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How the Internet Is
Changing Political CampaigningTuesday, September 18, 2007
By Brian Farmer
If the presidential election were held in cyberspace, [Ron] Paul would probably win hands down.
— Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune syndicated columnistWhen Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s name is brought up in conversation, more often than not, the typical response is, “Who’s that?” This is reminiscent of the “Jimmy who?” refrain that one often heard in the early months of the 1976 U.S. presidential campaign. For younger readers of this magazine, the reference was to Jimmy Carter, who overcame seemingly impossible odds and went on to become our 39th president. Ron Paul’s polling numbers are about the same as Jimmy Carter’s were at this point in their respective presidential campaigns. But unlike Carter, who was helped along by a supportive mainstream media and early membership in the Trilateral Commission, Dr. Paul (he’s an obstetrician who has delivered more than 4,000 babies) is being virtually ignored by the press. However, Dr. Paul is enjoying phenomenal success in a realm of the media that did not even exist in Carter’s day: the Internet.
To get an idea of the extent to which the mainstream media is blocking out news about Ron Paul, consider the Washington Post article reporting the results of the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll. After proclaiming that Mitt Romney was the winner, the Post went on to comment on the closely trailing finishers:
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee finished second with 18 percent of the 14,302 votes cast, and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas ran third with 15 percent. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, the most outspoken opponent of current U.S. immigration policy, finished fourth with 14 percent. Former Wisconsin governor Tommy G. Thompson was sixth at 7 percent.
Blatantly omitted was the fifth-place finisher, Ron Paul, who received nine percent of the votes cast. That in itself was a major story, as a poll of Iowa voters just six days earlier had placed Dr. Paul back in eighth position, with just two percent. And yet, his name was never mentioned anywhere in that Washington Post article.
On the other hand, when 10-term Congressman Paul is given an occasional bit of attention by mainstream news journalists and broadcasters, he is often derided. For example, in a recent interview with Dr. Paul, the host of ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos, asked the candidate for his definition of success. Paul predictably responded that it was to win. “That’s not going to happen,” Stephanopoulos bluntly informed him. Ironically, this is the same George Stephanopoulos who was working on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign back in 1991, when Clinton’s chances of winning anything were being rated as slim to none (though Clinton was already a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations).
Even among Republicans, Dr. Paul and his supporters are often ridiculed. While introducing Ron Paul at the Iowa Straw Poll, Master of Ceremonies Laura Ingraham referred to Paul’s cheering fans in front of the stage as “inmates” who had “left the asylum.” Ms. Ingraham remarked that Congressman Paul had recently proposed that President Bush allow private citizens to go after Osama bin Laden (an obvious reference to Congress’ power to grant Letters of Marquee and Reprisal, a decree authorized in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that would allow private sources or bounty hunters to pursue bin Laden). She then mockingly inquired if anyone in the audience would like to volunteer, and went on to add that the Discovery Channel would soon be broadcasting a new show called Ron Paul: Bounty Hunter.
Following that disrespectful introduction, candidate Paul launched into a 15 minute speech, during which he declared, “Our campaign is all about freedom, prosperity, and peace.”
As Paul’s “mosh pit” spectators filed out of the Hilton Coliseum to make way for the next candidate’s cheering entourage, Ingraham obviously had that speech line in mind when she derisively stated, “The peace train is leaving the arena.” President Ronald Reagan once noted that the 11th commandment was to never criticize a fellow Republican. Notably, Ms. Ingraham actually worked as a speechwriter in the White House near the end of the Reagan administration.
With such headwinds to fly against, one might think that Ron Paul would find it almost impossible to get noticed on anybody’s radar screen — until one goes to the Internet. Then one gets the impression that he is some kind of superstar, moving through cyberspace like a titan. Despite the fact that the mainstream media is treating Ron Paul virtually as a nonentity, a growing number of Americans are learning about him through the Internet. Many of them like what they are finding out and are supporting his candidacy. This prompted Wired magazine to run a commentary on its website entitled, “Ron Paul: How a Fringe Politician Took Over the Web.” Consider the following:
Debate Polls: After the first five Republican debates on national television, four mainstream news channels featured online polls asking the American people who had won. After the first debate on May 3, MSNBC ran a poll, which had obtained over 72,000 responses, showing that Ron Paul was the most convincing candidate, receiving 45 percent of the vote. Fox News ran a poll after the second debate on May 15 and, with over 40,000 votes, Ron Paul came in a close second with 25 percent of the vote. MSNBC also ran a poll about that debate and discovered that Ron Paul was, again, the most convincing candidate, with 64 percent of the more than 25,000 responses. After the third debate on June 5, CNN’s poll of over 25,000 respondents showed that Ron Paul had won with 60 percent of the vote. An ABC News online poll showed that Ron Paul decisively won the fourth debate on August 5, receiving almost 59 percent of the more than 36,000 votes cast. Finally, a Fox News text messaging poll following the fifth debate on September 5 put Ron Paul first with 33 percent.
Meetup Groups: Meetup.com is defined as “an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in various localities around the world.” Meetup.com allows people to find and join groups that are unified by a common interest, such as politics, careers, hobbies, etc. Users enter their ZIP code and the topic they want to meet about, and the website helps them arrange a place and time to meet up with others who have the same interest. Meetup Groups interested in promoting Ron Paul are springing up like mushrooms all over the country. At the time that this article was being written, there were 37,423 members in 867 Meetup Groups, with an additional 5,143 people on a waiting list looking for a Ron Paul Meetup Group to join in their area. Trailing far behind in second place among presidential contenders was Barak Obama, with 4,188 members in 67 Meetup Groups, and 1,621 waiting for a Meetup Group to join.
YouTube Viewings: YouTube.com is a video-sharing website where users can upload, view, and share video clips. A recent analysis of the presidential candidates’ videos on YouTube, prepared by Professor Edward Lee of the Ohio State University and based on data up to August 6, 2007, made the following observations:
Among all the candidates, Ron Paul’s popularity on YouTube stands out. Paul ranks No. 1 in three of the four categories measured. By a wide margin, Paul has the most views on average per video (nearly 85,000) and the most subscribers on YouTube (nearly 25,000) — more than doubling the numbers of the closest competitor from any party. He also has the most number of views total on YouTube (over 2.8 million), having gained 1.2 million views in the past month (which more than doubled the increase in views of each of the other candidates during that time period). The one category in which Paul does not lead the other candidates is the Single Most Viewed Video on YouTube, a category in which Paul places no better than most of the other candidates. The data suggest that Ron Paul’s popularity on YouTube comes from a consistent and respectable number of views for all or most of his videos, instead of one “big hit” video.
However, on August 15, it was reported that “the #1 most viewed, top rated, most discussed, and top favorite News and Politics video on YouTube” was Ron Paul’s speech at the Iowa Straw Poll.
Facebook Supporters: Facebook.com is a social networking website that is particularly popular with college students. The name of the site refers to the facebooks depicting members of the campus community that U.S. colleges give to students at the start of the academic year, with the intention of helping students get to know each other. The Ron Paul campaign has more than 100 Facebook.com student groups with more than 24,000 members, more than any other Republican candidate. Here are the figures as of September 10:
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