As the national political spotlight in the GOP nominating process turns to Florida, one of the Republicans still left standing is largely bypassing the Sunshine State. And because Florida is where national media is currently focused, the Libertarian message put forward by Texas Congressman Ron Paul is effectively off the table in terms of journalist coverage. Taking up the slack are Paul supporters dedicated to spreading the word about their cause.
Establishment candidates in Florida include Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as frontrunners. Rick Santorum's participation appears more as a bystander than of anything else. That the race essentially boils down to the former Speaker Gingrich and former Governor Romney is largely due to the state's size, which includes multiple high-dollar media markets. Both men have plenty of zeros in their campaign accounts to inundate the state. For Santorum, who's relied on meet and greet events to sway conservative voters, the Iowa Caucus winner finds himself running in a state simply too large to cover.
As a case for extreme bias can be made against mainstream media's coverage of Paul, and as the Paul campaign budget works with relatively modest means, Paul supporters are actively tapping their resources and networks to keep the message alive.
Mainstream Media's Ron Paul Dis Keeps Making Headlines
On the fundraising front, Ron Paul Revolution-- a Ron Paul PAC-- is tapping their candidate's superhero status among supporters by sellilng Ron Paul action figures. The action figures, which stand 12 inches tall, plays a message by push button and also come with a mini constitution. The figures are dressed in two varieties-- Commander-in-Chief Paul and Super Hero Paul.
Tapping Paul's historical figure status, the limited supply dolls sell for just over $100 with shipping. Proceeds go toward campaign efforts.
On the message front, a best-selling author and Austrian Economics scholar is working his Facebook page and YouTube channel. As young people largely encompass the voting sector attracted to Paul's message, Tom Woods, a senior fellow at the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, is providing guidance for proselytizing the Paul message.
In one video, Woods calls for Operation Grandma. He encourages Paul followers to tap the family bond for an opportunity to make the Libertarian case to grandparents. Citing a technology gap, Woods calls on supporters to offer cheerfully-executed chores in exchange for an hour-long discussion about Paul where videos and speeches are mostly relegated to the Internet.
In another video, Woods discusses the sync between Paul policies and Catholic values. In this, Woods compares Paul to Santorum, a devout Catholic. Between them, Paul's approach to government is more in keeping with the values of the church, Woods argues.
As the official Ron Paul campaign looks to states west and north of Florida-- states like Colorado, Nevada, Maine and Minnesota-- as the likely areas where he'll pick up delegates, supporters are moving full steam ahead to keep the campaign vital.
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