Just some assessments from a dedicated Ron Paul Supporter on the very real threat the campaign faces from the current slanders. Kinda long but I felt it was important to be as candid as possible. No need to read the whole thing but please try and leave some ideas on how you feel Paul and the campaign should combat these most recent attacks.
Now, we are a couple days out from the Iowa Caucus and one fact has become increasingly clear to me; the media has begun its campaign against Paul by reporting to the naïve electorate lie after lie in what looks to be an effort to tarnish Dr. Paul’s good name. Yes, that’s right, the most tolerant and accepting Politician running for the presidency, Republican or Democrat, is now being smeared by the media as a kook or, worse, a racist. Now, character defamation is nothing new to politics, it is a dirty trick that has been with us since the beginning of western civilization, but that fact does not change the lethal havoc it can wage on a presidential campaign.
When looking for evidence of the wounds slander can inflict upon good men one has to look no further then to the failed presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater in 64. During that election certain newspapers and media outlets helped to spread several fabricated stories one of which ridiculously implied that Goldwater had secretly met with Nazis in Bolivia (seriously). In more recent history, the political hopes of Pat Buchanan were dashed due in part to the same types of character attacks. Some of you might remember that after Pat won New Hampshire in 96 the media ran stories with such fair and balanced headlines such as “Pat, the new Hitler?” (well at least they added the question mark, right?). To be fair, the Democrats have also suffered from such attacks. In the 2004 election we all witnessed how John Kerry was, “swift-boated” by a Bush supported 527.
In the case of John Kerry, whether or not there was any validity contained within the attack ads is pretty much an irrelevant issue. What is relevant to us (the grassroots of a Statesmen who is also being smeared) is; what effect did the ads have on Kerry’s presidential campaign? Most of us already know the answer; the swift boat ads weakened Kerry’s image as a war hero and probably cost him the election, not because the facts in the attack ads were bullet proof but because his campaign failed to respond to them. They were silent and that silence indicated guilt to the public.
Barry Goldwater, Pat Buchanan, John Kerry (I could probably name another half-a-dozen more but you get the picture); each of these men have one thing in common, they were smeared, they failed to respond adequately to the smears, and then they lost. Ok, end of history lesson. What can we Ron Paul supporters garner from this information?
First off, we are currently facing a major problem. For the last couple of days we have all noticed an up tick in the Ron Paul attacks. These attacks are no longer scattered about here and there. Now they have begun to be carried by the main cable news channels which are the main vehicle of information for the average voter (I know scary thought). The smear stories currently contain an assortment of these 'facts' (note: here I am using the word fact rather loosely), White supremacist’s donation, the Lincoln criticism, and Paul voted against Civil Rights act. After throwing all this muck at the viewer they usually, for good measure, toss in that debunked article Paul didn’t write and ‘vwala!’ the media has got itself the perfect smear story.
Each of these attacks alone can be fought (some more easily then others), but all together they pose a perfect storm that threatens to challenge Paul’s greatest strength, his constitutional belief that each individual has the right to their life, liberty, property, and the pursuance of his or her own happiness. It is that belief that brought so many of us to his campaign and that is what these attacks aim to destroy.
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12102
All of this is no coincidence. The article at anti-war.com by Justin clearly indicates this onslaught was planned from the very start. The donation and the subsequent picture with the Don “I am so evil and my son dresses like a creepy Amish child” Black guy were planned in advance so as to derail Paul’s chances in the primary.
If we are to win any primary, the campaign has to start fighting claw, tooth and nail against these baseless lies. They must do whatever it takes to, not only refute the lies, but, more importantly, to turn the attacks back on the attackers. Paul needs to distinguish himself as the Republican who is tolerant, through both spokespeople and ads, (while we have seen some of the latter I would very much like to see money thrown at the former).
Paul needs to have talking points that totally refute the slanders. For instance when challenged by someone on the civil rights act Paul could turn it around and say he has an alternative amendment to the constitution that is tailored to making sure the federal government protects both the rights of its citizens from harm as well as the private property rights of individuals. We needs ads ready that also combat these types of attacks. They should have stuff like this running in New Hampshire, "This is what the mainstream media says about Ron Paul...but here is the truth....he respects each individuals rights...only presidential candidate who respects gays..Don't Believe the MSM's lies, Ron Paul is out there defending each and every one of us..." I think you get the point. We need to be promoting ads that accentuate his virtues in the areas of tolerance and acceptance. The feel good stuff is what is necessary to blow this bad stuff out of the water.
When some media pundit claim he is a kook or a racist, the campaign needs to challenge them on it forcefully by making it crystal clear that he was one of the few politicians who stood by the inner city folk as the government waged its illegal drug war on poor black families; ripping fathers away from their children. Remember how awesome Ron Paul was on Morton Downy,
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ron+paul+mortin
(I mean come on that is practically irrefutable proof that Paul respects the rights of all individuals).
The Campaign needs to come up with something, anything to deflect and combat these attacks. If we place 3rd in Iowa you can bet that the media will kick it up a notch. They will want every viewer to think of Ron Paul as a racist. We need to fight back.
