News Flash: Ron Paul no longer a Republican!

Or at least that would appear to be the case going by the title ("Republicans, Paul Clash Over Iraq War") and the first paragraph of this AP story:

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) - Republican presidential contenders voiced support for the Iraq war Wednesday night despite a warning from anti-war candidate Ron Paul that they risk dragging the party down to defeat in 2008.

On the one side, "Republicans" or "Republican presidential contenders"; on the other side, "Ron Paul".

Yes, this is less than a quibble, and I'm mainly posting about it because it struck me as funny.  But it's always instructive to see how the mainstream media constructs a frame when positions that are popular with the public but widely rejected by elites arise within the context of elites themselves.  It's in circumstances like these--as with Paul, or with Dennis Kucinich, or even with Al Gore's "populist" rhetoric in 2000--that you'll typically see mainstream media biases displayed the most openly.  The media take their role as the gatekeepers of acceptable opinion very seriously, and when an ostensible insider goes off the reservation, the reaction ranges anywhere from mild derision to outright hysteria.