When Coming In Second Is Like Coming In Last

Quick! Can you tell me which Republican came in second -- only 152 votes behind media darling Michelle Bachmann -- in the recent Iowa Straw Poll? I'll give you two hints: He's from Texas and he is not the current governor of that state. I'm waiting. Still stumped?

It is Rep. Ron Paul.

But as both Thomas S. Harrington and Paul Harris have noted, the powers that be don't like Paul's commitment to his principles and so the obedient mainstream media treats Paul as a persona non grata.

Think about this for a moment. If Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty had come in second by less than a percentage point, the media spin would be altogether different than it is today. Both Bachmann and the second place finisher would have been anointed as the front runners. But Ron Paul isn't receiving any of this hype at all!

Why does Paul get the shaft from the mainstream media year after year? I agree with what Harris wrote.

Unlike other candidates from both parties – who tack left and right as the polls tell them – Paul has held his beliefs for years and does not change them to suit a focus group. He has principles and stands by them. This makes Paul admirable even when you disagree with him (as I mostly do). It also makes Paul the one thing that American media and political elites of all stripes can't stand: a genuine outsider.

Harrington makes a great point as well.

The most important of these is the fact that no matter how many votes Ron Paul gets, he will never be considered a “serious” or “electable” candidate because he openly challenges the imperial foreign policy consensus embraced by 90-95% of the US political class.

I certainly wouldn't vote for Ron Paul for president OR dog catcher. He has become a Tea Party darling for his calls to shrink government at all costs. While I may not agree with his politics, I still am outraged that a bona fide candidate for a major party nomination for president routinely is blackballed by the media. It only goes to prove that voters really aren't provided with genuine choices come Election Day. We only get to vote on those candidates that the elites have handpicked for us.

I don't know about you, but that doesn't smell like democracy to me!