The Mainstream Media's Nightmare: Romney vs. What's His Name

The Mainstream Media's Nightmare: Romney vs. What's His Name
Gary North
April 11, 2012

From the day Ron Paul declared he was running, the mainstream media have had a problem: how to keep Paul's message from getting a hearing.

With a bunch of conservatives in the race, the media could safely focus on the conservative-of-the-month. But now Santorum has quit. It's down to three: Romney, Gingrich, and Paul.

How will the media spin this? How will they make it a race between Romney and Gingrich, with what's his name not mentioned?

Paul has money to spend. He will run TV ads. Here's one aimed at Texans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WUO84t1H9Tg

If Gingrich is in second place in the primaries, that benefits the mainstream media. They can try to make it a two-horse race. But that tactic will be obvious. It will not work. The Web will not let them get away with anything like this.

If Paul beats Gingrich, the media will keep saying he should pull out of the race. Why should he? He is building his mailing list, primary by primary.

The media will hammer on this: Ron Paul is eccentric who cannot win. This raises a question: How come his campaign has money? How can he afford ton run those ads? How does an eccentric raise so much money?

With Gingrich still in the race, how can the networks not cover the race? Gingrich is just what the doctor ordered. He is there to give the media someone who must be covered. But if they cover him, they must cover Paul.

Conservatives now have a choice: Gingrich (hold your nose), Romney (the Establishment's candidate), and Paul (small government). The moment of decision has come. They will despair: "Has it come to this?" Yes, it has.

Ron Paul will have his podium from now on. He will keep hammering at the basic themes: too much spending, too much debt, and too much Bernanke.

The hard-core Ron Paul audience will grow. Those already on board will get even more hard core. At last, their views are being aired. At last, a national political representative is telling it like it is, has been, and is likely to be until the government goes belly-up.

This is what we have not seen in American history: a man with a consistent message of small government making his case in front of millions of voters. Not since Grover Cleveland in 1892 has anyone running for President been this hard core. But Grover Cleveland did not have YouTube.

Ron Paul is still in the race. He has not run out of money. The Establishment's nightmare has come true. He is no longer the unmentioned candidate.

If Romney loses in November, two words will haunt the Establishment: Rand Paul.

Two more words ought to: mailing lists. But the Establishment still has not figured out what email and Facebook can do . . . cheap.

Three more words ought to haunt them: grass roots mobilization.

And three more: "We'll be back!"

In December of 2007, David Rockefeller had not heard of Ron Paul. Now he has. So have millions of others. We have seen the education of David Rockefeller.

http://www.garynorth.com/public/9352.cfm