Stefan
08-22-2007, 06:38 PM
Ron Paul made the news... in Sweden!
http://www.tidningenkulturen.se/content/view/1523/48/
I am aware of the fact that there might be a few members of this forum who, in spite of ABBA and IKEA, has not fully learned the Swedish language yet. Therefore I have made a translation of the article so that more people than just me will be able to understand what it says.
Translation:
Ron Paul - a republican to be taken seriously?
The only thing that is certain about the upcoming presidential election in the U.S. is that current president George W. Bush wont keep the title. The American constitution limits the presidency to two terms. Therefore the process of nominating candidates has allready gotten started - both among democrats and republicans.
In Swedish media's focus lies on the Democratic Party, where the battle seems to be a duel of a woman, Hillary Clinton, and a black man, Barack Obama. The fact that former vice president candidate John Edwards enjoy a large support and has an ability to gather strength that gives him a very real chance of winning the nomination, seems to pass the Swedish news by.
And coverage for the Republican Party naminations are even worse. Most Swedish commentators seems to think that "it's time for" a democrat president. It is far from sure, though, that there will be a democrat president on November 4, 2008.
Today the republican battle consists of a total of ten candidates, who were all given an oppurtunity to show themselves in a debate on the TV channel MSNBC. According to American media the debate was a discussion that was close and lacked real content, and experts of politics has had a hard time naming a "winner".
Analysis among conservative bloggers are also hard to interpret, though it seems like John McCain and Mitt Romney came out on top. A post-debate web poll, made by MSNBC, gave a very clear result, though. Dr Ron Paul, who is completely unknown in Swedish media, had the the overwhelming support of 43 % on issues such as impact and ideas. At the same time Paul scored very low on negative issues .
In a similiar web poll on the website of TV channel ABC, Paul won by a landslide: 96 % say they prefer Paul in the MSNBC debate. On second place was "It doesn’t matter who wins. I wouldn’t put America in another Republican’s hands".
Paul is however not acknowledged by commentators. He ran for president as a libertarian (1988), but has belonged to the Republican Party for more than 30 years. An engagement that, at least according to Ron Paul himself, was rather about getting a chance to show to the American citizens all the corruption on Capitol Hill - and the dangers hiding in, for an example, the American ___ [I don't know the proper english word, but it is the system of having a major bank owned by the state. Someone, help me out here!]
For several terms Paul has been a congressman for the republicans (1976, 1979-1985 and ever since 1997). There he is more known as "Dr No" since he, in congress, frequently has voted in a liberarian way - no to increased expenses and taxes, no to war, no to increased power for the state.
So far Ron Paul has been neglected by media aswell as experts. But commentators at the debate program at MSNBC described him as the candidate with the most "conservative" agenda, something that surely will attract members of the Republican Party. Even though people in the mass media's middle [I'm not sure if this is political middle or more like "being in the center"] might say that he comes from nowhere, he stands for classical conservative values - while attracting left wingers. Several left wing activists are encouraging their kind to donate to the Ron Paul campaign.
He embraces the idea of free market economy and narrow limits of governmental power. And he is constantly using the constitution as an argument for his positions, something that will attract republicans that feel more at home in the traditional republican policy. At the same time he is passionate about left wing demands for tolerance and state and authority respect and recognition for different social groups and sexual preferences.
Paul's online venture, in which he is reaching both new and younger voters, might prove decisive, in the election as well as the online polls. So far he has spent a lot less money than other candidates.
Paul appears to be a candidate who pushes the Republican Party back to its roots. back to views that were hegemonic in the early 1900's: the Old Right. Even though Paul's chanses for being elected to be the party's candidate might be rather small, has he yet made a surprizing impact and recieved support both inside and outside his party. This was also very clear in the debate: other candidates tended to adjust their answers to several of Paul's constitutionally ___ [and then ther is a word that I have never heard of in my whole life, if anyone knows what the word "förfäktande" means please contact me] arguments. Perhaps this is what Paul is truly in it for: to throw his ideas out there and force other candidates to take them seriously.
