“As Mike Allen previewed in Playbook, the event will allow the seven candidates taking part — Ron Paul is not attending — 35 minutes each to speak,” writes Maggie Haberman for Politico.
Currently, it’s unknown whether Paul was not invited or declined the invitation, but Adam Kredo of Washington Jewish Week said of Paul’s absence, “Note that Texas Rep. Ron Paul, no good friend of Israel, will not be in the house.” That statement appeared on the Republican Jewish Coalition’s website.
Kredo’s assertion that Paul is “no good friend of Israel” is based on Paul’s philosophy that the United States should be less involved in Israel’s affairs.
During the last debate, Paul said of Israel, “I think they’re quite capable of taking care of themselves.”
When asked if he would support Israel if it were to attack Iran, Paul responded, “Why does Israel need our help? We need to get out of their way.”
Others seem to recognize value in Paul’s philosophy toward Israel, however, as Paul continuously proves that the U.S. aid to Israel has oft resulted in Israel’s loss of sovereignty and inability to make its own decisions.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC claims that Paul has significantly less favorability than any of the other Republican candidates, and the poll attributes that to Paul’s libertarian leanings.
“Fewer than four in 10 Republicans hold a favorable view of Paul. That compares with about six in 10 favorable ratings for former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney,” the Washington Post reported.
But some are convinced that the poll had an agenda. Author and journalist Kurt Nimmo writes:
The Washington Post-ABC poll is obviously designed to counter a Bloomberg News poll conducted in mid-November that showed Paul coming in second at 19 percent. Paul was in a statistic dead heat with Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. In New Hampshire, Paul was at 17 percent bested only by Romney.
It may also be intended to sideline the results of a poll conducted in Iowa on November 22. The Revolution PAC poll showed Paul leading with 25-percent support from Republicans, independents and disaffected Democrats. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich scored at 21 percent and businessman Herman Cain at 20 percent.
Paul’s top tier status continued to show itself as a November 28 NewsMax/Insider Advantage poll revealed that Paul remained in second place in the state of Iowa.
“The latest poll results clearly prove Ron Paul’s status as a top contender, and confirms that our campaign is continuing to surge in early states,” said Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign chairman Jesse Benton. “The American people are ready for real change in Washington and Dr. Paul is the only candidate who has a plan to cut $1 trillion in spending, balance the budget, and restore prosperity to the American people.”
In what may be yet prove to be another example of blacking out Ron Paul's views, a recent video was uploaded on YouTube that targeted both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for their pervasive “flip-flopness.” That video was later removed from YouTube without explanation, but not before Britain’s The Guardian wrote, “As Paul’s team look at the field, they want to hit two targets. First, go for Romney to establish Paul as the alternative candidate to His Mittness. Second, slam the guy currently sitting in that spot: His Newtness. Other candidates — Bachmann, Perry and Cain — are clearly seen as having wasted their moment in the sun.”
It’s worth noting that the media’s lack of attention given to Ron Paul seems to be contrived, as Paul has given the media plenty on which to report. Paul has been extremely successful in straw polls that have been conducted over the course of the last few months. He won the CPAC presidential straw poll the last two years, as well as the Republican Leadership Conference straw poll and the California Republican straw poll. In the Ames, Iowa straw poll, Paul came in a very close second, losing to Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann by just a handful of votes. Likewise, he has raised $8.3 million in the third quarter, which is significantly more than what is typical of a second-tier candidate.
Likewise, those in the media have boasted about their role of playing kingmaker. In August, both CNN and Politico admitted that they are inclined to ignore Ron Paul, despite his success, because he is “unelectable.” Likewise, Howard Kurtz of Newsweek and The Daily Beast bluntly stated, “We are in the business of kicking candidates out of the race.”
Photo of Ron Paul: AP Images
