Ron Paul goes Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi once said of revolutionary change, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at your, then they attack you, then you win." Since Rep. Ron Paul announced his 2008 campaign for President of the U.S., he's been getting the classic Gandhi treatment.

Initial internet support and straw poll victories were basically ignored, as the mainstream media refused to report any of these successes. Like other alternative candidates like Dennis Kucinich, the Democrat from Ohio, Paul was ignored. Poll results often grouped his numbers in the ubiquitous "other" category, if he was included in the poll at all. When a fundraising drive centered on November 5, known in England as Guy Fawkes night for the "gunpowder plot" to blow up Parliament in 1605, brought in over $2 million, the name Ron Paul started to be muttered on TV and talk radio. Money talks and Pauls message was speaking louder than that of John McCain, Mitt Romney, etc. As the establishment media and politicians keep reminding us, we are "at war," so when the story broke that military servicemen and families were donating more to Ron Paul than any other candidate, the tactic changed.

Ron Paul began to get mentioned in the mainstream media, but was ridiculed by the right and left. George Stephanopoulas on This Week interviewed Paul, seeking to know why he was running when he had no chance of winning. Thom Hartmann spoke of Ron Paul on Air America Radio, calling libertarians "Republicans that want to get high" and support prostitution. Sean Hannity poured his smug derision over Paul's criticism of Bush Administration foreign policy while Bill O'Reilly told Paul he was "living in the land of Oz." USA Today covered Paul's questioning of Fed Chairman Bernanke as being a medical doctor talking to a professional economist. Supporters of Paul have increasingly been labeled "kooks" and "nuts." The establishment was having a good laugh at this audacious attempt to break presidential politics out of its convenient framing effects of left vs right, for the troops vs isolationism, debates over minimum wage and waterboarding.

The laughing stopped as Ron Paul had the single biggest fundraising day in presidential politics and his campaign contributions soared to over $17 million. The support that was supposed to be limited to grumpy old men and young people on the internet was starting to compete with Giuliani and Huckabee's $5,000 per plate fundraising dinners. Democrats began to see his anti-war and anti-globalist message steal primary voters over to the Republicans to support Paul. That's when the attacks began.

Tim Russert welcomed Ron Paul on Meet The Press on December 23, not with the normally jovial banter that he has for star candidates like Clinton and Giuliani, but with a scowling series of questions that were clearly meant to keep Paul on the defensive. Glen Beck dedicated his entire day-after-Christmas show to explaining why Republicans should not be duped by Ron Paul's desire to get rid of the IRS and income tax, playing a series of quotes by Paul meant to depict the candidate of being a military softy who can't be trusted with America's safety.

Yet a strange thing is happening. The more the establishment attacks Ron Paul, the more his message gets heard. The problem for the establishment media is that despite the personal insults, ridicule, and condemnation of Paul's views, more and more people jumping on board. Glen Beck's lengthy radio attack on Paul was constantly interrupted by conservative listeners refuting Beck's criticism and voicing support for the Texas congressman. Thom Hartmann, a vocal critic on the left, played Paul's comments about "soft fascism" and "corporatism" when covering the recent CIGNA Insurance decision to deny a patient an organ transplant and saw the subject of the show shift toward the topic of "soft fascism" as Paul had discussed it.

Ron Paul seems to be winning as he is now polling in the top three of Republican primary candidates, but don't expect that the attacks or redicule will stop any time soon. The only certainty at this point is that the ignoring phase is definitely over. Ron Paul and his supporters are challenging not just the other candidates, but the existing political order in America, like a certain Indian independence leader challenged the British Empire in the 1930s and 40s. Gandhi would be proud.

Fair Weather Fans Return to Rose Garden

Remember when the Portland Trailblazers won the top selection in the NBA draft? Suddenly fans flooded Blazer websites, bought up season tickets, and showed up en masse everytime top pick, Greg Oden, did a public appearance. Then Oden had an MRI that revealed a microfracture of the knee--a season ending injury. Within days the local press was awash in stories about the Sam Bowie selection that left the NBA's (second) greatest player ever (Wilt Chamberlain is still the man), Michael Jordan, to get picked up by the Chicago Bulls--a decision that would haunt Portland years later in the NBA Finals. Next thing you know, it's all doom and gloom again. The Oregonian ran a story about hundreds of calls from people wanting a refund on their season tickets, since Oden was out for a year.

The reaction to Oden's injury was like most of the (over) reaction to the "Jailblazers" era when Rasheed Wallace threatened the downfall of Western Civilization by throwing a towel in Arvydas Sabonis's face or Zach Randolf was sighted at a titty bar. That's not to say the Jai... uh... Trailblazers didn't make their bed by smoking dope in speeding automobiles or betting on dog fights. Damon Staudamire might have been one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, but he was stoned throughout much of his prime. When he quit, his stats and consistency came back, but it was too late. Guys like Qyntell Woods basically through it all away before they got started. Yet in the case of young Greg Oden, the Rose Garden's gilded class reacted much the same way in demanding refunds, as though Oden himself was guilty of defrauding them with false hopes to bragging rights in the club and suite levels.

So it is with partial pleasure and partial sadness that the Paul Allen wanna-be's have returned to Rip City, USA, now that the Blazers are on an 8 game winning streak. That's just sad, because anybody who knows basketball could see that Greg Oden was not going to be a rookie superstar anyway. Just look at his developmental numbers in Vegas before he wend down with a tonsilectomy. Even if healthy, Oden would have been fouling out after only 15-20 minutes of play. Whatever success Portland would have in the NBA this season would depend on having guys like Roy and Aldridge come into their own, but even more it would depend on whether or not below-the-radar guys like Jarret Jack and Joel Prysbilla could live up to their rookie hype.

The reality is that Portland would have been ready to play for the 7th or 8th seed in the '07-08 playoffs even if they had fallen to the bottom of last year's draft lottery. Even with Kevin Garnett still a T-wolve, they were destined to be better than Minnesota and Seattle. While Utah and Denver are better teams "one through five" at the present, Portland has the deepest bench in the Northwest Division. Jarrett Jack has averages that put him in the top half of starting point guards, Travis Outlaw finally started to show NBA potential last season, and the Blazers have a lot of size to throw at opponents with guys like Frye and LaFrentz and McRoberts that few teams can match. Coach McMillan finally has these guys believing in his style of basketball and the Blazers are a team to contend with.