We will never be mainstream

[FreedomLover]

I have been following this campaign rather closely since about August. I have noticed that we continue to plan events and say "This will be the tipping point, they cannot ignore us after this event. This will be the thing that makes us mainstream!"

At first I believed it, for several of the events. For a day of two after Nov 5th, I thought we had finally done it, we were now top-tier. Within a few days RP's name had completly dropped out of the news and we were back to where we started as far as MSM recognition goes. It is going to be the same thing regardless of what this campaign achieves. I think we need to stop deluding ourselves into thinking that there is any possibility that we will be propelled into mainstream media success.

Ron Paul has won the majority of Straw polls. He has won every debate. He had the largest single day fundraiser in GOP history. He has the largest rally's out of all candidates. He had 5,000 in philadelphia. He is going to outraise every candidate in this quarter. His platform reflects popular opinion more then any other candidate. etc etc etc

It doesn't matter. They marginalize us and ignore us. Get it? There is NOTHING we can do to gain mainstream credibility. We can raise 10 million on the 16th. We can outraise hillary clinton for the quarter. We can win New Hampshire and get 3rd in Iowa. They will discredit it and ignore us at every chance they get. There are some powerful people controlling most MSM outlets, and for whatever reason our agenda is the exact opposite of thier agenda.

Get it? This campaign can only be successful by targeting voters individually. We cannot count on the MSM for anything, except to smear us and slander us. It is not going to change.

Yes this is very disheartening. Yes this makes me want to punch a wall. But it is reality. Sorry for the ranting, but I just wanted to get this off my chest. Feel free to rate this one star or whatever...

I posted something that touched on this. The very nature of Ron Paul's campaign assures him of the status of 'outsider.' Therefore the media establishes that narrative of being foreign to the "mainstream" of the party.

 

[beobeli]

Don't give us this negative crap...

But we all agree that the campaign are won on the ground. It is obvious that we are swimming upstream with the controlled media. The key is to wake up Americans from their lull of ignorance -- one by one in your neighborhoods.

 

[paulitics]

He has an offer for 2 hours of airtime on mainstream, and continues to play hard to get. with Beck

 

[brandon]

He has an offer for 2 hours of airtime on mainstream, and continues to play hard to get. with Beck

Beck has done some of the most extreme sensationalistic hit pieces on RP and us. If I were RP, I would be very wary about going on his show as well.

 

[bgoldwater]

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

 

[robert4rp08]

I can't wait for the day when the others drop like a rock and the GOP has no choice to endorse the soaring Paul to have any shot at defeating the Democrat

 

[wgadget]

Don't let the MEDIA CHOOSE.

 

[Blowback]

We will become mainstream with the people. That is all that matters and the only way to do that is to talk to them individually.

 

[lucius]

We are the mainstream.

Very well put! Don't stop what you are doing...

 

[James R]

Hey Brandon, long time no talk.
I just wanted to say that to a point, I agree but I also disagree. The amount of press that Ron Paul - online and off, has increased quite a bit this month and continues to climb. YES, they (the media) TRY to marginalize us and the campaign but it's not working! We ARE getting through to voters and the loudest way we can speak is with our wallets! The more money the campaign has, the more ads they can run and the MSM can't do anything about that. They also can't stop us from going door to door and canvassing or putting slimjims on cars or making phone calls. WE have to overcome the MSM and we are succeeding! So don't lose hope.

I agree with this. The press believes Ron Pauls views are too different for him to win, yet as each month goes by we get dramatically more press. What they fail miserably to realize is that people all over the place have these same views, and also a lot of his more radical ideas simply are not relevant for practical purposes.

I think we should acknowledge that some of Ron Paul's ideas are fringe: Eliminate the FBI, CIA, and dept of education. Yet we should also realize that these fringe ideas were likely at one time another wildly popular. For example, Reagan wanted the dept. of education gone and that view was popular at the time (though possibly under 50% majority).

