Reason: Ron Paul defended his newsletters for years
posted at 12:38 pm on January 11, 2008 by Allahpundit
To paraphrase LBJ on Cronkite, if he’s lost Reason he’s lost middle America, or at least the sliver of it that’s willing to look the other way at certain eccentricities provided they come packaged with a tough line on fiat money. I’m guessing it was this Virginia Postrel post wondering why they couldn’t smell a turd rotting under their own noses for the past decade that nudged them towards taking a deeper whiff. In any case, excellent work by Matt Welch. Note well this passage, also cited by Captain Ed, from a 1996 article in the Dallas Morning News:
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. [...]
Proof that he wrote them? No, just strong evidence, and even stronger evidence that they bothered him so little at the time that he was willing to take credit for their authorship even if he wasn’t the author.
Follow the comments at the link for the predictable “why does this matter?” pushback from the Paulnuts. Ace thinks this is the most laughable defense of him yet to emerge but I prefer this one from our comments section yesterday. Although when you have spin this embarrassing coming from “respected” pundits, there’s really no need to go cherrypicking from the dregs of the rEVOLution for material. Sullivan’s defense amounts to praising Paul for being so principled a libertarian that he won’t even condemn Truthers (or Nazis) for their views — although he will, of course, happily condemn neocons. “Thank God for Ron Paul,” “I want this man for president” — he might as well own up and confess to having written the newsletters. They wouldn’t love him any less if he did.
Blowback
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Ron Paul is the only man who can save America. Why would you want this brilliant OBGYN to not be able to practice his love with women all across this country?
MadisonConservative on January 11, 2008 at 12:44 PM
I have a good friend who calls Paul the “real conservative” in the field. If nothing else, this election is serving to redefine/clarify conservatism. Will the real conservative please stand up? **crickets**
MT on January 11, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Stormfront is always good for a laugh, but he’s getting rather creepy in his duplicity now.
BKennedy on January 11, 2008 at 12:49 PM
These idiots are really beginning to get annoying. How much longer is Paul going to be afforded a place in the debates?
highhopes on January 11, 2008 at 12:49 PM
I wonder how the Paulyps will respond to this one? He already has one Congressional Republican Primary opponent, and many of the folks in his district are beginning to wake up to what he’s really like. He might not get re-elected to Congress, let alone President….
golfer1 on January 11, 2008 at 12:50 PM
I gave up on Reason magazine because of their fervent support for the little crank-in-chief. Michael Moynihan is one of the more decent writers for Reason magazine, but everyone else wants their weed.
mram on January 11, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Ronulans! Set disruptors to maximum, and defend your man… if he’s still defensible…
Frozen Tex on January 11, 2008 at 12:51 PM
it’s about time that the dung heap in our society is exposed. i could go negative, but i’ll take the high road.
in order, however, to prove to americans that i am indeed subject to a higher moral law, i will only state what my case could have been, this once; and it will forever after be hidden from public view – in this venue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDSofxxabMA
who knew that the loofah fetishist and tar-baby icon were birds of a feather?
nothing more to see here. amen.
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Derbyshire:
Somehow, I expected no less.
Slublog on January 11, 2008 at 12:53 PM
I just look at his spending habits to see what he really believes.
belad on January 11, 2008 at 12:53 PM
http://www.filebunker.net/a/albums/userpics/CAPTAINCRAZY.JPG
Vincenzo on January 11, 2008 at 12:56 PM
There’s only one way for Ron Paul’s base to jump ship.
A Nader/Larouche ticket.
Wind Rider on January 11, 2008 at 1:01 PM
Talk about a Ship of Fools.
Ciannaky on January 11, 2008 at 1:05 PM
Bah! a Nader/Paul ticket would be much more entertaining.
jasnell on January 11, 2008 at 1:08 PM
And then you proceed to take the low road. By the way, saying you want a quota on illegal immigrants who refuse to assimilate into a Western lifestyle (i.e., rule of law, English, capitalist) is a lot different than being an anti-Semite.
emailnuevo on January 11, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Wow. Ron Paul is starting to look more and more like Ian McKellan in Apt Pupil. Nothing surprises me anymore.
blankminde on January 11, 2008 at 1:18 PM
he needs to throughly discredited asap, because with the money he has and movement, he could startup a different type of Moveon.org to appeal to limited govt. proponents who suffer from BDS
We also need to get NEWT out there, I think he’s the one that can articulate to people what Conservatism is to offset Paul’s slander. Newt can talk history on the subject also, whicn none of the current candidates are matching Paul’s revisionist history on.
