Posted on 01/11/2008 6:59:44 AM PST by jdm
Reason Magazine has long associated themselves with the Ron Paul campaign, if not officially endorsing him. Their Hit & Run blog has served as the heart of rational Paul apologetics, and in their skilled hands, that has proven essential to his campaign. Now, as the magazine has Paul on its cover, its new editor has the unpleasant task of looking a little more closely at the candidate, and Matt Welch finds it an unpleasant journey.
Has Paul really disassociated himself from, and "taken moral responsibility" for, these "Ron Paul" newsletters "for over a decade"? If he has, that history has not been recorded by the Nexis database, as best as I can reckon.The first indication I could find of Paul either expressing remorse about the statements or claiming that he did not author them came in an October 2001 Texas Monthly article -- less than eight years ago. ...
So what exactly did Paul and his campaign say about these and more egregious statements during his contentious 1996 campaign for Congress, when Democrat Lefty Morris made the newsletters a constant issue? Besides complaining that the quotes were taken "out of context" and proof of his opponent's "race-baiting," Paul and his campaign defended and took full ownership of the comments.
Indeed. Rather than claiming he had never read these newsletters, as Paul absurdly did on CNN last night, Paul claimed that he himself wrote the newsletters. Matt Welch find this in the contemporaneous Dallas Morning News report on the newsletters during Paul's 1996 Congressional campaign (May 22, 1996, emphasis mine):
Dr. Paul denied suggestions that he was a racist and said he was not evoking stereotypes when he wrote the columns. He said they should be read and quoted in their entirety to avoid misrepresentation. [...]
In the interview, he did not deny he made the statement about the swiftness of black men.
"If you try to catch someone that has stolen a purse from you, there is no chance to catch them," Dr. Paul said.
Matt has more examples of Paul's non-denials in 1996. Twelve years later, Paul wants people to believe that not only did he not write any of his newsletters, he never read them either. His role in the single most effective piece of outreach of his organization, he explained to Wolf Blitzer last night, was as a publisher -- one who didn't bother to read his own publication. These 1996 quotes put lie to his CNN interview answers.
Not only does this show dishonesty, but it indicates that Paul had a lot more involvement in the publication of the despicable statements found in his own newsletter than Paul or his less-rational apologists want to admit. The supremacists and conspiracy theorists surrounding his campaign apparently got attracted by more than just Paul's views on the Constitution; they read the newsletters and determined that Paul was one of them. His refusal to recant in 1996 and his explanation that he can't recall ever reading the newsletters today signal to them that he still wants their support.
People wonder why this matters, given Paul's fringe appeal. It matters because we can't allow this kind of hatred to get legitimized in mainstream politics again. This kind of rhetoric used to be mainstream, and not just in the South, either. Republicans cannot allow the party to get tainted by the stench of racism and conspiracy mongering. If enough of us don't step up and denounce it, strongly and repeatedly, we will not be able to avoid it.
Matt Welch and the people at Reason have reached that same conclusion in regards to libertarianism and their magazine. Good for them, even if it came a little late.
You are getting into a debate about 1991 and 1994 on Fred. The key issue is that Fred lied in 2006 about his support for Aristide. Aren’t we talking about lies here?
You're absolutely right. Giuliani and not Thompson was the supposed GOP "frontrunner" who did worse than Paul.
“Unfortunately for Paul, the largest Libertarian magazine seems to think he did.”
Dondero was his political aide for years and now dislikes him.
He has no reason to support Paul.
If you read the ENTIRE Reason article, not just the bit Morrisey quoted, you’ll see a more complex picture.
What did Thompson say, exactly?
I don’t think that is needed.
thanks for your refreshing honesty. Will anyone here speak up against McCain's racism? ......crickets chirping.
“Supporting the restoration of Aristide at the time of the 1991 coup and supporting the restoration of Aristide in 1994 are two different things.”
Not at all. As I demonstrated upthread, Thompson filed to lobby on behalf of Aristide 2 weeks AFTER Aristide was reported in Associated Press to encourage his guys to do necklacings. You know, where gas soaked tires are placed over the persons head and lit ablaze.
Aristide also had cited Castro as a major influence for years.
Fred came to his defense. Why?
Other than agitating, aiding and comforting our enemies, with boots on the ground.
In my view, its unforgivable.
“thanks for your refreshing honesty. Will anyone here speak up against McCain’s racism? ......crickets chirping.”
Sure - I will. He let us know that commies were OK with him when him and John Kerry pushed (successfuly) for trade normalization with the same people he called “gooks” that tortured him for years.
McCain-Kennedy
McCain-Feingold
But according to Hannity, he’s a great American!
gag,
Why is so much energy being spent attacking Ron Paul, when some of that energy would be better spent attacking McCain?
I would hold any and all candidates to the same standard, especially if they were constantly explaining, apologizing, or being the self-appointed spokesman for a terrorist organization or terrorist-sponsoring state, like Run Paul.
“Will anyone here speak up against McCain’s racism? ......crickets chirping.”
And how is he that way?
If a American POW held in N Vietnam used that word at the time(which was a common expression back then), what is the issue?
Paul won exactly one county in the Iowa caucuses: Jefferson County.
It's a small county with 16,000 inhabitants - but its tiny county seat is known for one thing: it is the site of The Maharishi International University School Of Management.
Thousands of hippy whackjobs have matriculated from the University learning such courses as "Yogic Flying."
http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/416439.html
Mon Capitan, you humans are so amusing. I'm part of the Q Continuum. You can not even begin to comprehend my omnipotence with your arrogant human know-it-all mind.
You said "period".
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