Before I start, some standard dislaimers... I'm not a Ron Paul fan. I wouldn't vote for him. I don't like his policy positions. I find some of the stuff he's said extremely offensive. However, I like his campaign for its peoplepowered-ness and creativity. Despite being on the Republican side, their organization perfectly exemplifies how insurgent campaigns can use the Tubes to level the playing field.
Thursday, he took 10% in Iowa. It wasn't the 3rd place finish the pundits were looking for, but he smoked Giuliani and was very close to McCain and Thompson. Yet...
[...] The press also did its best to black out Ron Paul. Though CNN's pie chart of the Democratic candidates dutifully recorded Bill Richardson's fractional crumb of support, its pie chart of Republican candidates carefully shut out Paul's 10 per cent, a respectable performance for an anti-war candidate running in a pro-war party.
If you weren't watching CNN (..bless your soul!) you can see the pictures here. The charts, which appeared over and over again, note Richardson's 2% but don't note Paul's 10%. Such an error reflects either deliberate censorship or complete incompetence; in either case, the conclusion is that CNN suppressed news. That's unfair to viewers, Paul voters and his campaign. You can scoff and say it was just a silly graphic, but you'd be wrong. It's one of the little prizes for winning a big chunk of the vote, important free advertising for a campaign that depends on large numbers of small donations. For an insurgent candidate, things like this embody the difference between traction and dismissal.
I know the theme of this blog is to elect Democrats and Thursday was great for the party, but that doesn't mean this incident should go unnoticed. It happened to Ron Paul this election, but someday it could be your favorite Dem candidate getting snubbed.
You can report the error to CNN here. If you email, I'd suggest saying you're NOT a Ron Paul supporter, as they've probably already gotten a harangue from them, just so they can feel the sensation of getting hit from BOTH sides of the political spectrum.
Better yet, JUST STOP WATCHING CNN. If their steadfast support for callous idiot Glenn Beck wasn't enough, stuff like this just further illustrates the need to weaken them.