Newt for VP
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:18 PM
Ron Paul is to conservatism what Jim Bakker was to Catholicism.
JohnTant on January 11, 2008 at 1:19 PM
HOT AIR: We’re obsessed with Ron Paul.
Drum on January 11, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Hey Ron! There’s the pasture! Now GIT!
ronsfi on January 11, 2008 at 1:24 PM
John Derbyshire, whom I once sem-admired, is the reason I canceled my subscription to the National Review.
12thman on January 11, 2008 at 1:25 PM
What is the sadistic obsession with beating down Ron Paul? He is highly irrelevant. John Anderson has a better chance of getting elected than this kook. Is John Anderson even still alive? No matter, you could exhume him, chuck him behind a podium and he’d still beat Dr. Whinybaby.
Metro on January 11, 2008 at 1:26 PM
On the other hand, if HA was silent on the man then Ronulans would be complaing that they are ignoring The Bircher King.
I think Captain Ed has it right. On this issue, it isn’t obsession:
JohnTant on January 11, 2008 at 1:27 PM
CATO: Ron Paul’s Ugly Newsletters
But then, I really don’t think Ron Paul’s campaign is about Libertarian ideals as much as it is about conspiricy theories and legalizing drugs.
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:28 PM
More in the CATO article:
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:30 PM
the irritating part in all this, is how this crowd is so quick to condem those of us that compare the Jihadist to their ideological cousins, the Nazi’s. While they turn around in Pat Buchanan’s magazine and elsewhere and label Rudy a nazi on the cover. Say the Republican “neo-cons” are ‘fascist’, etc. the first thought in Paul’s mind about Huck’s Christmas he connected to fascism. alot of it comes from aaron Russo’s documentary, “freedom from fascism”.
in Buchanan’s case, he got all self righteous last year when Bush finally starting calling them “Islamic fascist”, right along with the libs. Now you have him labeling Rudy a fascist/nazi and giving prominent space for Glen Greenwald to write a column about it.
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:31 PM
Michael Ledeen said an interesting thing recently that is the exact opposite of what John Derbyshire said of Ron Paul’s philosophy, and which explains Paul’s liberty philosophy versus Ledeen’s and the War Party’s totalitarian philosophy:
“If we want to impose our ethical standards on the region, we have to win the regional war.”
Read that again: “Impose our ethical standards.”
I don’t recall Jesus or Socrates or Washington or Franklin imposing their ethical standards on anyone (Washington, consistent as ever, finally gave up his last bit of moral imposition — his slaves). They kind of figured that improving one unit, yourself, was all that God required of a man. This is something that the cheerleaders for the so-called Long War ought to ponder.
It is clear that Michael Ledeen has no ethics, or at most those of a very low sort.
Drum on January 11, 2008 at 1:33 PM
I have a simple solution for the Paul backers. Immigrate to Holland its your type of utopia.
Think about it. You hate america for its foreign policy. You want legal weed. You wont have to put up with the Patriot act or Homeland Security. Holland has a miltoast military and spends very little on the military.
You get your utopia. If you really care about those issues they why stay and American ? If there was another country that was stronger militarily and pro Christian and more conservative but still democratic Id move there. But there isnt for me. But for you guys its an easy trip and instead of blowing your money on Paul why not save it and move to where you get everything you want ?
William Amos on January 11, 2008 at 1:38 PM
maybe instead of another money bomb for paul and money spent on a blimp, the paultards should organize and buy themselves a nice island somewhere and create their own society isolated off from the world. They can name it: Ronulan Island
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:42 PM
I have to assume that Andrew Sullivan is closeted racist, anti-semite, and homophobe. Why else would he shill so hard for Ron Paul! Gobsmackingly vile!
