'Why?' is Easy to Explain

The mainstream media continues to ignore Republican candidate Ron Paul to the point of absurdity, favoring candidates that no one has even heard of, such as John Huntman.

For an incredibly humorous take, please watch Jon Stewart give a well-deserved slap in the face to Fox News, and media in general.

Link if above video does not play: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-15-2011/indecision-2012---corn-polled-edition---ron-paul---the-top-tier

Time Magazine Chimes In

Time Magazine chimes in with their take in The Morning After: Jon Stewart Sticks Up for Invisible Man Ron Paul

In a way, criticizing the political media for imbalanced coverage of the Iowa Straw Poll is like criticizing the sports media for imbalanced coverage of the Lingerie Bowl. It's a nonbinding, festival-like event in which candidates essentially buy votes (or at least buy entrance, food and entertainment for their voters), so arguably the most misleading thing the media does in covering it is, well, covering it at all. Still, if one is going to pay rapt attention to an unpredictive electoral stunt, shouldn't you at least pay attention to the leading candidates whose success the stunt unpredicts?

That didn't happen for Ron Paul, who came within a percentage point of beating Michele Bachmann in Iowa, and yet, as this Daily Show segment lays out, was ignored even after the fact in listings of "top-tier candidates," being put behind peers who he beat or who didn't compete.

The sheer, smug dismissiveness with which the political press treat the libertarian Congressman in these clips is really something. And it's yet another example of political media winnowing the pack in advance by deciding who is a "serious" candidate and who isn't--in this case, seemingly, by deciding that Paul's beliefs are too far out there or, maybe more likely, simply don't easily fit the left-right narrative.

I'm not, by the way, making the argument that Paul would have a serious shot at the GOP nomination in any case. That hardly matters, though; a candidate with obvious significant support can still have a serious effect on the race, and its ideas, and that's news. Or it should be, if the horserace handicappers didn't insist on deciding their news angles in advance.

Time Magazine missed one critical aspect in its coverage of the straw poll: It was Michele Bachmann who bought her way to the top, not Ron Paul.

Paul a Significant Factor

Regardless of what one thinks of Ron Paul's chances, Time Magazine hits the nail on the head with analysis worth repeating: "A candidate with obvious significant support can still have a serious effect on the race, and its ideas, and that's news. Or it should be, if the horserace handicappers didn't insist on deciding their news angles in advance."

The media, especially Fox News is biased against Ron Paul.

Why?

Fox news like warmongers. Ron Paul wants to end wars and cut the defense budget. Republican hypocrites want military spending far in excess of what is needed, and they don't want to raise taxes for it.

Yes, we need to cut entitlements. We also need to cut military spending, not by a little, by a lot. Finally, we need structural Republicans should be sounding the horn on, but mysteriously are not.

Simple Facts of the Matter

1. The US can no longer afford to be the world's policeman.
2. US military spending equals the next 9 countries combined.
3. US military spending nearly equals the whole rest of the world combined.

Those numbers do not include military spending hidden in other buckets.

Blast of New York Times and Liberal Media

I took on the "Liberal Media" discussing needed structural reforms in a blast at the New York Times called Growing Gloom for States and Cities; Who is to Blame? What About Solutions?

I propose 4 badly-needed reforms as follows

Proposed Reforms

1. Scrap Davis-Bacon and all prevailing wages laws that force up costs of construction and other projects at the city, county, state and federal level.
2. End Collective Bargaining of public unions. Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin shows the dramatic results that can happen if this is done. School districts that had budget deficits hugely in the read, saw them immediately go into the green, and not even for reasons that one might think. I wrote about it in Union-Busting is a "Godsend"; Elimination of Collective Bargaining is the Single Best Thing one Can do for School Kids
3. Pass national right-to-work laws. Again this will help cash-strapped cities, counties, and states that have to deal with union-mandated pricing instead of competitive pricing. The goal of government should be to provide the most benefit for the least cost. The goal of unions is to provide as little work as possible for the most cost. It's time we end that model.
4. Immediately kill defined benefit plans for government workers and accept the idea that promised benefits will be reduced voluntarily or via bankruptcy.

Why Republicans failed to hammer home those issues when they had a chance in budgets negotiations is a mystery (except of course for number 4 which would reduce their own benefits).

Why Fox News ignores Ron Paul is not a mystery. Fox News supports warmongers and is purposely attempting to ignore, if not outright discredit those with other viewpoints. Anyone who plays the video can come to no other logical conclusion.

I support Paul's effort to reduce military spending substantially. Please see Defense Industry Bribes and Legislative Whores for reasons we overspend.

I failed to mention in that article that Union Bribes and Legislative Whores is equally applicable. The result is the worst-of-both-worlds compromise. The US spends too much on defense and too much on entitlements.