A Review of an "Open Letter to the Ron Paul Faithful"
“When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried.”
From “An Open Letter to the Ron Paul Faithful” October 11th,2007.
Allen Wastler
Managing Editor, CNBC.com
These were the closing words from an explanation as to why the CNBC.com poll was taken down shortly after the debate on October 9th. Before it was taken down, there were over 8,000 respondents, with Ron Paul at 75% in every category. According to Mr. Wastler, since Ron Paul does not score anywhere near that high in any “legit” polls, it must have been the “target of a campaign,” or it was “hacked.”
He’s right on one count: the polls have been the “target of a campaign” by Ron Paul supporters. So have many talk radio shows, highway overpasses, and street corners. Isn’t that what this is, after all: A political campaign? The insinuation Wastler makes is that Ron Paul supporters shouldn’t organize and vote en masse in these polls. According to him, they “ruined the purpose of the poll. It was no longer an honest “show of hands” — it suddenly was a platform for beating the Ron Paul drum.”
It seems that an “honest show of hands” must produce results that enable the mainstream media to beat a different drum: perhaps the Rudy Giuliani drum, or the Mitt Romney drum. As for the Ron Paul drum, that’s one they refuse to beat. That’s why the “Paulites” are making themselves heard in these polls.
The internet polls are where the mainstream media is feeling the “blowback” of their media bias. They consistently refuse to give Congressman Paul equal time. With just over five minutes of time in the debate to respond to seven questions, he had the least amount of screen time of any candidate. This places CNBC in a Catch-22: how could he have won the debate when they didn’t give him any time to talk? And, they can’t admit to the bias, can they?
The real question to ask is why are the other candidates having so much trouble getting their supporters to campaign for them? The other nine candidates only received about 2,000 votes combined. Second to Ron Paul was Mike Huckabee, with 7%, around 560 votes. Giuliani, the media anointed front-runner, had 3.5%, about 280 votes.
Where are the Rudy Giuliani Faithful? The John McCain Faithful? This kind of organization is not difficult. Emails are sent, messages are posted on forums, phone calls are made, and people use their mouse to check a box. The Ron Paul campaign has no secret technology which is unavailable to everyone else. Why aren’t any of the other GOP candidates bringing the passion out of their supporters? The answer is obvious to everyone except them, it seems.
This is one reason why the “hacked” comment is usually thrown in for good measure. It insinuates that not only are Ron Paul’s numbers inflated, but the other candidates numbers have been deflated. Ron Paul supporters have allegedly hacked into the political polls of, not only CNBC, but every other major network. If this were the case, wouldn’t there be criminal charges mounting at this point? And since they are already hacking into these sites, why not post one of the thousands of Ron Paul YouTube videos on there as well? How about changing some of the most popular links on CNBC.com to redirect to ronpaul2008.com? Instead, all they do is sneak in, change the poll results, and sneak back out undetected. The assertion is preposterous. I’d like to see this much concern over the vulnerability of the Diebold machines used in deciding the actual elections.
I think most Ron Paul supporters, myself included, share one concern with Mr. Wastler. When a well organized and committed few can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of the many, it is cause for concern. That concern is why we are behind Ron Paul. We believe that for far too long the government has been run by a select few who have no regard for the true desires of the many. However, as long as they continue to have the cooperation of media outlets like CNBC to do their bidding, the Ron Paul Faithful will continue to organize online and in the streets in order to let our sentiments be heard.
Digg this article here: http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/CNBC_s_Open_Letter_to_the_...
Editors vs reporters
Please see http://www.cnbc.com/id/21270546 for John Harwood's disavowal of his editor's action (he follows up his proper criticism of the censorship with the usual "Ron Paul can't win"). See also http://www.lewrockwell.com/murphy/murphy125.html for a detailed analysis of this disgraceful episode.
Go, RP
rdw
Who are they talking about?
When I read the author's concern about what happens "when a well-organized and committed 'few' can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of 'the many,'" I first thought it was an indictment of the Bush administration, not Ron Paul supporters! (^_^)
_____________________
Don't blame me! I voted for Ron Paul!
