The Revolution Won't Be Televised

Dexter Johnson, an MTSU sophomore, was flipping through the cable channels on television in his apartment one fall evening in 2007 and decided to watch a couple of minutes of a presidential debate.

Utterly bored, and expecting the usual political blithering and double-talk akin to over-produced political debates, the 19-year old student heard one of the men say something delightfully provocative, without agenda, that seemed pure to his ears. The man spoke of small government, legalizing the constitution, and unabashedly denouncing the IRS.

That man was Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul, and from that moment, Dexter has been one of the hundreds of foot soldiers in Murfreesboro who help to spread the ideas of the Ron Paul revolution.

“As soon as the debate ended, I spoke with my cousin Reed, (Johnson) and asked him if he had heard of Ron Paul… he knew more than I did, and since then we have gone to rallies, written articles and begun having political conversations with friends,” reports Dexter. However, Dexter has had trouble spreading the word to others who haven't previously heard of Paul.

“… When I make comments in class, (about Paul) people just laugh. People don't see his message, they just see him as another Ralph Nader,” Dexter tells me.

Yet, those who have been exposed to Paul's message of personal liberty and freedom take the 10-term congressman very seriously.

Murfreesboro Ron Paul meet-up coordinator John Freeman wrote on his profile page, "I've never been so excited about a political candidate, and I want to be actively involved in what is truly a modern revolution. I am hoping to meet a vast and diverse group of people who share the same interests in personal liberty and (want) to support Ron Paul!"

So what is creating the disconnect between those who hear Paul's ideas and those who don't feel as if Paul deserves to have his ideas considered and heard on a legitimate, visible platform?

Walking around campus you see “Ron Paul 2008, Hope For America” bumper stickers on trashcans, walls, doors, and message boards about every 100 feet, however, if you watch the news on major media outlets like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC you wouldn't know Paul was running for office.

This fervent support for Paul is consistent off campus as well where you can drive down seemingly any street in Murfreesboro and see the signs of Ron Paul supporters. Yet all the grassroots attention Paul seems to receive has not translated into mainstream media attention.

Is this a sign that the support Paul receives is less than imagined, or that his message is so threatening to the status quo that his ideas are being black balled by mainstream media?

After all, where are all the Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Barack Obama signs and bumper stickers? How were the frontrunners in each party getting votes without the rabid support that Paul backers have exerted?

The answer, Dexter believes, lies in the lack of media support locally and nationally for Paul, and the constant barrage of media coverage the frontrunners receive on a daily basis.

“Most people (my age) either don't care to vote or will just vote for the most popular candidate, the one with the most (media) coverage,” he says.

Could Dexter be right? Are we being conditioned by mainstream media to choose the candidate that the businessmen working at CNN, Fox News and MSNBC want us to support?

The facts make for an interesting case: Paul has broken the presidential campaign fundraising record for a single-day with $6.3 million raised online, has more than 17,000 precinct leaders, is the most searched candidate on the internet and out-raised all other Republicans in the third quarter with more than $22 million.Yet, when Paul took second place in the Nevada primary, Fox News failed to report it, instead choosing to focus on third place finisher John McCain.

Currently, three candidates remain in the presidential race for the republican nomination: John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. Of the before mentioned candidates, Ron Paul has nearly $8 million of campaign funds on hand, $5 million more than the closest candidate, John McCain. Again, and without surprise this fact is strangely absent from mainstream media coverage.

Ron Paul's presidential bid has aroused many grassroots supporters in Murfreesboro and across the country, and continues to raise money from many individuals each day, you might wonder if the popularity of the Ron Paul campaign is about Ron Paul at all, or rather the seemingly new idea of freedom and personal liberties.

“You see a guy like (Paul), who has fought for these principles for 30 years, and you say (to yourself) I need to do this too… it's my civil duty to do this,” explained Brian Comer, MTSU graduate and Ron Paul meet-up member.

Brian jumped at the opportunity to reply to the implication that the Ron Paul presidential campaign was simply the flavor of the month, rather than a legitimate movement.

“It's more so a revolution than a presidential campaign. The people who support Paul see him as a cog on the wheel… Ron Paul has a great message, don't get me wrong, he just has a hard time saying it… people are not worshipping the man, they're worshipping the message.”

Ron Paul's campaign has received contributions from more than 400, 000 individuals and the numbers are growing everyday, so it seems support is growing and the revolution is real and here to stay. As it stands currently, Paul's presidential bid is in doubt, but has clearly been effective in spring boarding the minds and passion of young people across the nation.

When asked why this particular message is so popular, Brian exclaimed, “ (Ron) Paul is concerned with his constituents, the people. Other candidates are concerned with their constituents as well, except their constituents are corporations and lobbyists. (Paul) actually votes for conservative issues, while McCain just flip-flopped on water boarding. I plan on fighting for this message everyday of my life… teaching my children this message, after all, freedom is popular.”