Does anyone know if America’s Greatest Patriot has formally distanced himself yet from any of the myriad kooks and cretins that have attached themselves to his hull? In this week alone we’ve been treated to a report that he’s the candidate of choice for Michigan militia types, an ad cooked up by supporters to reassure voters that the foul hand of Israel holds no sway over him, and now this grassroots promo for a Paul event on November 5 — Guy Fawkes Day, in memory of the man who tried to blow up Parliament — with imagery borrowed from “V for Vendetta,” a violent quasi-anarchist revenge fantasy which creeped Ace out sufficiently to write two separate critiques of how dangerously incendiary it was.

The media’s starting to chatter about the peculiarities of some of the Bircheresque Crank’s more crankish, bircheresque supporters, but they’re always quick to qualify it by noting that Paul hasn’t sought their endorsement — which isn’t true, incidentally, in the case of Truthers, whom he’s deliberately wooed by appearing on Alex Jones’s radio show. But let’s grant that it’s true in the case of the three examples given above. Question: Why isn’t Paul being pressed by the media to denounce garbage like this the way Rudy Giuliani, say, surely would if he was the one acting as a troll magnet? If, for whatever reason, Giuliani had a strong following among Holocaust deniers, you’d better believe the press would be curious to know (a) why that is and (b) what Rudy planned to do to communicate to them that they should kindly bugger off. Have either of those screws been put to the Paulnut yet vis-a-vis Truthers, I wonder? The harshest thing I’ve heard him say about them is that he doesn’t believe in the conspiracy, but as far as taking their money and their requests for signed, lipstick-kiss photos, he seems more than happy to help them out.

A random Giuliani fundraiser solicits $9.11 donations, which are then duly denounced and refunded by the campaign, and it’s national news. How about the Guy Fawkes Day fundraiser, Ron? We cool with that too? Just one anti-authoritarian patriot using a day dedicated to another to make a little bank?