Many things can, and will, go wrong on live TV.
A satellite feed could be dropped for no apparent reason, sometimes leaving an anchor to fill the void. Another sign of "technical difficulties" is when you see a reporter, usually out on location in the field, talking but you can't hear what they're saying. One forgotten bleep in an edit session could lead to an accidental F-bomb on-air. (Guilty!) Maybe a mic is rubbing up against a guest's shirt — that's what makes that odd muffled sound.
Last night, we hit our own technical glitch with guest Steve Kornacki's microphone. It wasn't working properly so, unfortunately, the Salon.com political columnist wasn’t able to take part in the majority of the discussion on Ron Paul.
We were able to give him the floor after the show. In a web-exclusive interview with Lawrence, the pair chatted about Paul's relevancy as a candidate in the current Republican primary process and his long-term impact on political discourse. The set was being broken down around them, but they kept on talking.
Kornacki explained the complexities covering Paul's candidacy as journalist. "The winner of the Republican primaries will have, probably give or take, a 50 percent chance at being the next President of The United States. So covering this process sort of day-to-day right now, my interest is who is this presidential primary season going to produce as a nominee," he told Lawrence. "Ron Paul is basically irrelevant to that."
Lawrence followed up, "If you're covering who's going to be the next president, he's irrelevant to that. But it you're covering our politics and what our politics is becoming, that's when he gets interesting.”
The "growth [of Paul's base] is undeniable and very significant," Kornacki pointed out, so it will be interesting to see the long-term effects of his thriving coalition, built around his Libertarian stances on foreign policy and drugs.
Is Paul paving the way for an anti-war wing of GOP? Tweet me your thoughts or drop me a line in the comment section below.





I read the books Blowback by Chalmers Johnson and The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin to get an in depth understanding of Ron Paul's economic and foreign policy views. Ever since I've been a believer that his views are spot on.
Gingrich is not really expecting to win. But I'm pretty sure he will spend leftover campaign funds on himself and designer wifey poo.
The Marine snipers urinating on Taliban. Proves stupidity is alive in some Marines. But snipers in Viet Nnam cutoff ears to prove kills.
Why is okay for others to do bad things and Americans no. Simple we are supposed to be civilized and believe in Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Ron Paul has to be the most interesting aspect of the Republican Presidential Nomination Race to me, right now. From what I know about him, I agree with him on about half of what he says and the other half I totally disagree, so I am torn, in a sense. I have a friend who thinks that Ron Paul is the answer to all of of our countries problems- who agrees with him about 90%. So, there are people out there, contrary to the above video, who agree with him on more than just one or two issues.
If the word conservative means to preserve the status quo, and the word liberal means to change the status quo, and they do, then Ron Paul is a liberal Republican. The Republicans, at least the things they have favored in the last 50 years or so, have been doing it wrong (according to Paul) and he wants to correct them.
The thing about politics that I may never understand is why Democrats HAVE to be liberal and Republicans HAVE to be conservative. I think the mistake people make is in treating them like they are synonyms. Technically speaking, if memories of high school government class serve me correctly, Democrats, on the most basic level, are people who believe in the political/social equality of all people and are willing to implement government regulations in order to make sure that happens. Republicans, on the most basic level, are people who believe in limited representative democracy and believe that the individual should be empowered through business and their own personal ventures rather than the government.
Ron Paul clearly believes in limited government. That makes him a Republican, period. The social issues that are talked about in politics (abortions, guns, contraception, etc.) augment those basic assessments of what the political parties are. Therefore the political party system is actually a political spectrum, and people are forced to choose what the top issues are for themselves personally and vote accordingly.
I guess, my point is, that people are way more complex than the labels they are given and the sooner that is understood, the easier it will be for all of us to get along. I think an anti-war wing of the GOP has existed, and now that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are generally agreed upon as being something that should be over with, these people feel freer to express their thoughts once more. I knew plenty of Republicans growing up who felt like you shouldn't go to war unless you absolutely had to, and had much stricter definitions of what "had to" was than the politicians in power. That young people are joining in does not surprise me one bit.
Lawrence hit right on the head about Mitt Romney he's a pathological liar who'll say or do anything to get elected. The subtle narrative before the Defender of capitalism that right was touting was that the Main Stream Media and liberals would treat Romney with kid-gloves until he gets the nomination, which is not true. It was well said and needed to be said.
Dear Sir,
You talk but don't listen. The concern for the erosion of our liberty is what unites everyone who supports Ron Paul. You failed to see us as individuals but try to classify us as convenient little groups. That's why the Ron Paul movement is an enigma to you.
"You talk but don't listen. The concern for the erosion of our liberty is what unites everyone who supports Ron Paul. You failed to see us as individuals but try to classify us as convenient little groups. That's why the Ron Paul movement is an enigma to you"
"nuff said but then since unity of purpose and like minded beliefs are hardly terms showcasing individualism...
Steve Kornacki wants to talk to some of the people that like Ron Paul well, I volunteer! I am a 49 year young woman and Hair Salon owner. I believe Ron Paul is the ONLY GOP representative capable of doing something for this country instead of taking from it. Contact me and I will explain. Who does the polling? Its a joke. Most of the people I have talked to agree if Mitt gets the nomination Obama will win again hands down. Talk to the 99%.