We need to all fight the media's lies and remember Ron Paul and the Revolution is on the Rise.
Now, we are a couple days out from the Iowa Caucus and one fact has become increasingly clear to me; the media has begun its campaign against Paul by reporting to the naïve electorate lie after lie in what looks to be an effort to tarnish Dr. Paul’s good name. Yes, that’s right, the most tolerant and accepting Politician running for the presidency, Republican or Democrat, is now being smeared by the media as a kook or, worse, a racist. Now, character defamation is nothing new to politics, it is a dirty trick that has been with us since the beginning of western civilization, but that fact does not change the lethal havoc it can wage on a presidential campaign.
When looking for evidence of the wounds slander can inflict upon good men one has to look no further then to the failed presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater in 64. During that election certain newspapers and media outlets helped to spread several fabricated stories one of which ridiculously implied that Goldwater had secretly met with Nazis in Bolivia (seriously). In more recent history, the political hopes of Pat Buchanan were dashed due in part to the same types of character attacks. Some of you might remember that after Pat won New Hampshire in 96 the media ran stories with such fair and balanced headlines such as “Pat, the new Hitler?” (well at least they added the question mark, right?). To be fair, the Democrats have also suffered from such attacks. In the 2004 election we all witnessed how John Kerry was, “swift-boated” by a Bush supported 527.
In the case of John Kerry, whether or not there was any validity contained within the attack ads is pretty much an irrelevant issue. What is relevant to us (the grassroots of a Statesmen who is also being smeared) is; what effect did the ads have on Kerry’s presidential campaign? Most of us already know the answer; the swift boat ads weakened Kerry’s image as a war hero and probably cost him the election, not because the facts in the attack ads were bullet proof but because his campaign failed to respond to them. They were silent and that silence indicated guilt to the public.
Barry Goldwater, Pat Buchanan, John Kerry (I could probably name another half-a-dozen more but you get the picture); each of these men have one thing in common, they were smeared, they failed to respond adequately to the smears, and then they lost. Ok, end of history lesson. What can we Ron Paul supporters garner from this information?
First off, we are currently facing a major problem. For the last couple of days we have all noticed an up tick in the Ron Paul attacks. These attacks are no longer scattered about here and there. Now they have begun to be carried by the main cable news channels which are the main vehicle of information for the average voter (I know scary thought). The smear stories currently contain an assortment of these 'facts' (note: here I am using the word fact rather loosely), White supremacist’s donation, the Lincoln criticism, and Paul voted against Civil Rights act. After throwing all this muck at the viewer they usually, for good measure, toss in that debunked article Paul didn’t write and ‘vwala!’ the media has got itself the perfect smear story.
Each of these attacks alone can be fought (some more easily then others), but all together they pose a perfect storm that threatens to challenge Paul’s greatest strength, his constitutional belief that each individual has the right to their life, liberty, property, and the pursuance of his or her own happiness. It is that belief that brought so many of us to his campaign and that is what these attacks aim to destroy.
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12102
All of this is no coincidence. The article at anti-war.com by Justin clearly indicates this onslaught was planned from the very start. The donation and the subsequent picture with the Don “I am so evil and my son dresses like a creepy Amish child” Black guy were planned in advance so as to derail Paul’s chances in the primary.
If we are to win any primary, the campaign has to start fighting claw, tooth and nail against these baseless lies. They must do whatever it takes to, not only refute the lies, but, more importantly, to turn the attacks back on the attackers. Paul needs to distinguish himself as the Republican who is tolerant, through both spokespeople and ads, (while we have seen some of the latter I would very much like to see money thrown at the former).
Paul needs to have talking points that totally refute the slanders. For instance when challenged by someone on the civil rights act Paul could turn it around and say he has an alternative amendment to the constitution that is tailored to making sure the federal government protects both the rights of its citizens from harm as well as the private property rights of individuals. We needs ads ready that also combat these types of attacks. They should have stuff like this running in New Hampshire, "This is what the mainstream media says about Ron Paul...but here is the truth....he respects each individuals rights...only presidential candidate who respects gays..Don't Believe the MSM's lies, Ron Paul is out there defending each and every one of us..." I think you get the point. We need to be promoting ads that accentuate his virtues in the areas of tolerance and acceptance. The feel good stuff is what is necessary to blow this bad stuff out of the water.
When some media pundit claim he is a kook or a racist, the campaign needs to challenge them on it forcefully by making it crystal clear that he was one of the few politicians who stood by the inner city folk as the government waged its illegal drug war on poor black families; ripping fathers away from their children. Remember how awesome Ron Paul was on Morton Downy,
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ron+paul+mortin
(I mean come on that is practically irrefutable proof that Paul respects the rights of all individuals).
The Campaign needs to come up with something, anything to deflect and combat these attacks. If we place 3rd in Iowa you can bet that the media will kick it up a notch. They will want every viewer to think of Ron Paul as a racist. We need to fight back.
We need to all fight the media's lies and remember Ron Paul and the Revolution is on the Rise.
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