According to a recent Associated Press news article, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul set a one-day GOP fundraising record Monday when he took in $4.2 million in donations.
And I know what most of you are thinking right now: "Who the heck is Ron Paul?"
Well, if you're interested, Ron Paul is a Texas congressman and one of nine candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president. If you haven't heard of him, don't be too surprised. The national media has kept its limelight clearly focused on the "rock star" candidates of the race.
Yet Paul appears to have struck a chord with a significant niche of the political spectrum. His fundraising bonanza was a result of an outpouring of Internet support during something called "Guy Fawkes Day." Paul is known for his constitutionalist, libertarian views, calling for a dramatically smaller federal government. He is the only GOP presidential candidate calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
Paul's fundraising triumph sheds new light on the failures of the national media as it covers the presidential race. By focusing entirely on the front-runners, the national media is doing a disservice to the second- and third-tier candidates that may, after all, resonate with the American electorate. You get the feeling that there might be some well-qualified candidates that are simply being ignored.
On the Democratic side, a good example is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He seems to have the necessary qualifications. He has federal experience, having served in the Cabinet of former president Bill Clinton. He has experience as a chief executive, having served as governor of New Mexico since 2003. Besides that, as a Latino, he has the potential to connect with an ever-growing American demographic.
Yet Richardson is not taken seriously. Following a recent Democratic debate, for instance, commentator Chris Matthews interviewed Richardson. But did he ask about any of Richardson's views of positions? No. He asked about Hillary Clinton, and why Richardson defended her from political attacks.
On the Republican side, you'd think former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee would be getting a closer look. Sure, we Arkansans, for better or worse, are well aware of him; but for the rest of the country, he's still a no-name. Besides having experience as a chief executive, Huckabee, a former preacher, has better Christian-right credentials than any of his better-known rivals. And his personal weight-loss story gives him an interesting narrative to share, especially at a time when obesity is a national public health issue.
And this isn't to say that Richardson, or Huckabee, or Paul would necessarily win my vote. I'm just saying that it's a shame that the American public is being denied opportunities to learn about them.
The national media covers the presidential campaign like a horse race, where the only competitors who get mentioned are those at the front of the pack. The press corps builds a fortress of hype around the favorites, making it virtually impossible for other challengers to break into the arena.
This is great for the political junkies — the guys who view presidential elections no differently than a pennant race or a Super Bowl chase. But for Americans interested in finding the best candidate to lead this country, it's not so great. When the national media creates and perpetuates a system that treats hype as the ultimate political attribute, it's no wonder so many Americans grow disenfranchised with the system.
So that's what made it rewarding to see Ron Paul hit the jackpot with this week's fundraiser. It showed that maybe there are a few folks out there who aren't buying into the rock star campaign promoted by the television networks. And it got Paul a few headlines along the way.
Maybe the national media will wake up and see that there are a few candidates out there who aren't named Hillary, Rudy, Barack, Mitt or Fred.
But don't count on it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment