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View Full Version : Please critique this Ron Paul article from our local paper




dkim68
02-12-2008, 09:33 AM
Maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I felt this reporter took a negative slant on Ron Paul. Please read it and tell me what you think.

Paul's dark horse takes a run through the Sauk Valley
BY MALINDA OSBORNE
SVS REPORTER

To most passing drivers, their shouts were nothing more than clouds of warm air that quickly evaporated in the chilly afternoon. Still, there they stood, six to eight at a time on busy street corners in Sterling and Dixon, waving signs and championing their favorite Republican presidential candidate.

No, it wasn't Sen. John McCain. Not Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee.

Who's left, you ask? Ron Paul, of course.

He may not be in the forefront of most American's minds, but Paul has managed to mobilize a grassroots movement hundreds of thousands strong. He's the most successful Republican fundraiser in the last three months of 2007, raising most of his money from Internet donations.

So, as supporters like to shout at their rallies, who is Ron Paul?

He's a 10-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas, and a 72-year-old medical doctor who ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian. He is fiercely opposed to the war in Iraq, wants to get rid of the Federal Reserve and otherwise drastically downsize federal government and thinks American foreign policy caused 9/11. And he's running as a Republican this year.

Supporters like David Kim, of Sterling, who organized Saturday's event, say they're drawn to Paul's honesty and unconventional ideas.

And, like Kim, many have learned about Paul via the Internet. After Googling Paul and seeing how he performed in debates on YouTube, Kim was hooked.

"At that point, I had only heard of the candidates the mainstream media decided to focus on," Kim said. "He didn't sound like a typical politician. Nothing sounded rehearsed, he spoke passionately and he seems like an honest person."

Kim's support translated quickly into participation in one of Paul's many groups that have formed on meetup.com (http://meetup.com/), which unifies supporters and coordinates events such as Saturday's sign-waving.

Meet Up members come from all sorts of ideological backgrounds: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and more.

Sue Heckman, of Rock Falls, primarily voted Democratic until she learned about Paul through her son, Michael, last year. She likes his stance on economic issues, and agrees the current tax system needs to be changed.

"Traditional opinions are all the same. They all say the same thing," Heckman said. "We need honesty in the White House, whether we agree with it or not."

Admittedly, Paul hasn't gotten much love from the national media. Like most dark horses, he hardly ever gets mentioned in Republican political news and always gets the least time on TV debates, if he's allowed to participate at all.

"We're out here because they won't even put him on television," said Rita Janosek, who came from Aurora to wave signs in Dixon.

The lack of coverage hasn't seemed to put a damper on Paul's fundraising efforts - fervent followers donated nearly $20 million to the "Ron Paul Revolution" in the last three months of 2007. Compare that with ex-candidate Rudy Giuliani, for example, who raised only $14.4 million from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, or McCain, who raked in only about $10 million.

What will happen in this bid for his party's presidential nomination seems apparent - he's running fourth out of the four, and his largest vote total in any primary so far was 14 percent in Nevada. With only has six delegates to his name, things aren't looking hopeful - but don't tell his supporters that.

"I do think he could really turn the county around," Heckman said.

http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/local/291389516362879.prt

acptulsa
02-12-2008, 09:55 AM
Either her numbers are way off or this is a really old article. All in all, I don't think it's a bad one otherwise. Sure as hell beats being ignored by the media!

RoyalShock
02-12-2008, 10:01 AM
It looks like a decent and fair article to me.

RollOn2day
02-12-2008, 10:07 AM
Seems ok to me.

Acurately describes his bio, his allure, his supporters, the MSM blackout.

What don't you like about it?

justatrey
02-12-2008, 10:20 AM
and thinks American foreign policy caused 9/11

I am so sick of hearing this. He never said our foreign policy "caused" 9/11. He has always said that the attackers caused 9/11, and that our foreign policy is what motivated them. There is a big difference.

acptulsa
02-12-2008, 11:26 AM
I am so sick of hearing this. He never said our foreign policy "caused" 9/11. He has always said that the attackers caused 9/11, and that our foreign policy is what motivated them. There is a big difference.

That certainly is a point. If you correct her, however, please do so civilly--and thank her for mentioning his name at all. This certainly beats all those legions of news sources to which Ron Paul is He Who Must Not Be Named. They could stand a little correction, but certainly deserve respect.

Crickett
02-12-2008, 11:38 AM
That certainly is a point. If you correct her, however, please do so civilly--and thank her for mentioning his name at all. This certainly beats all those legions of news sources to which Ron Paul is He Who Must Not Be Named. They could stand a little correction, but certainly deserve respect.

Yes.

dkim68
02-12-2008, 12:41 PM
bump

dkim68
02-12-2008, 02:14 PM
bump

dkim68
02-12-2008, 08:28 PM
bump

dkim68
02-13-2008, 04:36 PM
What don't you like about it?
Well if I pick through it, this is what specifically bugged me:

- the words "dark horse" (I'm so sick of the labels of "underdog", "maverick", "long shot", etc.)

- "To most passing drivers, their shouts were nothing more than clouds of warm air" (Actually, we we weren't shouting at all. Her wording makes it sound like we were doing something pointless because the cars' windows were rolled up and no one could hear us.)

- "Who's left, you ask? Ron Paul, of course." (This makes it sounds like we've chosen the least desirable candidate in the bunch.)

- "He may not be in the forefront of most American's minds" (Again, she implies he's the oddball candidate that no one thinks about.)

- "So, as supporters like to shout at their rallies, who is Ron Paul?" (Do supporters shout this at rallies? Why would they ask who the candidate is that they are rallying for? We don't ask that and never have.)

- "10-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives" (Member? How about calling him by his title: Congressman. It's not that hard.)

- "a 72-year-old medical doctor" (Again, how about his title: OB-GYN or Obstetrician... who's delivered over 4,000 babies. Those facts should always go together.)

- "thinks American foreign policy caused 9/11" (using the word "thinks" makes it sound like some far-fetched theory. Blowback is real and needs to be understood.)

- "What will happen in this bid for his party's presidential nomination seems apparent" (As Ron Paul himself has said "We still don't know what's going to happen." Maybe wishful thinking. But it is true, we don't know what will happen.)

- "Paul hasn't gotten much love from the national media. He hardly ever gets mentioned in Republican political news and always gets the least time on TV debates." (It would've been nice to include some facts as to WHY the media has chosen to black him out so that uninformed people don't get the impression that he's just some guy off the street trying to run for President.)

Thunderbolt
02-13-2008, 04:56 PM
Son, how old are you? Your posts suggest you are quite young and live in some kind of Utopian fantasy land.

This article is not bad at all. Ron Paul is a dark horse - you don't really think he is a front runner do you? He is a ten term member of the House. He is a medical doctor, and he does think that our foreign policy caused 9/11. It did.

It was extremely kind of her to mention the media blackout against him. She only has so many words, she didn't have to bring that up at all.

Like it or not, Ron Paul is NOT in the forefront of most American's minds. For that matter, McCain probably isn't either.

There is nothing wrong with this article, in fact, you should be sending her a thank you note for covering the topic. Have you seen the biased articles? This is nothing like them. There are plenty of biased articles out there.

You seem awfully angry and are looking for others to join in your anger with you.

damoncrowe
02-13-2008, 04:59 PM
I can agree with you on the 9/11 / foreign policy issue, but you may be getting carried away a bit by asking us to critique. Most of us would have been happy to get a write-up like this as opposed to much of what the media does to us

I will say it sounds like a small town writer that is not a very good reporter with a slight ability to harness metaphor. Not much else. Could have been better, but could have been much worse also.