NBC segment NOT GOOD For Ron Paul
Submitted by 11thHour on Fri, 10/19/2007 - 17:59I wish they wouldn't have aired the segment on Ron Paul. The commentator said that Ron Paul would "Abolish Social Security" and then they went to a short clip with Ron saying "Social Security is out of money" This could cost him a huge amount of middleaged and older voters. AND the statement is NOT true. Ron Paul has stated that he would like for the young people to be able to opt out of social security and put their own retirement money away and that the government would still be able to continue to provide social security to the people who need it.
I honestly think this statement was done on purpose. I drove up to Chicago with 4 others to attend this march and quite honestly, I think this segment did more damage to Ron Paul than good.
usa today gives more fair coverage
thanking them might be in order.
Ron Paul has mandate for equal time during Fox News debate
USA Today | October 18, 2007
Marty Eels
Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has broken through to the top tier of Republican candidates running for president. He knows it, GOP voters know it, and as previously reported; media outlets are grudgingly admitting it.
Ron Paul commented on the issue in a message to supporters, �The blackout is ending; our campaign is starting to get mainstream media attention, thanks to growing donations and volunteers.�
Ron Paul continued in his message to supporters:
�All over America, our support is wide and deep and growing, and young people are joining like never before. After the Dearborn debate, I went to the University of Michigan for a rally. 2,000 students turned out, something that has happened to no other candidate this year.�
It is a remarkable fact that Ron Paul has consistently drawn crowds all across the country that continuously seem to dwarf those of his opponents. Given the scant media coverage Paul has received it is a testament that his message is resonating.
The Republican Party appears to be recognizing that Ron Paul has a chance of winning the nomination. Paul said to supporters:
�After all the aggressive wars, the assaults on our privacy and civil liberties, the oppressive taxation, and the crazed spending and deficits, I believe that many Republican voters are ready to return to our roots. And the big boys feel it too.It is no coincidence that the Republican National Committee invited me to a fundraising dinner involving only top-tier candidates."
Commenting on Alan Greenspan's recent interview on the Fox Business Channel Paul said:
� the reporter asked if we really needed a central bank. Greenspan looked stunned, and then said that was a good question; he actually talked about fiat money vs. a gold standard. Now, the ex-Fed chairman is not about to endorse our sound monetary policy, but you know our Revolution is working when such a question is asked in the mainstream media, and this powerful man gives such an answer.�
He continued on about the crowd of 2000 at his campaign's Dearborn rally:
�They cheered all our ideas, but especially our opposition to the Federal Reserve, and our support for real money of gold and silver, as the Constitution mandates, instead of prosperity-wrecking fiat money. American politics hasn't seen anything like this in many decades. It is truly revolutionary�.
Ron Paul's campaign does not appear to be willing to sit in the background of the presidential race any longer and made that very clear Wednesday during a press conference. Paul's campaign pointed out that only four candidates remain viable at this time in the Republican field.
Paul's campaign highlighted that according to the financial reports, the indication is that the only viable candidates where Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Ron Paul. Mitt Romney's campaign is viable as long as he continues to spend his personal wealth.
Ron Paul's campaign may do many things in this election but it has already made media polls irrelevant suggesting them to be an outdated obsolete method of rating candidates. If the polls were accurate Dr. Paul should not be in third place in the GOP money race.
The cable networks have been giving a disproportionate amount of time in televised debates to what they believed to be the top tier of candidates (Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, and McCain).
Expect a reshuffling of that order, replacing McCain with Paul during the Fox News debate in Orlando Florida this Sunday, or viewers may see a flashback to the famous Ronald Reagan line from a presidential debate, when he said, �I'm paying for this microphone� but instead, Paul might say, �the American people have paid for this microphone�.
Relax and respond
I don't think there was anything intentionally dishonest in the report. When Dr. Paul ran as the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988, abolishing Social Security was a part of the party's platform, and many libertarians believe that a coercively financed federal program that combines a regressive tax with a welfare program that ignores need to be worthy of an early end. Paul clearly is NOT advocating this, but it wouldn't be surprising for someone with exposure to the radical libertarian movement to sincerely believe this.