[I]Per Bylund, May 25 2007
This is my first post on this forum by the way, so hallo everyone!
http://www.tidningenkulturen.se/content/view/1523/48/
I am aware of the fact that there might be a few members of this forum who, in spite of ABBA and IKEA, has not fully learned the Swedish language yet. Therefore I have made a translation of the article so that more people than just me will be able to understand what it says.
Translation:
Ron Paul - a republican to be taken seriously?
The only thing that is certain about the upcoming presidential election in the U.S. is that current president George W. Bush wont keep the title. The American constitution limits the presidency to two terms. Therefore the process of nominating candidates has allready gotten started - both among democrats and republicans.
In Swedish media's focus lies on the Democratic Party, where the battle seems to be a duel of a woman, Hillary Clinton, and a black man, Barack Obama. The fact that former vice president candidate John Edwards enjoy a large support and has an ability to gather strength that gives him a very real chance of winning the nomination, seems to pass the Swedish news by.
And coverage for the Republican Party naminations are even worse. Most Swedish commentators seems to think that "it's time for" a democrat president. It is far from sure, though, that there will be a democrat president on November 4, 2008.
Today the republican battle consists of a total of ten candidates, who were all given an oppurtunity to show themselves in a debate on the TV channel MSNBC. According to American media the debate was a discussion that was close and lacked real content, and experts of politics has had a hard time naming a "winner".
Analysis among conservative bloggers are also hard to interpret, though it seems like John McCain and Mitt Romney came out on top. A post-debate web poll, made by MSNBC, gave a very clear result, though. Dr Ron Paul, who is completely unknown in Swedish media, had the the overwhelming support of 43 % on issues such as impact and ideas. At the same time Paul scored very low on negative issues .
In a similiar web poll on the website of TV channel ABC, Paul won by a landslide: 96 % say they prefer Paul in the MSNBC debate. On second place was "It doesn’t matter who wins. I wouldn’t put America in another Republican’s hands".
Paul is however not acknowledged by commentators. He ran for president as a libertarian (1988), but has belonged to the Republican Party for more than 30 years. An engagement that, at least according to Ron Paul himself, was rather about getting a chance to show to the American citizens all the corruption on Capitol Hill - and the dangers hiding in, for an example, the American ___ [I don't know the proper english word, but it is the system of having a major bank owned by the state. Someone, help me out here!]
For several terms Paul has been a congressman for the republicans (1976, 1979-1985 and ever since 1997). There he is more known as "Dr No" since he, in congress, frequently has voted in a liberarian way - no to increased expenses and taxes, no to war, no to increased power for the state.
So far Ron Paul has been neglected by media aswell as experts. But commentators at the debate program at MSNBC described him as the candidate with the most "conservative" agenda, something that surely will attract members of the Republican Party. Even though people in the mass media's middle [I'm not sure if this is political middle or more like "being in the center"] might say that he comes from nowhere, he stands for classical conservative values - while attracting left wingers. Several left wing activists are encouraging their kind to donate to the Ron Paul campaign.
He embraces the idea of free market economy and narrow limits of governmental power. And he is constantly using the constitution as an argument for his positions, something that will attract republicans that feel more at home in the traditional republican policy. At the same time he is passionate about left wing demands for tolerance and state and authority respect and recognition for different social groups and sexual preferences.
Paul's online venture, in which he is reaching both new and younger voters, might prove decisive, in the election as well as the online polls. So far he has spent a lot less money than other candidates.
Paul appears to be a candidate who pushes the Republican Party back to its roots. back to views that were hegemonic in the early 1900's: the Old Right. Even though Paul's chanses for being elected to be the party's candidate might be rather small, has he yet made a surprizing impact and recieved support both inside and outside his party. This was also very clear in the debate: other candidates tended to adjust their answers to several of Paul's constitutionally ___ [and then ther is a word that I have never heard of in my whole life, if anyone knows what the word "förfäktande" means please contact me] arguments. Perhaps this is what Paul is truly in it for: to throw his ideas out there and force other candidates to take them seriously.
[I]Per Bylund, May 25 2007
This is my first post on this forum by the way, so hallo everyone!