Discussing reasons for Ron Paul's "groundswell," Tucker panel ignored his opposition to Iraq war

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200710280004?f=h_latest

On the October 26 edition of MSNBC's Tucker, discussing Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (TX) and "the remarkable Paul-for-president movement," Los Angeles Times columnist Rosa Brooks attributed Paul's support to his "tapping into ... a lot of distaste for the kind of cookie-cutter stuff of the major parties. A lot of desire to have a candidate who just says whatever the heck he thinks." Later in the segment, Washington Post staff writer Anne E. Kornblut said that the "groundswell that Ron Paul has" demonstrates "a real craving on the Republican side for somebody who seems like they are being authentic." During the segment, the panel discussed Paul's position on numerous issues, and host Tucker Carlson asked: "But who does agree with him? OK, consider -- here is a guy who is against legal abortion. Just against -- he's gonna ban abortion. Very pro-marijuana, Ron Paul, OK? Doesn't believe the IRS ought to exist and is for the gold standard. So just take those four among 4,000 positions he 's taken in his public life." However, at no point in their discussion of support for Paul and his positions did any of the participants note that Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate to have voted against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq Resolution of 2002, or that he has repeatedly voiced his support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

During the June 5 Republican presidential debate, Paul asserted that "it was a mistake to go" into Iraq, and said that "{t}he sooner we come home, the better":

WOLF BLITZER (moderator): Congressman Ron Paul, how much longer should the United States stay in Iraq?

PAUL: The sooner we come home, the better. If they declare there's no progress in September, we should come home. It was a mistake to go, so it's a mistake to stay. If we made the wrong diagnosis, we should change the treatment. So we're not making progress there and we should come home. The weapons weren't there, and we went in under U.N. resolutions. And our national security was not threatened.

We're more threatened now by staying.

Numerous media accounts have attributed Paul's support in part to his opposition to the Iraq war:

[robinlynne]

1. I saw hundreds of Ron Paul signs at the anti-war march yesterday.

[Disturbed]

2. Tucker claims to be a Libertarian & against the Invasion of Iraq.

Has he endorsed Ron Paul?

[Devlzown]

3. Paul's support comes not only from people

opposed to the war. He is also an important figure to those who question the official story of 9/11 and to those who want to see the Patriot Act abolished. His supporters come from many different political persuasions as well.

[Ian David]

4. Today, we went to Rhode Island, and there were Ron Paul banners on several highway overpasses.

I also spotted a Chris Dodd and a Dennis Kucinich bumpersticker.

[MrSlayer]

5. I see a ton of Ron Paul stickers and signs on the University of Penn campus.

Kind of weird.