Shtetl G on January 11, 2008 at 1:45 PM
It’s a consideration, though at the rate you global hegemonists are moving, I figure it’s only a matter of time before the US conquers Holland as part of its Long War Against Terrorism. Real estate will probably be a bit cheaper after we bomb the sh*t out of it. I’ll wait.
Drum on January 11, 2008 at 1:46 PM
which is what he likes to label alot of us. the irony in all this is rich, the few prominent Paul supporters have egg all over their faces.
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:46 PM
David Boaz is my new hero! He put down every argument that was in my head only he did it better.
But it won’t convince the true believers. Whenever I speak to my Ronulan friend about this he gets really quiet like he’s not listening, then I tell him it’s highly likely Ron Paul is going third party and he says he’ll vote for him.
It’s not a matter of rationality anymore, it’s a matter of idealism. Who cares about the messenger? It’s all about the message.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 1:48 PM
jp,
I also like how Derb is now quoting Sully about paul. 3 peas in pod. Paul really is a uniter.
Shtetl G on January 11, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Sullivan is basically hiding uder his desk and has been for days. I wonder who’s writing HIS column?
Gartrip on January 11, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Dr. Paul voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, one of only a few Republicans to do so. It is all about homosexuality for Sullivan.
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Do Paul supporters listen to Boaz?
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:51 PM
I would bet the Liberaltarians defending the Doc are the ones that came to libertarianism via the left, not the right.
benrand on January 11, 2008 at 1:52 PM
If the Libertarian Party or Constitution Party allow Paul to run on their ticket, it says alot about them at this point. of course with the money they could make from the run, they may not care.
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Oh no, it’s worse than that for you traditional American moralists: he’s gay (which kind of makes your calling him a “homophobe” a little silly).
This means that he intends to overthrow the old Christian American moral order and impose sodomy on our children. Where’s Rick Santorum! Where’s Jerry Falwell!
Drum on January 11, 2008 at 1:52 PM
I’m hearing that Ron Paul supporters are leaving his camp and going to Obama (some are taking their meetup groups with them)
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:53 PM
I took the time to read through some threads at Stormfront and VNN where Bill White had his infamous post. Couldn’t stomach much of it, but one Paul supporter got angry with another who was on the fence with paul. He replied, “he’s an F’n Lib…” and asserted he was a Trojan horse candidate basically. Which as Jonah Goldberg is pointing out, Nazism is a Liberal political movement.
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:55 PM
He is still defending Paul.
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 1:55 PM
Are one of those Aspberger’s people, Drum? I’m not making fun of you; just curious.
Jim Treacher on January 11, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Or is it Asperger’s? Whichever one gives people difficulty with things like humor and irony.
Jim Treacher on January 11, 2008 at 1:57 PM
This is actually what they did in Paegan greece and Rome. To prove your masculinity you had to bang as many little boys as you could. Of course to them it wasn’t pedophilia, it was natural. That is how perverted those cultures were, and for all of our faults we are still much more superior than they. the foundational differences between America and Rome/Greece is why comparison’s to the “fall of rome” are dangerous
jp on January 11, 2008 at 1:57 PM
What are the Republican alternatives?
A guy who thinks Jesus is up there pulling for him.
A guy who’d give the US over to Mexican illegals.
A guy who thinks murdering unborn children is a constitutional right.
A guy whose religion each week promises him his own planet without black people.
A guy who really doesn’t want to be president all that much if it means campaigning.
Or a guy who talks and thinks like Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, and Paine.
Drum on January 11, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Some may, most probably not. In the article he said that one of the reasons they weren’t happy with Ron Paul at Cato was the company he keeps.
Ron Paul is very close with the Ludwig Von Mises Institute in Alabama, which is owned by Lew Rockwell. In fact he lectures there. There’s a rift in the libertarian movement. Cato and the Mises Institute are on two sides of the divide.
If Cato just wants to legalize weed (which I think is a simplistic and derogatory way of looking at them, but oh well), then the Mises Institute wants to bring us back to the Articles of Confederation, if not outright anarchy. And they have racist tendencies.
