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Among the things to me that are noteworthy in this piece from last week's Washington PostThe Fix blog, about whether the Libertarian Party is cannibalizing the GOP, is that in also making the point that non-presidential Libertarian candidates did well in some places -which is news to me and other South Florida news consumers since the local media down here have yet to report this fact- is their noting that their U.S. Senate candidate in Indiana won 6% -actually 5.8% according tohttp://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Elections/2012/Senate/Indiana/1/ But in the Post's own story the following day, below, they NEVER mentioned this important fact, nor did they even mention the name of that Libertarian candidate, Andrew Horning, whose numbers clearly rose as a direct result of Richard Mourdock's campaign numbers coming back to earth after his landslide upset victory of longtime incumbent Richard Lugar in the spring GOP primary, and Mourdock's self-inflicted wounds, which he never recovered from in his battle against Joe Donnelly, which Kim Gieger of the LA Times was all over: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-donnelly-mourdock-poll-20121102,0,7739135.story Yes, this omission in The Post was very Miami Herald-like.
Both the national Mainstream Media & Florida's own MSM continue to coddle Ron Paul and NOT force him to answer self-evident questions, and thus be held accountable.
Paul has not won any of the first three contests and is NOT running a serious campaign in Florida, the fourth-largest state in the country.
As I've written here a few times previously, I was not only born in Texas, I'm a direct descendant of a pioneer TexasHill Country family that has lived there continuously for well over over 155 years.
And just as the entire country is NOT a small-scale replica of everyday life in Manhattan or Santa Monica, despite what Hollywood and Madison Avenue marketers and network TV execs may attempt to persuade us in films and in television programs and commercials, the entire country is also NOT thesouth suburban Houston area that is Ron Paul's own congressional district, TX-14. Map: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=TX&district=14
Voters in Florida next Tuesday, like voters in Iowa and New Hampshire the past few weeks and the upcoming state primaries, quite reasonably believe that they're entitled to be represented by a person as president who at least ATTEMPTS to understand their unique concerns and issues, and who takes those into account when setting national policies and making important decisions.
Given that, how does Ron Paul's failure to even mount a serious effort in Florida to garner their votes, failure to even pretend to try to understand THEIR unique concerns instead of merely repeating his own, now make him a person Floridians should take seriously, now or in the future?
And isn't Paul's behavior towards Florida voters more accurately described as patronizing?
To answer my own question, yes.
So how come nobody in the traveling national press corps or Florida-based news media, print or electronic, will ask them that simple question on camera? Sometimes, as we've learned, the absence of evidence is evidence of a sort, too, isn't it?
That's a question that mouthy and opinionated Paul supporters can't or won't answer, for obvious reasons, so when you run into them in-person on see them on TV news segments on the cablenets or C-SPAN sounding loftier than they have any right to sound based on what's actually happened, ask them that simple question.
And tell them that after Paul has ACTUALLY WON SOMETHING, to get get back in-touch, but otherwise, stop annoying everyone with their nonsensical conspiracies about how someone who can't even win a single state presidential primary can be elected president in the year 2012. Sorry, it's not the 19th Century anymore.
It's preposterous.
The truth of the matter is that Paul won't even be able to win the Texas GOP primary on April 3rd.
Since we don't have a parliamentary system, an American president, whatever else they need to be or do, MUST be seen by both Americans and people overseas as the president of the entire country, not just the small parts of it that happen to agree with him. And if it's not too much trouble, NOT appear to be overly-contemptuous and dismissive of other Americans.
That sound you'll be hearing in the distance all across the country later today, around 12 Noon Eastern, is the sound of millions of people turning on their radios to hear what Rush Limbaugh has to say about what is and is NOT going on in the hours leading up to tonight's Iowa GOP presidential caucus.
Townhall.com
Why 80% Reject Paul and Romney By Kevin McCullough 1/1/2012
Dear Iowa Caucus participants,
You have been told for the better part of year now who it is that you must choose. Beltway insiders have insisted upon thrusting establishment candidates upon you. Libertarian anarchists have swopped into your state shouting that you must support Ron Paul, while toking on the marijuana they soon believe President Paul will make legal.
New York Times As Gingrich Reels From Attack Ads, Some Aides Suggest Fighting Back
By Trip Gabriel
Published: December 30, 2011
DES MOINES — Alarmed by Newt Gingrich’s decline in the polls in the face of a fusillade of negative advertisements, some senior aides and grass-roots supporters have suggested that he reverse course and fight fire with fire, fearing for the future of his candidacy if he does not.
Mr. Gingrich’s vow to stay positive draws applause at every stop of his winding Iowa bus tour, but polls raise questions about that strategy as attack ads against him from his opponents’ campaigns and independent groups have seeped into voters’ minds.
New York Times Group’s Ads Rip at Gingrich as Romney Stands Clear Restore Our Future has spent close to $3 million in Iowa alone. By Nicholas Confessore and Jim Rutenberg Published: December 30, 2011
DES MOINES — The attacks began three weeks ago and have not let up since: Television ad after television ad slamming Newt Gingrich for having “more baggage than the airlines,” for being fined by Congress for ethics violations, for his position on illegal immigration, even for admitting that he has made mistakes on the campaign trail.
Democrats and Republicans alike have singled out the $2.8 million-and-counting air deluge as the biggest factor in Mr. Gingrich’s precipitous drop in polls of Iowa voters and Mitt Romney’s corresponding rise, reshaping the critical first contest of the Republican primary season to Mr. Romney’s benefit.
The Washington Post GOP’s election battle plan: Use Obama’s own words against him By Peter Wallsten Published: January 1, 2012
With Republican voters in Iowa set to finally begin picking a nominee to challenge President Obama, GOP officials in Washington are quietly and methodically finishing what operatives are calling “the book” — 500 pages of Obama quotes and video links that will form the backbone of the party’s attack strategy against the president leading up to Election Day 2012.
The document, portions of which were reviewed by The Washington Post, lays out how GOP officials plan to use Obama’s words and voice as they build an argument for his defeat: that he made specific promises and entered office with lofty expectations and has failed to deliver on both.