Whats great about Ron Paul is that he is taking the fringe ideas that make a whole bunch of sense into the mainstream.

 

[1town]

Evil circle: We don't get fair coverage cause we're not popular enough. We are not popular enough cause we dont get fair coverage. Rinse, repeat.

 

[BarryDonegan]

the main stream media is no longer "main stream"

 

[American]

So in other words the misinformation campaign being waged is winning.

Its real easy, we will never be considered "main stream" but that doesnt matter, what matters is that we are main street. The media helped create the mess we are in, and they have earned the right not to be trusted. The so called "main stream" were selected before the campaign season even started, so while it is discouraging if you take everything at face value, the fact they spend more time discrediting RP only shows they are scared.

Which is why they propelled Huck into the poll numbers, they know the "electable" candidates they picked out were not going to fly, and to them anyone is better then RP, so Huck was a back up plan.

Stay focused an why we are here, and just keep moving forward. Dont buy where there selling, it hasnt changed in years and there is not reason to think it will now.

 

[NerveShocker]

We will be the ONLY story!

I disagree, I believe we can leave them with no choice but to cover us.. How can they ignore a blimp? Free rides for media... all while getting stats on quarter 4 donations.. I believe soon we will be all over the media we just need to keep it up. After Dec. 16 the media WILL NOT be able to ignore us. If we break records... while flying a blimp.. with huge screaming crowds we will be the ONLY story.

 

[Menthol Patch]

We will indeed be mainstream after we reach 12 million dollars by tonight, raise another 10 million dollars on the Tea Party of 2007, and then another few million by the end of the month!

When we end up raising 22 million or more this month they will be forced to recognize us! Why? Because we will have too many supporters, EVERYWHERE!

Lets stay focused on reaching 12 million dollars by tonight!

 

[Johncjackson]

Well, to be honest, ALL of Ron Paul's ( and my views) will probably never be accepted by the majority of people.

I am pleasantly surprised/delighted by what support he DOES have. I have lived my entire life as a a lonely 1% -er. The reality is politically and philosophically, we are a small minority.

However, I do not believe victory is impossible because ( I hope) people care enough about the very important issues to agree to disagree on some others and support a man and movement that is based on principle and integrity.

 

[Maltheus]

That's fine. Would you have given as much money to Ron Paul, as I presume you have, if he was considered a mainstream candidate? Every time I see them talk about all the presidential goings on during the Sunday morning round tables and they completely ignore this very story-worthy campaign (despite whatever his odds may be), then it just gets me all riled up to contribute more money and time.

I honestly think that the press blackout (and don't kid yourself, that's what it effectively is despite a few fleeting mentions) tends to help us more than hurt us. I love telling people who've never heard of the man what he's raising, how many straw polls he's winning, how many online stats he owns. If such a large crowd is going all out to support a guy they never hear about, then it encourages them to discover what he's about on their own. And that's worth more than passively receiving the message from the news IMO.

I do agree with the OP that we will never have the press on our side, not even if he takes New Hampshire. If he wins the nomination, then they'll focus all of their attention on the democrats. There isn't a doubt in my mind that the lack of coverage has less to do with the polls than it does protecting the establishment from a very real threat. They will burn all their capital to keep Ron Paul from getting elected.

 

[Paulitician]

Sometimes the money is mostly what counts, but it is also personality as well as being high in the polls! That's why they ultimately decided to push Huckabee more and more. I know the media hates Ron Paul with a passion. He can raise 10 million in a day and report it, but unless he "looks like" he can win they're just going to ignore him. Having high polling across the board, not just in one state, is key to these guys IMO. That means tons of grass roots efforts and especially the official campaign buying advertisements in those early states. We can do it without the media constantly fellating us, but it has to be done by advertising and ultimately word-of-mouth. We've come a long way. We're powerful. If the media had their way, Ron Paul would be just like Mike Gravel, completely out of sight. But look where we are now.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Resurrection bump.

Points to remember when dealing with the MSM at the RfR.

 

[heartless]

bump