Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletter and The Libertarians That Excuse It
Apparently, Ron Paul’s been fronting, at least tacitly, a newsletter with a whole lot of repugnant racist and anti-Semitic stuff that goes back a lot of years. He’s managed to pick up a few defenders in the blogosphere, most notably the fine folks at the libertarian Reason magazine.
Their defense seems to be less than convincing and Ace just opened up a whole can of whoopass on them, Paul, and the Paulnuts.
As I wrote previously, there’s a big difference between a real libertarian who joins the movement due to a belief in the power of freedom and someone using libertarianism as a flag of convenience to add respectability to retrograde and repugnant views. Ron Paul’s positions don’t indicate that he’s terribly interested in freedom so much as he’s interested in keeping the Jews from stealing his gold.
His goldbuggery? He’s trying to keep “international bankers” (wink, wink) from “manipulating” currencies to enrich themselves at the expense of normal, patriotic people. Normal, patriotic people who spin no dreidls and do not control the media. Savvy?
His foreign policy? He just wants to keep “the Jewish lobby” — “the most powerful lobby in America,” he says — from getting the US to fight more wars on behalf of Israel.
Oh, and he wants to stop fighting in the Middle East and stop supporting foreign countries. Let me just postulate, based on Ron Paul’s long record on such issues, that he’s chiefly interested in ceasing animosity with Israel’s enemies and most passionate about ending support of Israel. The other countries are just added for consistency. We can see what’s animating this little anti-semitic cunt.
Do read the whole thing.
The explanation from Paul’s campaign that he had no idea that there was all this crazy racist stuff happening on a newsletter that got published in his name, where he wrote articles, and which brought him income for something like twenty years is insulting. I’m kind of baffled as to why the guys at Reason would swallow Paul’s flimsy excuse so quickly and eagerly. Surely they can’t hold the belief that anything done in the furtherance of the cause is fair game.
Because that’s not libertarian. That’s fascist.
No related posts.
Category: The 2008 Horse Race
This "nut" has been a respected Republican for decades and NOW it turns out he is a racist fruit cake ?
No one noticed before he came out strong against the war.
No, Paul was never a "respected" Republican. Quite a few libertarians respected him because…well…what other options were there? Most folks, like myself, appreciated his votes but never saw him as someone who had pertty much reached the peak of wherever he was goign to go.
[...] Sundries Shack on Ron Paul’s racism. [...]
[...] (ht:SS and DS) [...]
I'm sorry, but you guys are ignorant. I truly beleive that Ron Paul didn't write those newletters…THEY DON'T SAY WHO WROTE THEM, they're just under his letter head, the government is trying to bring him down, it's obvious, open your mind! Do you guys know anything about Ron Paul?? because if you did you would know that he's not a racist or homophobe or whatever else these newsletters claims him to be…THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY NOT WRITTEN BY HIM.
a word of advice: don't be so naive.
LMAO! We’re the ignorant ones? He was the publisher and made money off it! It is you that should stop being so naive!
The problem, ashli, when you open your mind too much is that the wind blows right through. those newsletters were written under his name. The money they made went to him. Many of the newsletter featured a note written under his signature.
He is responsible.
I'm sorry that your hero has feet of clay and you're having trouble dealing with it. It stinks to be a grown-up doesn't it?
Although it may sound odd, I truly laughed out loud when I read "Jimmie"'s commentary about Ron being racist/anti-semitic. I don't know of any other candidate that has displayed so much about what they want to do and what they have stood for the last 20 years like Ron has. "Jimmie" talks about Ron being against Jews because he is against a central bank. Can we see how he, Jimmie, has spun this around? R.P. is against a central bank and big bankers not Jews. Well, I suppose if all of the international bankers are jews then too bad. Do I have to go into educated detail about the Fed (truly the head of the central bank) and their manipulation of our currency? The Fed caused the housing bubble and in return caused it to burst. The Fed has devalued our dollar to what 50% of what is was just a few years ago. High oil prices? This is due to the devaluation of our dollar not because oil is more expensive on the world market. Our current recession is caused by the Fed, who is currently increasing the money supply out of thin air by astronomical amounts to bail out the bankers. Any increase in the money supply automatically means inflation because more dollars are chasing after the same number of goods. There is much more to tell here but I have to move on, OK Jimmy? Ron Paul is again against Jews because he does not support Israel? Let us move back in history here. We have been brewing hatred against ourselves for years in the middle east. We have been pouring money down the drain trying to control that area. Let's see what we have accomplished 1) tried to take over Iran with British Petroleum and the Brits by secretly trying to start a civil war. Ahh we did a good job because we put the Shah in power. Then everything went to hell. We did a great job brewing hatred there. We screwed that up. 2) We continually support Israel to push the Palestinians off their land. We are no better off. Just a lot poorer. 3) Spent multiple billions to take over Iraq to help the people from injustices they received from Saddam-no way!!! We have, directly or indirectly, caused an estimated 100,000 Iraqi deaths. We are spending billions and billions to help the Muslims hate us even more. In summary, we spend billions, bankrupt our nation, and make more people worldwide hate us. Sounds like a great plan! My points is he does not hate the jews, he hates our foreign policy that is creating more hatred and bankrupting our nation at the same time. "Jimmie" has done a terrible job trying to spin this one. Jimmie is a fool hoping he can fool the rest of the people into complacency. I wonder if what Jimmie wrote is true about all the money Ron made off of this newsletter? Must have made almost as much as the Clinton's did on their books. Oh well, I just wrote some stuff under Jimmies name-planning to make some money off what he wrote because it is so well thought out.
