[Peace-discuss] Ron Paul Assignment

Sat Nov 3 07:44:50 CDT 2007

"...Ron Paul's opinion on most African Americans being criminals" is an 
expansive version of the smear being used against Paul by neocons and 
liberals alike.  It's based on remarks in a Paul campaign newsletter 
from 15 years ago and seems devoid of any sense of responsibility to 
determine his views on racial matters from what he's said or written.

Here's an account of the incident from Wikipedia:

	During the 1996 campaign, [Paul's Democratic congressional opponent, 
who attacked Paul for his opposition to federal drug laws] also attacked 
issues of the Ron Paul Survival Report (published by Paul since 1985) 
that included derogatory comments concerning race and other politicians. 
  The newsletter had accused President Bill Clinton of fathering 
illegitimate children and using cocaine; called U.S. Representative 
Barbara Jordan a "fraud" and a "half-educated victimologist"; and argued 
for lowering the legal age for prosecuting youths as adults, using 
race-based examples.
	In 2001, Paul took "moral responsibility" for the comments printed in 
his newsletter under his name, explaining they were written by a 
ghostwriter and did not represent his views. He said the remarks 
referring to Rep. Jordan were "the saddest thing, because Barbara and I 
served together and actually she was a delightful lady." Texas Monthly 
magazine defended Paul's decision to protect the writer's confidence in 
1996, concluding, "In four terms as a U.S. congressman and one 
presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this." 
In 2007, with the controversy resurfacing, the New York Times Magazine 
concurred that Paul denied the allegations "quite believably, since the 
style diverges widely from his own"; Paul actually criticizes racism as 
"an ugly form of collectivism".

Paul's real sin may be that his opposition to racism is based on 
libertarian -- rather than liberal -- principles.  He wrote the 
following in April of this year:

	"Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views 
humans strictly as members of groups rather than individuals. Racists 
believe that all individuals who share superficial physical 
characteristics are alike: as collectivists, racists think only in terms 
of groups. By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the 
advocates of so-called 'diversity' actually perpetuate racism. Their 
obsession with racial group identity is inherently racist."

For all Kucinich's opposition to the war, he saw fit to endorse Kerry in 
November 2004.  In contrast, Paul was asked at last month candidates' 
debate if he would back the Republican nominee in 2008 and replied, "Not 
unless they're willing to end the war and bring our troops home..."

There does however seem to be one contradiction in Paul's 
anti-interventionist position: although he did vote against the Iraq War 
Resolution, he voted in favor of force in Afghanistan.  But in the 
September 5, 2007, Republican debate, he said, "We've lost over 5,000 
American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. How much do we have to pay to 
save face? It's time we came home."  --CGE

Ricky Baldwin wrote:
> Let me just say that Ron Paul's opinion on most African Americans being criminals is just too much
> to overlook, besides the assbackwards logic involved in this kind of view of how 'criminal
> justice' in this country works.  (Police ineptness somehow means that blacks should be even more
> disproportionately represented in the can?)  I really don't think more positive poll results for
> this bizarre sort of Hestonism, we might say, just because this guy's an anti-war Republican, is
> worth the gamble of possibly, mildly disrupting the GOP (the numbers and the discipline aren't
> there to strategize too smartly anyway).
> 
> Best to just vote for the best candidate, in my opinion.
> 
> But aren't the assumptions behind this sort of pitch (below) truly amazing anyway.  Even if I
> don't know Ron Paul's a (not so crypto-)racist, what if I'm not religious (I'm not), and I'm
> pro-choice (I am) ... and even if I object to the way the media narrows the field, so to speak, of
> course I support Ron Paul's right to media access (or rather in the case of his candidacy, the
> people's right to access thru the media to his views), that still doesn't tell me why I'd support
> RP as a candidate.  There are others who are denied access in one way or another, including
> candidates with a public platform worth supporting -- e.g. Kucinich.  Just an observation.
> 
> Ricky
> 
> --- Freedom <3223x9053r at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Ron Paul Assignment
>>  
>> PART ONE -- Look What we are up against
>> ===============================
>> Ron Paul for President Censored by Media
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjSV7TauO1w
>> Behind the scenes MEDIA CENSORING RON PAUL (FOX???)
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZNlXSn_vC8
>>
>>  
>> PART TWO -- This is what we have to do
>> =============================
>> Ron Paul For Life
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKA-U_QCkc
>>  
>> National Right to Life Convention
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXZpuIXEzWk
>>  
>> Send these 2 videos to every member of the Evangelical Community NOW!
>> Send these 2 videos to every member of the Religious Community NOW!
>> Send these 2 videos to every member of your Own House of Worship NOW!
>>  
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> ¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)¸.·*¨)
>> (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·´ 
>>
>>
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> 
> 
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