Did the Establishment Steal the Iowa Straw Poll from Ron Paul?
Robert Wenzel over at EPJ has two videos that make things look very suspicious. First, check out the standard way they announced the results of the Iowa straw poll back in 2007 (just watch it starting at 1:00 and end it at 1:30 once you see the obvious pattern):
OK, that’s standard stuff, right? You have a big event that is based on a final ranking, so–DUH–you announce the winners from last to first place, to build suspense. That’s how we do the finalists at Mises University for the oral exams, for crying out loud. Let me reiterate: DUH, of course that’s how any MC in his right mind would announce deeply anticipated results.
Now check out how they announced it this year:
Note that right after the guy walks off stage, you can hear people in the crowd going, “That’s it?! He’s not going to tell us the results?!” Also, when the guy walked over to get the package from the Secretary of State, he called them “the results” (plural). And of course the Fox people are discombulated; everyone is stunned that the results (plural) weren’t announced.
I have two theories:
(A) The Republican establishment stole it from Ron Paul, but they were triple checking the votes they gave to Bachmann from others to make sure they wouldn’t get caught. (They had to make sure the individual numbers added up to the grand total, they probably didn’t want to steal too many votes from the candidates getting just a few votes, since people might be able to reconstruct who voted for whom, etc.)
(B) The MC developed explosive diarrhea while on stage.
UPDATE: Oops, there I go being naive again. The votes we can see don’t add up to the total cast. So it would be really simple to give Bachmann the win, especially if it had been legitimately close. (Another, less sinister theory is that Ron Paul really did come in just shy of first, and the Iowa Republican Party didn’t want to advertise that fact. Since they couldn’t possibly go through everybody except the 2nd place guy, they just said the winner and walked off. But I still smell a rat.)
FOX news could be a co-conspirator, at least if it holds to historical form:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fox-news-creates-fraudulent-video-discredit-ron-paul
Check out this video of an outright lie about Ron Paul on CNN after the straw poll. They are in panic mode. I think they realize we have crosses the all important 10% of society and the tables are about to be turned on popular opinion.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/08/dear-candy-crowley.html?m=1
I was ecstatic to see Ron Paul not win the straw poll. I believe we need the death of leviathan expediently, Ron would just give it new life and undeserved credibility.
I’d say that Keynesianism and MMT are simply more complex versions of Candy Crowley. The gist of what Ron Paul says is distorted or ignored. The gist of what the Austrian School says is primarily ignored and if not, distorted. Where are the anti-Austrians who have even the slightest understanding of it (other than some sell-out former Austrians)?
BTW, if the Austrians are having a really bad influence on monetary policy, shouldn’t the media explain what the Austrians are saying even if Ron Paul is going to lose (allegedly)?
In a way, I really should not spend time debating the Modern Monetary Theory guys. They’re on my side in current policy debates, and it’s unlikely that they’ll ever have the kind of real — and really bad — influence that the Austrians have lately acquired.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/mmt-again/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto
My guess is that the votes are counted as close to legitimately as you might expect with a straw poll, but they just stubbornly don’t want to give Ron Paul any publicity.
The Iowa Straw Poll actually made it to the nightly news here in Australia and they talked about several candidates, they talked about Bachmann winning and gave a few bits and pieces of her speeches. There was not one tiny mention of Ron Paul… no mention that he came second, no mention that he even exists. It is such a blatent media blackout (even in Australia) and that seems quite normal now with contraversial topics, so I think the Ron Paul campaign is just going to have to expect zero media coverage at all times from here on in.
so I think the Ron Paul campaign is just going to have to expect zero media coverage at all times from here on in.
Because they just showered him with airtime before the poll…
Here is good article detailing the media blackout from a journalist that isn’t in favor of Ron Paul.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61412.html
Have you considered the possibility that Ron Paul actually is President right now, but that THEY don’t want you to know it?
Should we tell him he is on The Murphy Show?
Give me a break, Blackadder, you’re saying there is nothing the slightest bit odd about that, or about Paul being on 0 of the Sunday talk shows? I’m not saying it’s shapeshifting lizards behind it.
Give me a break, Blackadder, you’re saying there is nothing the slightest bit odd about that
Sure there’s something odd about it. The problem is when you jump from slightly odd to Ron Paul really won, but they stole it from him.
Yeah ballot stuffing has never happened before. It would absurd to think that a group of political operatives could rig a vote.
The faith people have in politics being honest is so naive.
Yeah ballot stuffing has never happened before.
Again, the leap from ballot stuffing has occurred in the past to this particular ballot was rigged is what’s problematic here.