How does it feel knowing that you're backing a guy who is an open anti-Semite. I mean, really, how does it feel?
Other than a newsletter written by somebody else and with an editor that is not Ron Paul, where are you getting that he is an "open anti-Semite"? I have to say, if that two-liner is all you have against Joe's comments, that's about the same as saying, "I can't contradict anything you said, Joe, so I'm going to lash back with an attack that I still can't back up with anything sound or concrete".
My 2 cents
Do you understand that there were more than just one or two newsletters that featured little personal closing remarks from Paul himself that were as anti-Semitic as anything else in the newsletters?
If you haven't bothered to find that out yet, you really shouldn't be commenting here. You should be learning about that, then come back and comment here.
Actually, I bother to learn as much as I can about all of the candidates and I have delved into this little newsletter thing and can't find any "little personal closing remarks" from Paul himself that were anti-Semitic, or racist for that matter. Please, let me know where I can find Ron Paul authoring any such remarks.
Jimmy,
I don't really see how my feelings have anything to do with this subject. If you want to counterpoint something that I have written then please do. I did it for you, yet your rebuttal was farcical. Please use some objectivity in what you write so we can have a worthwhile discussion. Everything that I have written was based on fact. Examples from my previous statement: the devaluation of the dollar, our involvement in the Middle East (which ultimately angered enough Muslims to come and blow up our World Trade Center-as written by our own CIA), our taking over of Iraq which has caused over an estimated 100,000 people (a reported fact). These of course are all things Ron Paul has been trying to change so we don't keep going down the same path. If you were able to show me some proof beyond your hearsay and the one newsletter pertaining to the LA riots that CNN brought up with Ron, I would congratulate you on enlightening me. The fact that CNN has not broached the subject any further should be indicative that there is nothing more to broach. Don't talk to me about feelings. I sure hope you don't vote based on feelings, but I got a feeling you do and so do many other people. Unfortunately, we end up with the worst candidates and therefore continue to support and create a larger kakistocracy at local, state, and federal levels. (the last two statements were opinion based on fact)
Guys, I put links in my posts for a reason. All the proof any reasonable person needs is there.
Spin it however you like, Ron Paul backed a bigoted, anti-Semitic newsletter for a good two decades and made plenty of cash off of it.
End of discussion.
I don't disagree with Joe but I would like you to address my question above his. I read your post, links and all. I still can't find Ron Paul authoring any such remarks. Understand that I would never vote or support any candidate that has done what you have accused him of. I do kind of like what Ron stands for overall but if you can show me proof positive that what you are saying is true, I will be off his "band wagon" yesterday. I feel that if you feel as strongly about his racism as your blog states in its title, you would want to show me the light. Again, I really want to know the truth. I don't like crap, I like facts – as hard as they might be to swallow. They are still facts.
Thanks (and thanks for this thread because I got at least ME thinking!)
Jimmie
First, I would like to say it takes a lot of guts to have a site like the one you have. I am a skeptic when it comes to things posted on the internet. I applaud Jimmie at bringing things to light because if he did not do it who would? Yet I do have some concerns. I wrote the following last night hoping it would be posted but there seemed to be some problems. I have shortened my response to only show my concerns:
I do like the first post. There are a lot of quotes, but there is still minimal substance and fact. Why is this first article lacking footnotes or something to say of the origin of these quotes? It could have been very revealing and believable. Yet the person who took all this time (I assume multiple hours if not several days) to investigate and write it could not take the time to put in footnotes? How am I supposed to know if they are real or made up? I am not trying to be difficult. Nobody takes that much time without substantiating their claims. The way things were written they could be considered more like slander. I do like the third article also. It is the one you quoted. I thought I wrote would maybe calm your fears of Paul by explaining as best I could his reasoning, yet your rebuttals were trival. I agree with you that the average person, if they are reasonable would take the links at face value. The problem is that I do consider the average person as reasonable but nowhere near analytical enough to question the authors. That is why I have questioned your quotes and links.
Take Care
The criminals fear Dr Ron for good reason.
And I assume by “the criminals” you mean “the Jews”.
I’m right, aren’t I?