In any event, all exposure is good, most of the piece was accurate, the media shouldn't be condemned for covering him even when they get some things wrong, and the best response is to thank and correct NBC. I send the following email:
Dear Mr. Faw:
I am pleased to see NBC give coverage to Dr. Paul's campaign,
recognizing that the money he is raising indicates more than a fringe
candidacy. Bravo.
You did make one error, however, in stating he had proposed abolishing Social Security, as he has not. In fact, if you check, you'll find out that he introduced the Social Security Preservation Act in 2003 to stop having the SS trust fund raided for other spending. He HAS proposed allowing younger people to opt out of the system, but has stated in more than one appearance that one benefit of the massive cuts in military spending he is proposing is that it will allow the financing to help people dependent on government programs such as Social Security to continue to receive their money without forcing the system to continue for younger people with time to benefit from alternatives.
Of course, since I am personally a libertarian anarchist, I wish Dr.
Paul WOULD support abolishing Social Security! But it wouldn't be
honest of me to claim the man agrees with me, as he does not. I hope a correction will be forthcoming, or at least that the reporting in the future will be accurate on this issue. You might actually quote Paul instead of letting a reporter state what he thinks Paul supports. Look at Paul's entire campaign and all literature and you will see that is not a part of his campaign.
Once again, thanks again for covering a candidate who clearly is developing a strong base of support and deserves to have his views get a fair hearing. I appreciate NBC's commitment to the democratic process.
keep in mind...
...that each time the media attack him or joke about him - it backfires.
This exposure, my friends, is a net GAIN !!!!
I hate the media more than any of you guys, but I also realize the fact that Ron Paul appearing on major media programs being interviewed and that he's included in the debates is absolutely ASTONISHING !!!
Sure, they're gonna take swipes at him.
Laugh it off, and celebrate that he/we are IN THEIR FACE !!!!
.
.
www.vaclib.org
I think the exposure
I think the exposure outweighs the negative. Overall it was a big PLUS!
This report just set us back
This report just set us back a month or two. This is very bad.
I could feel the minds of several million elderly voters close off to Ron Paul based on NBC's deceptive editing regarding Social Security. They're gone. There's nothing we can do to get them back, and the word is going to spread fast.
We'll have to win this thing without them.
I thought it was great
Actually,
He didn't say he would abolish it, he said "it's gone".
Most people already know this. Social Security is broke.
I thought this was a great piece, and generally very upbeat.
It put him high up and he came off very straight forward and down to earth.
Don't attack the media on this. Whoever put this together
did a service to the Campaign.
Donate to the Campaign http://ronpaul2012.com
WNY for Ron Paul Meetup http://meetup.com/wnyforronpaul
Don "Ron Paul" Quixote
Here is a good explanation of who is/was the fictional character Don Quixote~
http://www.quixote-quest.org/resources/Feedback/WhoIsDonQuix...
And to call Ron Paul , Don Quixote .. .. is outrageous. IF anyone is to be compared to this character its King George.
Not so bad...
'He fights impossible symbolic battles while the rest of the world says it can't be done and mocks him for trying.This "fight for the right without question" is what the Don Quixote Society represents.'
Copied and pasted the above from the link you provided. That's actually not too far off from what many think RP is doing. Our choices of candidates and politicians over the years have left many feeling that it's impossible to do anything about it, resulting in apathy. Then along comes a man who's willing to stand up and 'fight for the right without question.' The optimists see a man of courage and conviction, and a beacon of hope; the pessimists and disenchanted see a 'loon' trying to change things that can't be changed. What he says is so different from the BS we've been fed over the years, that many just can't swallow it.
While the 'crazy' part of Quixote isn't a great comparison, I have to say that RP has fought impossible battles alone in congress for years. All for what's right.
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
- Plato
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
- Plato
We question and fight for everything!
UNTIL WE WIN.
pull push drag badger coddle soothe sell schmooze protest deliver inform
then go vote
how can anyone find this
how can anyone find this informative?
are all their reports like that? talking to 10 different people but each one only gets to say one small sentence?
is that supposed to be news?
not good
You are right I think this was a back handed piece. I just got a call from a friend in Florida and she was Hysterical that Ron Paul was going to do away with social security. She knows I support Ron Paul so she called right away. I told her that Dr. Paul planned to phase it out and he had no intention of leaving people without it. Dr. Paul will let the younger people opt out of the program. I also told her about a excellent web site seniors for Ron Paul that she should go there and get educated on the facts. Ron Paul's staff should take note any advertising has to clear up this matter also supporters when talking to people make sure everyone knows that Dr. Paul would PHASE OUT social security. They knew seniors would get upset with that and seniors don't go online and get facts they just listen to Pravda news.