Those people will not listen to Cato. The young people who just jumped on the bandwagon, won’t know who they are. The rest… maybe. Depends on how married they are to Ron Paul.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:00 PM
‘
To be frank the newsletter sound a lot like Lew
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 2:01 PM
he doesn’t think like them at all
on example, check out this debate at the Federalist society on “Electronic Surveillance”
http://www.fed-soc.org/debates/
the words and actions of the founders contradict Ron Paul
jp on January 11, 2008 at 2:02 PM
So they jump ship to the guy who threatens Pakistan with invasion.
Wha?
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:02 PM
re: “saying you want a quota on illegal immigrants… is a lot different than being an anti-Semite”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDSofxxabMA
well, i reckon we jus ain’t hearin’ in stereo today. here’s a little excerpt for y’all with mule-like tendencies:
——-
[it would] “change… the whole complexion of america. am i wrong?”
“no, you’re right…”
“do you understand… they want to break down the white christian male power structure…”
[nodding]
“…of which you’re a part, and so am i…”
[nodding]
——-
gives me the heebee-geebees jus thinkin’ ’bout them boys… purt near i can figur, all that noddin’ musta been some secret-like sign.
maybe i should pull in a news conference, ’cause i really don’t want to continue with these attacks. i’ll just give the room another tiny tidbit – but, i promise you, i’ll never go negative again…
begrudgingly, here’s another pearl i’ll cast, but don’t ask me for a link, please don’t ask me; ’cause the amurican people don’t tolerate negativity:
let’s see, seems like three (3) of mr. mccain‘s great-great-grandpappys were slave-like owners. yup, one of them rascals had, er, owned, round ’bouts 52 of them, you know, dark-skinned fellas…
but don’t ask me ta prove it to ya… ’cause i ain’t toleratin’ no more negativity… and dun even git me started on mr. o… nope, ain’t gonna do it… amen
now, i will give ya somethin’ y’all can agree on. at least these green-horn intellectuals didn’t go a callin’ no criminal-like fellas: animals, like that there ghostwriter for ol’ doc done did… say amen to that.
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Ron Paul supporters are closer to Obama’s views than anyone in the Republican party, that’s for sure. I’ve been saying that for months now.
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Yeah, Ron Paul wishes he could own slaves too.
Jim Treacher on January 11, 2008 at 2:03 PM
If it’s not Lew it’s someone like him. Probably from the Mises Institute or that ilk.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Drum,
OMG, Sully’s gay!!!!!! I should have put a snark tag on.
Shtetl G on January 11, 2008 at 2:11 PM
re: “You hate america for its foreign policy”
——-
http://zeromotivation.com/why_they_attacked_us.html
tell the truth now… y’all are really part o’ that truther supremecist crowd, ain’t ya? is the missus malkin yer gran-poobah?
i mean you must be believin’ that the u-s-of-a government’s own 9/11 commission report was some evil plot, right? isn’t that what you’re sayin’ here?
just askin’…
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:16 PM
Drum,
Oh my god Washington,Madison, and Jefferson believed the ADL set up the Branch Davidians to kill ATF agents who used to work in the Secret Service protecting the Clintons. I got to read the constitution more.
Shtetl G on January 11, 2008 at 2:16 PM
Are you trying to set a record for attack articles on Ron Paul?
…and to think Bush derangement syndrome is talked about here and criticized.
ScottyDog on January 11, 2008 at 2:20 PM
So you support what is in the newsletters and Paul’s solititation letter that he signed? Think that makes for a good president of the United States?
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 2:21 PM
i love records… how many of them attack-like thingys do i have to go?
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:22 PM
It’s Asperger’s Syndrome. Could this condition be triggered from ingesting Ron Paul’s bathwater, also known as Kool-Aid®?
The Race Card on January 11, 2008 at 2:24 PM
i don’t really know much about what was said on tv and such. you see, i don’t get much good antenna reception down here in the basement… and my tin-foil hat seems to interfere a lot…
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:25 PM
No, it’s the JOOOS and their fiat money that are keeping you from the TV.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:27 PM
Paul’s explanation for troubling letters sets bad example
Houston Chronicle
But worse than just blowing millions on a campaign that’s not really going anywhere, Paul is setting a troubling example for the hundreds of young supporters making their first foray into presidential politics with his campaign.
