Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Ron Paul: Savior of the Constitution or Racist Truther?

Yesterday, The New Republic published an expose' on Ron Paul's old newsletters. The story includes scans of several of the newsletters. Here are some choice quotes:

King City?

A mob of black demonstrators, led by the “Rev.” Al Sharpton, occupied and closed the Statue of Liberty recently, demanding that New York be renamed Martin Luther King City “to reclaim it for our people.”

Hmmm. I hate to agree with the Rev. Al, but maybe a name change is in order. Welfaria? Zooville? Rapetown? Dirtburg? Lazyopolic?

But Al, the Statue of Liberty? Next time, hold that demonstration at a food stamp bureau or a crack house.

And about MLK:
He was also a compsymp, if not an actual party member, and the man who replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration.

King, the FBI files show, was not only a world-class adulterer, he also seduced underage girls and boys. The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy revealed before his death that King had made a pass at him many years before.

And we are supposed to honor this “Christian minister” and lying socialist satyr with a holiday that puts him on a par with George Washington?
In fairness, TNR is not exactly known for their fairness or high journalistic standards, but the newsletters were published under Paul's name. Couple these with the tendancy of Paul supporters to also be 9/11 Truthers (those who believe that 9/11 was an inside job) and to attack anyone who criticizes Paul as members of a vast consipiracy to silence him as well as Paul's supporters tendancy to resort to threats when challenged has left many wondering just who the real Paul is.
Text of email to National Review Online after they published a link to the TNR article:
Subject: I'll never trust the NRO again
Auto forwarded by a Rule
There's gotta be consequences to what you people are doing. Hannity got chased off the streets... he's lucky that's all that happens. Rudy got locked in a bathroom in a boat in MI. The revolution is real, not symbolic... I wouldn't smack at a hornets nest.Paul is not a racist. He's very kind. All of his supporters aren't as kind or layed back. They take things like this serious.The media is generating hate and their own version of blowback. In America, blowback lead to 9/11. What will your blowback lead to? We're really starting to hate you folks. I was a journalist, I read the NRO, I vote GOP. I hate you. I can't imagine how others feel right now about reading that misleading crap.
The reference to Hannity can be explained in a video found here (click on the link on the right side of the page) or on youtube. If you are brave you can read through the comments left by Paul supporters on youtube.
Paul's statement in answer to the TNR article can be found here. Here it is in full:
January 8, 2008 5:28 am EST
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – In response to an article published by The New Republic, Ron Paul issued the following statement:
“The quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts.
“In fact, I have always agreed with Martin Luther King, Jr. that we should only be concerned with the content of a person's character, not the color of their skin. As I stated on the floor of the U.S. House on April 20, 1999: ‘I rise in great respect for the courage and high ideals of Rosa Parks who stood steadfastly for the rights of individuals against unjust laws and oppressive governmental policies.’
“This story is old news and has been rehashed for over a decade. It's once again being resurrected for obvious political reasons on the day of the New Hampshire primary.
“When I was out of Congress and practicing medicine full-time, a newsletter was published under my name that I did not edit. Several writers contributed to the product. For over a decade, I have publicly taken moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name.”
Does Paul's explanation fly or is the content of the newsletters consistent with his viewpoints?
--Cicerone

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