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PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
Fri Dec 16, 2011, 09:53 AM Dec 2011

News Bulletin: Ron Paul Is a Huge Racist

With Ron Paul ascending in Iowa, winning the hearts of independents, and even the endorsement of Andrew Sullivan, it’s worth pointing something out: Ron Paul is not a kindly old libertarian who just wants everybody to be free. He’s a really creepy bigot.

Around four years ago, James Kirchick reported a lengthy story delving into Paul’s worldview. As Kirchick writes, Paul comes out of an intellectual tradition called “paleolibertarianism,” which is a version of libertarianism heavily tinged with far-right cultural views. The gist is that Paul is tied in deep and extensive ways to neo-Confederates, and somewhat less tightly to the right-wing militia movement. His newsletter, which he wrote and edited for years, was a constant organ of vile racism and homophobia. This is not just picking out a phrase here and there. Fear and hatred of blacks and gays, along with a somewhat less pronounced paranoia about Jewish dual loyalty, are fundamental elements of his thinking. The most comparable figure to Paul is Pat Buchanan, the main differences being that Paul emphasizes economic issues more, and has more dogmatically pro-market views.

How, then, has Paul become a figure of admiration among social liberals?

One reason is that nobody is attacking him. Paul is (correctly) considered to have no chance to actually win the GOP nomination, so debate moderators have not bothered to research his past, instead tossing off generalized questions that allow him to portray himself on his preferred terms. The Republican Establishment is focusing all its fire on Newt Gingrich, and indeed, Paul’s rise in Iowa would greatly aid Mitt Romney’s campaign by preventing an acceptable alternative from emerging from the state with momentum.

Read more at: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/news-bulletin-ron-paul-is-a-huge-racist.html

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doc03

(35,148 posts)
1. Honestly I haven't talked to any Republican for long until
Fri Dec 16, 2011, 10:12 AM
Dec 2011

I discover they are racists. Eventually they get around (those) people sitting around collecting welfare and food stamps.

On the Road

(20,783 posts)
2. That is Astounding
Fri Dec 16, 2011, 11:18 AM
Dec 2011

I really hadn't pegged him that way. It would be very interesting for him to win in Iowa -- personally, I think he'll come in a strong 3rd. But if he wins for some reason, it will last about a week before this stuff comes out and destroys his campaign.

mulsh

(2,959 posts)
3. I've been telling every progressive/liberal I know who "likes Ron Paul" to check out his background
Fri Dec 16, 2011, 01:53 PM
Dec 2011

and beliefs. He's a scary guy. Always has been. So's his imbecile child.

AmandaMae

(340 posts)
4. I keep telling people this; they seem to be fooled by the 'grandfatherly' image he projects,
Fri Dec 16, 2011, 03:41 PM
Dec 2011

and never bother to research him and discover the dark side of his politics. When I first was discovering politics, at age 16 or so, I have to admit I was very briefly taken in by him, because he seemed to be the only consistent, anti-war politician. Then I read more about him and discovered his racism and hateful views, and realized that while some of what he says (eg his anti-war position) appeals to liberals on a surface level, beneath that he is coming from a very very different place.

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
6. Yes, Ron Paul is a huge racist. It's not an attack, it's a fact.
Sun Dec 18, 2011, 05:45 AM
Dec 2011

What exactly brings you to Democratic Underground?

sofa king

(10,857 posts)
7. No, he just edited and published those statements under his name.
Sun Dec 18, 2011, 11:42 AM
Dec 2011

So it's rather like claiming George Bush never said what he said in that autobiography nobody read, because he's too stupid to actually complete a sentence, and had a ghostwriter do that for him.

mojowork_n

(2,354 posts)
8. Hey, News Flash, he's an old white man from Texas.
Tue Dec 20, 2011, 12:49 AM
Dec 2011

Somebody dug up some slimy "investment" newsletters/mailers/whatever from
over twenty years ago....

Did I mention R. Paul's an elderly, caucasian gentleman from the Deep South?

That's not what makes him interesting.

What makes R.P. interesting is that he is THE anti-war candidate. That's what
Cenk Uygar said on the Young Turks, anyway, last week. He said it in the
context of the question, "which of the Republican candidates .... if you had to
vote for one of them... a gun at your head...." something like that. Cenk said,
"Ron Paul," and didn't blink or blush. The rest of the Klown car cavalcade of R.
pretenders are total frauds. R.P., at least on that one subject, is consistent,
accurate and pretty honest.

The banks, the 1 percent? The bloated military is the other half of that. (Tanks,
airplanes, submarines? Those are the only things we're still the undisputed best
at manufacturing, compared to the rest of the planet. Which we out-spend in
total military budget, every year.)

...But for the writer of this NY Mag piece to claim, "nobody is attacking him,"
is bogus and disingenuous.

R. Paul's been thoroughly, professionally slimed ever since he became -- however flawed
he might be, in so many other ways -- the "Peace" candidate.

The really arrogant, really greasy and hideous big money guys sponsoring the R's
are just terrified that R. Paul is going to become this election cycle's
uncontrollable loose cannon. What that other, skinny, old, wrinkled guy from
Texas was, back in '92 and '96, when Bill Clinton won both elections.

This what the NYMAG piece is all about:

"You don't need to see his identification." (Doesn't ID as anti-war candidate.)

"These aren't the droids you're looking for." (No, R. Paul's *not* a 'social liberal.')











Behind the Aegis

(53,831 posts)
9. Sadly, his racism and bigotry is overlooked by single-issue people.
Tue Dec 20, 2011, 01:22 AM
Dec 2011

He is a nasty piece of work and has perfected his act. He may eventually be very problematic.

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