Attacks on Ron Paul continue...

New Smear: Ron Paul Is Elitist

CBS piece fails to mention Romney and Perry shell out far more than Congressman on luxury expenses

Paul Joseph Watson

CBS News has sunk to new lows of desperation in the establishment media’s crusade to derail Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential campaign by any means possible – ludicrously smearing him as being elitist for using a private jet.

Of course, the report completely fails to mention the fact that Paul’s two frontrunner rivals, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, have shelled out far more in expenses than the Congressman.

Entitled Ron Paul may lag in the polls but his campaign has enough money for a private jet, the piece by CBS News’ Rodney Hawkins implies that Paul’s use of a private jet to travel between campaign stops contradicts his “fiscal conservative” moniker.

“On what was planned as a three-stop tour of Iowa Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidate who has made fiscal conservatism his hallmark missed his first event because of problems with his private, leased jet. According to an aide, the Texas congressman had to commandeer a new jet and pilot to continue on,” states the report, before labeling the Congressman’s campaign “Air Paul”.

However, the CBS report is noticeably absent the fact that Paul’s rival Mitt Romney has run up a $5 million tab on travel expenses, “Blowing $80,000 on hotel rooms in Las Vegas, $50,000 on a security squad and $125,000 on private jets — despite a pledge to scale back on luxury travel, new campaign filings show,” reported the Boston Herald.

Romney travels in style on a $5.8 million luxury corporate jet at a cost of over $60,000 each time.

Likewise, fellow frontrunner Rick Perry and his family have used the private jet of a wealthy contributor currently under investigation for fraud by Texas regulators and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Indeed, Perry is so sensitive about his travel costs that he has sealed details of his expenses to ensure they won’t be released until after the 2012 election. Perry added the amendment to a school finance bill in the Texas legislature on July 1.

“One Republican legislator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the governor as “extremely concerned” about keeping his records sealed, and said Perry was actively lobbying key legislators to get it passed in the waning days of the special session. The legislator said Perry’s wife, Anita, also was pressing legislators on the issue,” reported the Washington Post.

In addition, Perry’s security costs for the campaign trail, which currently stand at around $294,000, are being picked up by the taxpayer.

So while Romney blows over $5 million on luxury expenses, and Perry refuses to even disclose the amount he’s spent, CBS News chooses instead to report on “Air Paul,” despite the fact that the Congressman has spent less than $400,000 on travel expenses in total.

Link:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-smear-ron-paul-is-elitist.html