A curious phenomenon overtook the media this weekend.
After the results of the Ames Straw Poll came in Saturday evening, the winner - Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann- dominated the news coverage. Is she the new GOP star? Is she the nominee? Has she proved she’s capable of running a formidable operation? The answers seem to be now, since her win, possibly and probably yes.
The phenomenon comes into play when one considers that Bachmann came in a statistical tie with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who received just 152 less votes, yet has been left out of the post-Iowa conversation altogether.
Frankly, in the extensive media coverage and thorough analysis on Sunday morning, the name Ron Paul was hardly ever mentioned, if at all.
A good example is Monday’s Los Angeles Times article Top tier emerges as GOP nomination race enters a defining phase. The top tier, according to LA Times, is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Rep. Bachmann and Texas Governor Rick Perry. The authors go on to explain how the field has been redefined now that Bachmann won the straw poll and Perry entered the race. In the almost 1,000-word article, Paul is mentioned just once and in passing.
That’s hard to justify. After all, if the win meant so much for Bachmann’s campaign, if it truly did put her in the top spot of the GOP field and she is indeed the candidate to beat, wouldn’t it also do all of the above for Paul’s campaign? Wouldn’t he be a serious threat to Romney as well?
The Associated Press did come out with one story Sunday night about Paul, Once a fringe candidate, Paul shaping 2012, however one might say that the article actually argues against its own headline.
Are Paul's libertarian views still irrelevant?
Paul has had a reputation of being politically toxic. He wants to stop all foreign and military aid, get rid of all entitlements, legalize drugs, eliminate IRS, bring all American military home instantly, he’s against separation of State and Church, and the list goes on. But the cult-like following of the Texan has ensured his re-elections since the 70’s. Paul’s grassroots supporters are most passionate and committed, ensuring large turnouts for their guy via online advertising and social networking.
But isn’t it also worth considering that perhaps, as Paul noted in the last debate, the American electorate has shifted in the last two or three years? Isn’t it possible that a candidate like Paul, who believes that America’s presence in the Middle East is a waste of money and life, might actually connect with main- stream 2012 voters? After all, the wars are costing the country trillions every year, and the national debt is certainly a hot button issue today. The loss of life has been heart-breaking for families all across the country.
Paul’s campaign rightfully points out that the candidate has been running the same campaign as in 2007 (or since he started running for office few decades ago) yet this year his support in Iowa tripled in numbers. Paul also won a straw poll in June at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans and in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
Is the Iowa Straw Poll just a massive fundraiser for the GOP?
Perhaps there’s another explanation for the mainstream media’s hesitation to name Paul as a serious candidate. Could it be that Paul’s impressive showing simply discredits the Iowa Straw Poll or straw polls in general? If so, why the talk about the GOP field changing so dramatically post Saturday?
The ABC political analyst Matthew Dowd pointed out on Sunday’s This Week that the Iowa Straw Poll doesn’t have a very good track record of picking winners, but it does pick the losers. The 2011 casualty is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who announced on Sunday he is dropping out of the race after a disappointing third place in the poll.
But if that’s the case, why is the coverage of Bachmann so extensive but Paul is basically missing from the conversation? And was it Iowa that ended Pawlenty’s campaign or was it Paul? Had Pawlenty come in second place, would he be dropping out?
Or is it just the media machine?
Realistically, it’s highly unlikely that either Bachmann or Paul will be the nominee. Congress has a 14% approval rating and while the two candidates can argue with hard-core conservatives that the recent gridlock in Washington has been for their own good, this argument will be much harder to sell to independents in the general election.
Perhaps Bachmann is simply more interesting to cover and translates well in ratings, while Paul is far from a novelty. However, the responsibility of the media outlets is to cover political events fair and square, not to nominate their own winner and completely leave out a candidate who by all accounts also won. It will be interesting to see if, like in 2008, the mainstream media will be able to create another political star out of nothing, or perhaps this time the voters will ignore the coverage and pick their own.
Sources:
CBS News, Congress’s approval ratings plummet, August 4, 2011
Paul West, Seema Mehta, Top tier emerges as GOP nomination race enters a defining phase, Los Angeles Times, 08/15/2011
Philip Elliott, Once a fringe candidate, Paul shaping 2012, Associated Press, 08/14/2011
Ron Paul Campaign, Ron Paul wins historic vote total in Ames Straw Poll, www.ronpaul212.com, 08/13/2011
Ewa Kochanska - Ewa works as a freelance photographer and journalist in Atlanta, GA. She has a degree in journalism and she's been writing and shooting ...
