Ron Paul loss would resound truth, honor

The cable news shills can claim sweet victory; the most liberated and patriotic Republican presidential candidate has been successfully lambasted into last, discarded as unelectable. Rep. Ron Paul was declared a loser from the get-go.

The pundits appeared in full force to protect the establishment. Attempts to discredit and marginalize the Paul campaign included the usual excuses: He's too old, his foreign policy is crazy and he just can't win.

Although quite different in his political ideology, Paul is beginning to look like the honorable, yet unwinnable, George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in the 1972 presidential election — a key similarity being both candidates' desire for immediate withdrawal from senseless war. Because he spoke the truth, McGovern was "mocked, vilified, ignored and abandoned as a hopeless loser," as Hunter S. Thompson put it. I think the same can be said of Paul.

My particular grievance with the mistreatment of the Paul campaign is less about the predicted downfall of a candidate and more about the failure of our press during the electoral process. Is the game rigged?

One must only look to the misreported results of Maine's caucuses to witness the type of shenanigans that are shedding the credibility of America's elections. An unexpected exposé on the potential voter fraud in Maine came from none other than MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who reported that the state's Republican Party had numbers showing Mitt Romney as the victor in towns that had yet to report results. While Paul remains in second place after Maine's recount, the final tally revealed he "won many of the communities that hadn't previously been counted," according to the Union Leader.

Even so, the prospect of a Paul presidency is a bit of a mirage. For better or worse, the Paul campaign ultimately lacks the financial support needed to win the White House. Romney, on the other hand, has "raised more than $12 million from Wall Street in campaign donations" and another $30 million from a single super political action committee, according to the Huffington Post.

Yet, the Paul campaign is one backed by a groundswell of grassroots support. He is hailed as the godfather of the Tea Party, a movement that largely subscribes to Paul's libertarian philosophy. The youth say he's the only one who can save them from sure destruction in terms of debt and deficit. And when it comes to campaign donations from our military, Paul has outperformed all the other candidates, including President Barack Obama, according to USA Today.

On Monday, hundreds of veterans marched on the White House along with other Paul supporters. Sadly, the only live coverage came by streaming smartphone video via an independent journalist, and less than a half dozen publications dared to even preview the event. Troops know that ending these costly overseas wars — and preventing another — is an obvious answer to strengthening our national defense. They also see that Paul is the only candidate to have served in the military.

Unfortunately, Paul's message has yet to penetrate the more calcified minds in America. Many are still unaware of his warnings of collapse in the housing market as far back as 2002. Today, the Texas congressman continues his argument that the Federal Reserve threatens the strength of the U.S. dollar and the economy as a whole. But his philosophy is dubbed too extreme by the talking heads — perhaps why he was afforded very little time to talk in the debates.

Regardless of Paul's eventual success or failure in this presidential race, his supporters should take pride in how far he has come and the ideas he has injected into the nation's political discourse. Even if he's a loser, he's an honorable one.