Prepare & Share the Message of Freedom through Positive-Peaceful-Activism.
Quit Bitchin' !!
Come on guys at first we were all mad because Ron Paul wasn't getting any media coverage, and now that he is we're mad because it is not exactly how we would do it. I'm sorry but the nightly news is not full of Ron Paul supporters. I think we should apperciate the fact that they did a piece on him, because this would of never happened a couple months ago. Sure it wasn't perfect, but you either want Ron Paul in the media or you don't, period.
Are we still at the phase where we have to beg for every scrap..
of media? I think this thing we have has an inevitable momentum. I think we CAN and should Bitch about a hit piece rife with misinformation which could end up doing more harm than good!
Don f-ing quixote? Why has NBC never said that about bush? it would be much more appropriate. No we need to keep the e-mails up!
----------------------------------------------------------------
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
listen to the nausea in the reporter's voice.
do you really think media bias is a figment of your imagination?
let the media's evil distortion of reality fuel your passion for spreading truth & ron paul's vision of a restoring our freedoms as the champion of the constitution.
seperately, i suggest investing $1.50 in white shoe
polish & making your car windows into canvas for
spreading ron paul awareness while you commute.
point the way to ron's message &
the place to donate money:
"champion of the constitution"
"ronpaul2008.com"
ron paul for president &
Jesus Christ come soon.
NBC on Ron Paul Bob Faw email
If you wish to correct Bob Faw and demand clarification his email address is:
bob.faw@nbc.com
Ron Paul has no intention of eliminating Social Security for those who need
it. He does propose that people should be given the option of funding their own retirement. Ron Paul has proposed the Senior Citizens Tax
Elimination to repeal federal taxes on Social Security; Ron Paul has proposed The Social Security for Americans Only Act; Ron Paul has proposed the Social Security Preservation Act to guarantee that money paid into the Social Security system is used only for Social Security.
I was making calls this
I was making calls this evening to get signatures for the petition ballot. I spoke to a very nice older woman, 84 years old to be exact. She told me she saw a piece on Ron Paul this evening on the news, she must have been talking about the NBC clip.
She liked him and is signing the ballot!
It was a very good piece of
It was a very good piece of media coverage!
They spent 5 seconds on the "social security" part. I couldn't have said it better myself in 5 seconds. Ron Paul DOES want to abolish social security! Why? Because it's infeasable, the money to pay for it doesn't exist.
That part was especially superb. Actually, we should cut that part out and run it as a paid ad!
There isn't the time to explain how social security is paid for by inflation taxes on the middle class and the poor, Ron Paul's priorities of the transition phase and how those already dependent would benefit from cutting back the wars and the imperialistic policy. And even if such a lengthy explenation was intiated, many viewers would rather just switch channels. Those who are interested, will look it up on the internet. Those who saw this NBC segment actually don't want to hear about any politics. Now they got a dose of Ron Paul anyway, and that's very very good!
Right but about the AARP
you know the most powerful lobby in washington, that AARP.
When they cut to Ron Paul saying "I'TS DEAD!!!" in reference to social securtiy without explanation, that scares poeple.
The elderly have the highest voting turnote of all demographics.
This was clever and subtle and meant to turn off the elderly!
----------------------------------------------------------------
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Just be...
happy they even did a piece on him, you whiners. Will ANYTHING EVER be good enough for you? It was a pretty positive piece, get over it.
It was a good piece...
They are never perfect from our stance as adoring fans. However, this piece was good. Much better than 2 or 3 months ago...it is improving all the time. We need him to just keep getting mentioned over and over...and this helped with that goal.
================
Who is John Galt? Vote ███ ███ 2012!
I agree, This was not flattering.
I know press is vital but if this is the kind of press we get from NBC, I'm tempted to say no thanks.