…
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/mason/5445666.html
bnelson44 on January 11, 2008 at 2:30 PM
re: “…the JOOOS and their fiat money…”
——-
now that’s whatcha call chawin’ on the anti-semitic-like bandwagon
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Actually the Jews are a lie. They’re really Jesuits in disguise.
You see the Black Pope rules the world. But that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:37 PM
re: “…Jews are… Jesuits in disguise… the Black Pope rules…”
——-
well, doggy!
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:40 PM
But the Black Pope isn’t what he wants you to think he is, if you even know he exists. The Black Pope is really a reptilian from another dimension.
Keljeck on January 11, 2008 at 2:42 PM
it’s almost time for my weekly bath… so if y’all will pardon me…
number9 on January 11, 2008 at 2:42 PM
The Pauliacs sure do love them some jargon don’t they? They seem to think if you can throw around enough words like ‘totalitarian’ and ‘war monger’ as related to the GOP and combine it with high level concepts like (fiat money vs the gold standard) that they can convince people they know stuff.
The thing is, they really don’t. They know how to scrape the surface of a concept, and they know how to drop names of some of histories clearer thinkers, and they know how to make things look scary, but apart from that I have yet to hear one of them make a coherent argument on any of the issues they seem to care about.
OMG, the war powers act has ruined this country! PAUL ’08
-OR-
Screw faith in the productive capabilities of your fellow countrymen, long live the shiny rock! PAUL ’08
Defense Guy on January 11, 2008 at 2:48 PM
I am a Mexican-American, I worked for Ron Paul in the 1990’s, and I Know that Ron Paul is No Racist!
BlackCapitalist on January 11, 2008 at 5:22 PM
I am a black gay Jew with AIDS, and I know that Ron Paul is not a racist anti-Semite homophobe conspiracy theorist!
Jim Treacher on January 11, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Oh well if McCain and Huckabee can convince people that they are actually conservative then why can’t Ron Paul act like he isn’t racist after publishing years worth of racist crackpot crap?
I think the reason that we have to repudiate Ron Paul is that we don’t want anyone to lump our convictions in with his. Doesn’t particularly bother me as a conservative but if I was a libertarian that didn’t have a hydroponic pot farm in the basement I would be real pissed off.
For those of you who have wondered where the neo Nazi skinhead folks went to, wonder no more.
For those who have wondered where all those unwashed rioters came from every time there is a WTO (etc.) meeting, wonder no more.
If you’ve wondered where Timothy McVeigh came from, wonder no more.
Buzzy on January 12, 2008 at 2:47 AM
McVeigh fits more into the “kill them before they kill us” attitude of the “New” Republican party platform than Ron Paul’s “Old” Republican Party platform.
The Republican Party changed…Ron Paul didn’t.
Fed Up on January 12, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Ron Paul is spinning history and lying about it, he represents no version of the republican party and we don’t have a “kill them first” mentality the way you represent it.
jp on January 12, 2008 at 2:52 PM
Well you know, it’s not the accuracy of the reporting, it’s the seriousness of the charge.
_
It doesn’t matter in the least if any of this is true or not, and you probably have not seen anything close to how low it’s going to get.
_
RP can’t do anything in the Repub party, but he has a big following in the independents and the military, and a lot of the military can’t vote in the primaries.
_
The point of this is really to destroy RP personally so he can’t take the conservatives and independents with him in a 3rd party bid.
_
It doesn’t matter if the smears are true or not. What matters to the people behind it is that there is not enough of RP to run third party when they are done with him.
_
Fred08
AntiAntiAmericans on January 12, 2008 at 3:58 PM
Examples of this aledged spin? None.
“kill them before they kill us” was the exact quote that former Presidential candidate, neocon, Gary Bauer, emailed to me. When I pressed him to supply a bible verse to support his comment, he said, “this conversation is over.” And he runs a Christian website: http://www.ouramericanvalues.org -
Not very Christlike now is it?
Also, Bauer was part of the neocon group, AEI, that sent the letter to Bush that influenced him to attack Iraq in 2001.
Nice try jp…
Fed Up on January 13, 2008 at 3:36 PM