Paul: Media ‘frightened’ by my campaign

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Tuesday that the media are “frightened” of him because of the challenge to the status quo his presidential campaign represents. 

The libertarian-leaning congressman, who placed a close second to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) at Saturday’s straw poll in Ames, Iowa, has been vocally questioning why he hasn’t received as much coverage as Bachmann, or, for that matter, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who launched his presidential campaign Saturday.

{mosads}“We’re doing well, we’re certainly in the top tier, we showed we did well in Iowa and we have a good organization, we can raise money,” Paul said Tuesday on Fox News. “But they don’t want to discuss my views because, I think, they are frightened by us challenging the status quo and the establishment when it comes to foreign policy, monetary policy, the entitlement system, because my views are quite different than the other candidates.”

Paul griped publicly that he didn’t receive invitations to appear on the Sunday morning talk-show circuit, and he complained that his near-victory at Ames has been largely ignored.

Paul’s always attracted an intense following since his 2008 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, but the challenge facing his campaign is whether he can wage an effort that appeals to the party’s mainstream voters. Paul’s consistent opposition to most military efforts abroad and his support for a gold-based currency makes that appeal a challenge.

But Paul said he’s in the mainstream.

“I’m virtually running on George Bush’s foreign policy of the year 2000,” he said. “I’m just running on his foreign policy, so why’s it so strange now? You know why? Because I am serious about it, I am not just pandering to the people. The peace candidate is always a very strong candidate.”