Ron Paul: The only one who can run on his record instead of running from it

By Mark Anderson

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—At a critical juncture going into Super Tuesday (March 6), Representative Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul is showing no outward signs of bowing out, even as conventional media—having continued the process of using constant polls to advance only those presidential candidates tailor-made to serve the existing political order, while sidelining misfits within and outside the two major parties—report that Willard “Mitt” Romney won the February 28 GOP primary in his “home state” of Michigan with 41% of the vote (410,517).

“Ron is on the ballot in every state, and he has [a flow of] small donations and a nationwide grassroots support network, so he’s in until the end,” predicted Michigan District 6 Coordinator Erin Lahman, who canvassed for Paul from Western Michigan University (WMU) on February 28. “Romney is spending three times what he is taking in.”

Rick Santorum came in second in Michigan with 38% (378,124), followed by Paul with 12% (115,956) and Newt Gingrich with 7% (65,093). Some pundits believe that unless Gingrich wins his home state of Georgia, it’s doubtful he’ll stay in the race. Others see him staying in longer.

The other primary February 28 was in Arizona, where Paul reportedly came in fourth. Romney won with 47.3%, followed by Santorum with 26.6%. Gingrich reportedly received 16.2%, with Paul getting 8.4%.

Paul was already in Virginia February 28 speaking to a large audience about the need to diffuse the warfare state, noting that Iran—which Romney and Santorum both consider evil, deserving to be attacked—has not developed a single nuclear weapon, according to the Central Intelligence Agency. Paul’s pledge to drastically reduce the United States military footprint, and related spending, has been a hallmark of his campaign, with the rest of the GOP field not averse to war.

 
 

In Kalamazoo, Paul-for-President activist Sarah Barnett told this writer that Paul, on February 26, spoke in Hudsonville, Michigan, which she and 1,200 other people attended, yet a Detroit newspaper remarked the event had “40 people in line.” At his Michigan State University appearance February 27, 4,000 people attended, amid paltry reports by a media that covers up more than it covers, to keep voters programmed by polls so they vote with the herd—instead of following grassroots impulses and voting their conscience.

Ms. Barnett and Ms. Lahman worked the phones all day at WMU, calling registered Republicans while also reaching out to independents and Democrats, urging them to vote for Paul while offering some voters rides to the polls. “Because the message of liberty is universal—not just for Republicans . . .,” Lahman remarked, in a spacious student-commons facility.

“I have so many friends who are traditional Democrats who are sick of the establishment and just want a message of peace,” Lahman told someone by phone. Paul’s Kalamazoo County coordinator, Stephen Carra, added that Paul is really the only Republican candidate with a broad enough appeal to earn votes from anti-war Democrats disappointed with Obama.

Lahman told AMERICAN FREE PRESS that many Michigan Democrats, in an open primary, went to the polls to tactically vote for Santorum only because they feel he poses the least threat to Obama. This calls into question whether Santorum could really unseat Obama, as the former senator from Pennsylvania has claimed, while downplaying that he was voted out of office by an 18% margin in 2006. Meanwhile, the media keep chattering over whether Santorum or Romney can beat Obama, when they have near-zero appeal beyond standard GOP voters.

During the last GOP debate (as in previous debates), the host media, CNN, kept calling Santorum “Senator,” Romney “Governor” and Gingrich “Speaker,” even though the only candidate now serving in elected public office, at the federal level no less, is Paul. While Santorum was sent packing by voters, Romney did not seek reelection as Massachusetts’ governor, many say, because he felt he would lose. And Gingrich resigned from the House back in 1999 amid scandals. These are the “has-beens” who want to occupy the Oval Office but are elevated to officeholder status by a media that papers over inconvenient facts.

“He (Paul) is the only one who can run on his record instead of running from his record,” Ms. Barnett wryly remarked, referring to the pro-NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement], pro-abortion and other unconstitutional, non-conservative policies favored by Paul’s opponents when they were actually in office.

So, Romney—whose has altered his views so many times that he earned the tag “flip-flop”—undoubtedly will see these primary victories as a basis to grasp for the presidency, even though the candidacy of this one-term governor, a man who has never served in federal office, is difficult to fully explain. One is left with the impression that it is little more than a naked grab for power while being heavily backed by Goldman Sachs and “Super PAC” money.

While the GOP primaries continue, the media continue to ignore the goings-in of the alternative parties, which are already kept out of the televised national debates. The Constitution Party, for example, will hold its national nominating convention in April in Nashville, Tennessee.