On the other hand, all these outlets have proven to be pretty schitzophrenic.
At first they all bash him, then the next week, its a little better, then grudging respect and praise. So.......while that smug condescending hit peace hacked me off real good, its a start.
Like Ghandi said "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
I think we're, more than half way through the laughing stage. When the Dr. wins new hampshire, then we'll be in the fight stage.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Also, I think "spamming" has been effective.
Remember we're dealing with cowards here.
These same poeple who duct tape their windows when an orange alert occurs.
The ones who changed America from the land of the free, home of the brave to the land of the semi-fee, home of the terrified.
These sheep will bend to our forcefull will.
When they get 5000 e-mails overnight that's intimidating. I really haven't seen any blowback from this (so long as we remember to be polite) and occasionally it leads to a follow-up story.
Remember that when poeple hear something enough times, they believe it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Good, but not enough
I tell you what I want.
I want a correct explanation of Paul's views, if that's what the MSM outlet doing the story is purporting to give. There was a time where we would be able to complain at getting no coverage, and would rather have any coverage at all. That time is over. We are starting to get picked up in the media; they can't ignore him entirely anymore. You all know the Ghandi quote; well we're in stage 3: the attack.
They are going to attack and diminish his views as best they can, and we need to be ever vigilant. Make sure to offer praise when they get something right, but be ever ready to castigate a reporter and news service when they get it wrong, as they did here.
What more do you want???
If this wasn't good enough what eaxtly would you like?? This is worth more in exposure than a week's worth of donations and you are going to whine about it?? This is the major leagues, all exposure is good especially one with only about three questionable words in two and a half minutes. Thank them for the exposure, and hope there is much more to take advantage of. You can't expect the news to be an advertisement, Ron Paul talked, the supporters talked,sorry they didn't take the whole half hour to go over it in more detail and clear content with everyone.
Realize that the campaign is going to have to step out of the internet comfort zone. I think Dr Paul realizes this too and has been doing even better with his new exposure opportunities. How else exactly do you think we will reach the general public?
Quit whining and be happy for the exposure it will only lead to more people seeking the message and the message can't be argued. That is 90% of the battle, people will figure it out from there. Have a little faith.
Joe
Concerned, not whining
There is a huge difference between being concerned and whining. Call anyone that you know that is getting close to retiring or already retired. Ask them that if a candidate wanted to abolish social security would you vote for them? The answer would be absolutely NO. This is a concern to me and I don't whine. I emailed NBC and thanked them for the segment and also explained that Ron Paul did not want to abolish social security and explained what he wanted to do.
The whole point of media attention is to make people aware of a candidates positions and one little incorrect statement can scare them. I know that nothing can be done but I am concerned.
Great Piece
I thought he came across as a sane, rational person. They didn't make him look or sound looney. Most of the supporters they showed looked normal. If I didn't know anything about Ron Paul this would make me want to find out more. You can't ask for anything more than that right now.
Spoke with campaign hq
I just spoke with RP's campaign headquarters and they are aware of the NBC piece. What I'm going to do is to email NBC and thank them for covering Ron Paul and explain to them that Ron does not want to abolish social security but wants young people to be able to opt out and continue to pay social security to those that need it. I think this is the best way to handle it.
Social Security
And that they should correct their statement and put the correct statements made by Paul about Social Security. He is the only warning people about the real situation on the Social Security Fund, without his comments, people would not even know there is a serious problem.
Taomaster
I sent a nice email to NBC
I sent a nice email to NBC thanking them for their coverage and pointed out that Dr. Paul doesn't want to abolish Social Security, he wants to protect the existing funds from being constantly raided by Congress for their "pork-barrel" projects, thus honoring the promises made to the people who've paid into the system, but intends to offer younger generations alternatives to Social Security.
Just trying to keep NBC honest in a nice way. ;-)
I emailed them at Nightly@NBC.com
Don Quixote
Don Quixote was actually a romanitc figure. It depends on how you interpret him. Either he is crazy, or he is the only one alive in a sea of zombies. He is surrounded by so many zombies that he looks into his imagination for life.
Geniuses and creative people are the Don Quixote's of this world. Some are made into fools, and some heroes.
hello, goodbye, sometimes we all just need to cry.