mclaughlin group on ron paul

I ended up watching The McLaughlin Group early this afternoon while waiting desperately for the NFL games to start. This show is usually interesting, more so than similar shoutfests on the channels that cover politics 24/7, because the host and panel often come from several different angles on any given issue. Today's was a good show but a little different in that the theme was "2007 Year End Awards" and there wasn't as much arguing ("debating" would be too civil a term for the screaming matches that such shows always include) amongst the panel members. But, much to my surprise, Ron Paul was getting all kinds of recognition from the panel.

For one, McLaughlin said Paul was the politician of the year because he has singlehandedly moved topics like the gold standard, blowback, and the Constitution from the fringes to the mainstream of conservative political thought. (By the way, someone else gave my other Republican hero Tancredo the award because even though he looked like "a right-wing crackpot" early in the race for harping so much on immigration and refusing to let it go, the issue is now front-and-center and Tancredo's hard-line ideas don't look so crazy and unpopular anymore.) Another panelist said Paul is the capitalist of the year for using a relatively new fundraising medium -- the internet -- to raise several million dollars in each of two 24-hour events and thereby catapult himself into the thick of the race. As if that weren't enough, someone else said he's the person of the year because he's managed to interject much-needed doses of reality into the wayward Republicrat party and has built a more devoted and frothing base than anyone else in politics right now. Seriously. (That was from one of the liberals, of course -- not that I disagree with her assessment.)

I wouldn't go as far as some of the panelists when it comes to Paul's popularity and impact on the race (yet), but there's no question that he's at least getting some play now and so his ideas are becoming more known and accepted. He has gone from being completely ignored to being a laughingstock upstart to being someone that the media and other candidates are paying more attention to and taking more potshots at. And -- much as in spiritual warfare, by the way -- attention from one's opponent(s) implies that one must be making waves and becoming a threat to whatever it is the opposition holds dear. Just the fact that he's getting such attention at all speaks volumes.

Paul's campaign is doing very well, too, unlike the campaigns of most of the Republicrats. In particular, his internet focus was and is a great tactical move, as he can reach plenty of people despite his lack of mainstream popularity and refusal of many of the puppet masters to take his ideas seriously. His sheer numbers in online polls and dollars raised are forcing him to at least be mentioned by more talking heads. And one must get some run from the talking heads, of course, if he hopes to be taken seriously by more than 5% of the population, as relying on folks to dig up the facts and do their research on candidates in order to do their own thinking is most certainly a losing proposition in contemporary America. It could even be argued that Paul has more momentum now than any of the Republicrats save the Huckster. Hopefully that will continue.

Overall, even though The McLaughlin Group is not as mainstream as some of the other shows out there, it's nice to see a few known columnists discussing Ron Paul as a force in politics. As gaffes like the mortgage "crisis" (depends on what side you're on I suppose) and rapidly shrinking U.S. influence abroad continue to develop, Paul's platform of limited government makes more and more sense. Do I think he has a realistic shot of winning the nomination? Hey, this is America, one of the last places a guy who's advocating principles over money and feel-good BS could expect to find success. But at least his cause is gathering steam.