Ron Paul and Reason
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Sean, although I wish Reason’s coverage of the Paul campaign had been more positive (I worked in the campaign’s press shop, so I don’t claim to be objective here), there are several things that have to be kept in mind. For one, David Weigel is a reporter first and a libertarian second: if he’s assigned to write about a story, he’s going to dig up whatever he can and report on what’s most controversial. Positive or negative, Weigel and Reason devoted more attention to Paul than any other outlet that wasn’t self-consciously in Dr. Paul’s camp, and even snarky or critical coverage is better for a candidate than to be ignored, which is the treatment Paul received from most of the press. Finally, I think it’s fair to say that Reason does not think of itself as a “movement” magazine with a mandate to provide favorable coverage to libertarian (or Libertarian) candidates — see Brian Doherty’s fascinating oral history of the magazine for an account of how its mission has changed over the years. I sympathize with the more philosophically partisan Manny Klausner-Tibor Machan approach, but it’s not easy for any political magazine to figure out how to balance partisanship, intellectual independence, and serious reporting. Many other magazines, especially those that call themselves conservative, have done far worse.
Filed under: Magazines, libertarianism
I think the rivalry is healthy and believe Reason and the LRC wings both have complementary overlapping effects on the movement. That said I like to take shots at the other wing here and there. Enjoy the following:
“Paul never sounds as certain as when he gets to link this all to monetary policy. He’s rarely less convincing. Paul sees a direct link between central banking, fiat currency, and the economic crises that he argues wreck the average American’s prosperity and empower thugs. A financial collapse, he prophesies, “becomes more likely every day….Paul’s overheated worry about a Weimar Republic-style collapse kicks the legs out from underneath the argument.” http://www.reason.com/news/show/126457.html
Well I hope Weigel, as a “reporter first”, finds Ron Paul a little more convincing now.
Reason puts out an interesting product. I don’t think they were quite fair to Paul, that is, I think their factional beef with the Auburn libertarians led them to overstate how offensive the newsletter quotes were. I think they might have warranted one balanced story rather than the sort of tri-weekly feeding of the news beast that Reason gave them during the campaign.
…and even snarky or critical coverage is better for a candidate than to be ignored,
I don’t think it worked out that way for PJB in 1992. and 1996. I way I recall it the more coverage he got (almost all of it critical) the fewer votes he received.