Why is Ron Paul winning the online polls, but not the mainstream polls?

CNN said that Ron Paul supporters are spamming to win the polls. I don't believe that is why he is winning. I think Ron Paul truely does have that many supporters that he is winning the online and text message polls without cheating. However, the people that are actively watching the debates and voting in polls right now only make up a small fraction of those that will actually vote. When the AP, Gallop, Newsweek, or whomever does a scientific poll (where they randomly ask among people who are likely voters), you get a lot of people that haven't paid much attention to the election yet (if at all) and have only heard about the front-runners in the media. These people don't even know who Ron Paul is or that he's running for President. Agree or disagree?

Public Comments

1. Disagree. The on-line polls are anything but objective and are as unscientific as you can get!
2. Depends. Most primary voters are people 25 and up. They're usually more informed on the subject. Not all polls give you that sort of info. I would assume Ron will do very poorly in those polls ie refering to primary republican votes. So one can guess anything about what he is in national polls, but that really doesn't matter if you can't win a primary.
3. Because people on the internet are more informed than those that only hear the 8 second soundbites on main stream TV. :)
4. Well, I was getting very confused - I thought they were talking about Ron Jeremy. So WTF is Ron Paul - never heard of the guy. But when I look at ontheissues - I can't figure him out - he doesn't fit any particular category, except right wing.
5. There's probably some spamming occurring, but I think people who participate in political polls on the internet are just more politically involved and aware than your average citizen. Plus, people who go through the trouble of discussing politics in online forums are probably the same people who are slightly on the fringe politically speaking, meaning they are more likely to support candidates like Ron Paul.
6. Agree.
7. Despite current national polls showing Paul to be the favorite candidate of at most 3% of Republican leaning voters,[68] Paul is getting strong support on the Internet. The term "Ron Paul" has been measured as the top Internet search term by Technorati.com[69] since May 9, 2007, which ranks popularity in the blogosphere. The U.S. News & World Report article titled "Ron Paul's Online Rise"[69] states "Technorati spokesman Aaron Krane confirmed that, to the best of the company's knowledge, the online support for Paul is genuine. (Tech-savvy devotees occasionally attempt to enlist programs called "bots" to artificially boost their candidate on search engines, but Krane said Technorati is usually able to detect and delete the cheaters.) P.S Anybody who says that Ron Paul supporters are spamming is bullsthit. Generally only e-mail is spammed. You can't spam an online poll.
8. Paul hasn't been corrupted by the big media thats why he isn't getting air time.
9. Because the MSM is owned by people like William Randolph Hurst, Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch who already have their candidates in their pocket (hence why Giuliani and Hillary/Obama are getting so much media attention). They don't want someone like Dr. Paul receiving media attention because most people are brainwashed enough to believe everything they hear on TV and if they hear Dr. Paul's message, that we should have less government involvement, abolish the IRS, WTO, NAFTA, the Fed, etc., then those guys would loose all their money. So, they tell us we're supposed to want Clinton or Obama or Rudy McRomney for president...but I'm not brainwashed...are you? I hope not!
10. Paulites cant hack into real polls. Of course, polls are pretty useless anyway so who cares? Why look at the polls anyone. Why do you care what others think? Why not make up your own mind and persuade those around you rather than let the media tell you who to vote for anyway?
11. The internet polls are more reliable than mainstream polls. Is usally a group of people who don't know anything that are tested in the polls. Internet polls bring every person of every party and age. The ony problem is that Ron Paul has said he won't run as an Independent if he loses. Is sad because I wanted to vote for him but I'm not a Republican so I can't vote in their primaries.
12. I agree with you somewhat... But... I do believe that he is going to be a huge surprise to everyone. He has my vote simply because of two issues that concern me the most (the war in Iraq & illegal immigration). Here is a short video of how he feels about illegal immigration & the amnesty bill that was recently shot down... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U4RgUh5G38 I believe he would be the best candidate to bring our troops home where they belong & send illegal aliens back to where ever they belong.
13. It's probably a mix. His support probably is higher among people who know who he is. But I bet it's still not even close to enough to win, and if an online poll says otherwise, it probably is due to spamming.
14. CNN is ate up! They are DESPERATE. I was informed by the unofficial Ron Paul website, that supporters were saying, "We will crawl on our hands and knees through minefields to vote for Ron Paul." They are PASSIONATE and it is spreading like wildfire! Make no mistake, it has carried itself from the internet and into the streets. Their passion is DEEP, and personally, I feel it too. One either gets it, or they don't with this man. When others do 'get it', they will feel as though the biggest light bulb of all time came on!
15. dryheatdave said that Ron Paul doesn't "fit in any category" (except right wing). That's exactly why people are supporting him. Of course they didn't know that he is running. The media only mentions their top three (or four) favorites. I wish, for once, we could see a REAL debate where every candidate is given more time to speak.
16. Anyone who say the online polls for Ron Paul are spammed don't know what they are talking about. The people who vote on the internet are a lot more informed about all the candidates than those who are polled by MSM. MSM are the worst to pick random pollsters because the ones they poll are the ones that don't have enough time to get to know all the candidates (they usually catch them during their "Rush Hour"). Therefore, in their rat race-busy lives, they may turn on CNN for probably 5 -15 per day and see the only candidates that the MSM want to promote (ex. Guliani, Clinton). And thanks to the biased MSM, they don't know who in the hell Ron Paul is!! So, to sum it all up, the reason in the differences in the results between the MSM poll and the internet poll is because is MSM isn't doing their job in giving each candidate equal airtime.