New Hampshire will change
everything with the mainstream media when Ron Paul wins New Hampshire
and other first round states in the primaries.
I've been registered as a Republican for 31 years and for someone to
tell me Ron Paul stance on the issues do not appeal to us then that tells me these people are very worried about the upsurge of Paul in money and also the straw polls he has won, but most of all with getting the
largest support from the military this in itself is blowing there minds.
Sit back and watch because when we win the states I mentioned then you will see and hear there excuses and hackjob comments they will hurl at Dr. Paul.
"Freedom is a right that can never be won in war,only by each individual "
Neilsons?
I'm curious as to how many people actually watched the debate live. I have a feeling that the only ones who actually tuned in were us Ron Paul Americans. It's become obvious that the only other supporters who come even close to our enthusiasm are over on "the other side of the aisle".
Newsworthy Nevertheless
Of course these post-debate online polls are unscientific. Everyone knows that. But are they therefore meaningless? If they are also meaningless then why put them up in the first place? The fact of the matter is that they are not meaningless and are newsworthy, if one looks at them as a measure of enthusiasm for a particular candidate or candidates. What does it matter if a candidate is not pulling winning numbers in national (essentially name recognition) polls? What ultimately matters is how many votes are cast for a candidate on election day. CNBC should have made a news story of the poll by warning the other candidates that if they don't put some heavy emphasis on getting out the vote, Ron Paul supporters are going to take them to the woodshed for a grand ol' spanking! Enthusiastic, organized supporters are valuable to any campaign and it is a story worth reporting, especially when the gulf between one candidate and the others is so large.
Can't they...
set up internet polls that won't accept an IP address more than once?
Seriously, if I get kicked out of an internet video game the server recognizes
my IP and won't let you back in. If it can be done so easily for something as trivial as a video game, why not something as important and evidently newsworthy as a net poll?
Ron Paul Hacker's
Under a true republic, not even 99% of the people could stomp the rights of the 1%. But I think the reality is Ron Paul supporters are a majority and the only thing the elitist have to fear is their loss of unjust power over us all. They don't want a true republic because they are 1% stomping the rights of 99%!
"Might does not make right"
Wayne..
Whaddaya mean LOSING credibility? They LOST it a long time ago. LOL
I agree
As of today, there are over 53,000 people who have joined Ron Paul meetups. I don't understand why the non-internet polls are considered legitimate.
Perhaps CNBC could explain
The fact that Ron Paul received less time than any other candidate ?
http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/ron-paul-silen...
If i wasn't aware of the context...
“When a well-organized and committed “few” can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of “the many,” I get a little worried.”
... i might have thought he was actually complaining about AIPAC.
Hi everyone... my first post but have been reading this site religiously for weeks now. Glad to join such a passionate group!
MSM Crebibilty is on the line
I hope that CNBC and the MSM keep showing blatant bias toward Ron Paul because in so doing, they are fast destroying any credibility that they may currently have as objective news organizations. The Ron Paul candidacy has exposed the MSM like never before for what they truly are which is little more than propaganda organizations controlled by powerful interests groups that are promoting an agenda this is not in the best interest of most Americans. No free nation can allow one of the fundamental institutions of liberty - the free press - to be taken over and subverted as we see throughout the western world. All I can say is thank God for the internet which is why I only read the MSM to better undertstand the types of tactics they are currently deploying or their current agenda.
Link to Replies!
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/281/messages/boards/view/viewthrea...
Hacked indeed
Oh, the poll results may be hacked all right but it's likely being done by the people who have the website passwords. I'm sure Dr. Paul is not the beneficiary of that effort.
Washington doesn't need more lawyers.
It needs a doctor!
Dr. Ron Paul *** RX for Freedom
hacked
excellent point. maybe Ron is really getting 80,000 votes?
Jason Rink is the Executive Director of The Foundation for a Free Society (www.f4fs.org),and co-host of the Austin, TX based radio show Live Free Austin (www.livefreeaustinradio.com). Check out his personal website at www.jasonrink.com.