the writing is on the wall; the Democrats are going to get hammered on Election Day, right? I wouldn’t be too sure about that. There are far too many monkey wrenches that are ready to be thrown into this engine. The most amusing thing to observe during the CPAC festiviities last Thursday was their subtle attempt to disassociate themselves from the so-called “Tea Party Movement” without flatly rejecting it. What is going on here?
Here’s what’s going on: The cooler heads within the Republican National Committee know damned well that the Tea Partiers are a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. It’s not merely the fact that most of these people are dumber than doggy dung, it is also the ugly reality that so much (although not all) of that movement is based on the nasty philosophy that has embodied the white supremacist movement for decades. You could hear it in the remarks made by the protesters at the September 12, “March on Washington”. You could see it in the signs they carried. Most of these twits refuse to even acknowledge the fact that the president of the United States is an American citizen!
Like Neville Chamberlain appeasing der fuhrer at the Munich conference in 1938, the RNC is frantically searching for a “peace in our time” moment. They have quite a dilemma before them to be sure. On the one hand they need to keep these knuckleheads “inside the tent pissing out” – so to speak. On the other hand they have to avoid alienating the moderates. Like the demented uncle living in the attic, they must do everything humanly possible to make sure that any contact with the neighborhood kids is limited if you know what I mean.
The Tea Party people are already claiming credit for Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago. They are determined to steer the course of the GOP in November, come hell or high water. If they are allowed control of the party, their extremism will only turn off a huge segment of the voting population. If they are denied that opportunity, they will splinter off into third and even fourth party uprisings. Have you ever watched an elephant try to walk a tightrope? It’s more fun than a barrel of donkeys!
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
Ron Paul is the FUTURE!! Just face it! To me, it is the others who are losing credebility! Sore losers!!
Ron Paul is the ONLY Republican I would vote for today. There is no Democrat I would vote for.
Nice try m. It is the job of a rep to get the federal tax money back to his district
you are only making a foolish arguement trying to smear Ron Paul. He votes for no federal expansion or federal taxation. Again it is the purpose of a rep to get his districts federal tax money back to the tax payers through yes earmarks. I am glad he does since I live here. Maybe you could get a job at fox news. They are always looking for great decievers.
The tea parties are like the portion of the ice burg that is above the water line. The remaining grassroots, small govt, less taxes, more liberty “parties” are churning beneath the surface. The media cannot stop what will happen to the political landscape in the coming years. The people of this country will take their country back from the corrupt politicians that are bogging down our system. The only way the “warfare and welfare party” (neo-CONS) can be a part of the new Republican party is if they start casting every vote along the lines of the constitution and if they follow their new leader. Ron Paul.
Tom you are quite rediculous. It was the republicans with views like Ron Paul who paved the way for the civil rights movement. Calvin Coolidge was the first president to speak out for blacks then Hoover and Eisenhower. Fdr was so afraid of the racist party he was part of he would literaly do nothing about civil rights. Strom Thurman was a democrat until Johnson stood up for civil rights. Then all the racists switched parties and became neocons under Nixon. The neocon movement was truly started by democrats. Socialism which can be connected to collectiveism often leads to racism like under Hitler. When you start making groups like Latinos African American Indian American etc all you do is perpetuate racism. The true concerns should be over individual liberty and justice which has no colors. That is what Ron Paul stands for. By the way he often cotes Martin Luther king as a hero.
If you believe all the anti- Ron Paul rhetoric then YOU ARE A PUPPET! Notice how unsavory elements is in bold print. The media portrays this man as a kook. Why are they out to make Paul and his supporters look bad? This is the same media that supported Bush/Cheney. Ask yourself what are conservatives afraid of. If it’s not broke don’t fix it, if it is broke be a man, do your job and make it right. Do your research, go to a non biased site and form your own opinion, not what you hear from the media.
RP forever!!!!!
Ron Paul is someone I’d never call a Politican. He is no doubt a True Statesman among a very few. He has my vote even if he doesn’t run. As yet, among the emerging candidates I see no one I’d even consider voting for. I hope he gives me a reason to get up on election day, in 2012. I sure wish that it could be sooner.
Jim Armstrong
“Nice try m. It is the job of a rep to get the federal tax money back to his district
you are only making a foolish arguement trying to smear Ron Paul. He votes for no federal expansion or federal taxation. Again it is the purpose of a rep to get his districts federal tax money back to the tax payers through yes earmarks. I am glad he does since I live here. Maybe you could get a job at fox news. They are always looking for great decievers.”
Then why does Ron Paul vote against the same bills that he fills with pork if it’s ok?
M maybe you should give a specific example of a bill he added earmarks too but voted against on another situation. Your article didn’t explain any of that. His voting record is pretty consistant and it’s well known in congress. You are confusing local regional politics with federal policy.
In written requests he submitted to the House Appropriations Committee, the Lake Jackson Republican asked for $8.6 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the Texas City Channel and $10 million for the Galveston Rail Causeway Bridge. He also asked for money for a nursing program, expansion of a cancer center at Brazosport Hospital, a seafood testing program, a Children’s Identification and Location Database and $8 million for Wild American Shrimp Marketing requested by the Texas Shrimp Association.
Tom Lizardo, a Paul aide, said Mr. Paul has always asked for spending for his district in response to local requests.
“He feels the IRS takes the money and so it’s [his] job to make sure money comes back in the district,” Mr. Lizardo said.
However, Mr. Paul usually votes against final spending bills containing his earmarks when they reach the House floor. So far this year he has voted against funding bills for military construction, veterans and state-foreign operations. He did not cast a vote when the Homeland Security and legislative funding bills were on the floor.
Many lawmakers feel they are better off requesting funding for specific projects in their districts rather than waiting for a bureaucratic agency to decide which project is funded. Mr. Paul agrees, Mr. Lizardo said.
M sounds pretty consistant with his views to me. I think perhaps you are grasping at straws. Local projects all useful getting taxpayers money back. I think you need to brush up on your understanding of how government is structured.
The neocons could ignore, demonize, and spin all they want. IT WON’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH RON PAUL in 2012. Whether he runs or not, the movement has been started. The neocons won’t win SHIT anymore, the gig is up.
watch the idiots at fox news belittle Dr. Paul’s win and the youth of our nation in this video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeCkZyx83m8
At lot of conservative people who watch fox have no idea that the wool is being pulled over their eyes-
“CPAC has becoming increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year,” Huckabee said.”
I think he means the republican party has become increasingly more liberal with mass government expansion, etc. Why can’t people understand that the core values of the GOP are supposed to be libertarian ideals?
Ron Pual is the man, i will continue give moeny to his fight. by the way iam fox free for over a year. it feel great
We must unite the Conservative Republican party and the Libertarian party to beat Obama next time around! Listen, we can’t stand as a divided group of folks getting all upset about details that are sure to lose us the battle! Lets band together on this point..we all want government to get out of our business and personal lives! Conservative Republicans want this too! We don’t want liars either!