Disinformation
About two weeks ago Justin Raimondo mentioned on a blog that Ron Paul’s enemies had begun to smear him as an anti-Semite and racist. From the references I assumed that the sources of the attack were the neoconservatives, an assumption that made perfectly good sense given the diametrically opposed views of the two camps. While the neocons favor an extended welfare state and perpetual war for the sake of a “democratic peace,” Ron is a traditional, limited government Taft Republican. I could not imagine two sides that would be more antithetical in their thinking and political views.
But in the last few days I have been noticing nasty attacks against Ron Paul from what I had considered an adjunct of the Republican Right, GOPUSA Eagle. As far as I can tell, the kind of innuendo being used here has not been directed against other Republican candidates. On Monday there was an entirely unsubstantiated charge on GOPUS Eagle, for which I could find no accompanying explanation, which suggests that Ron Paul had falsified his position on immigration. And on July 25 the same website featured an exposé by Rachel Alexander which supposedly shows that Ron is no longer a libertarian. Neither charge seems well-argued; nor given the fact that Ron has received a100% approval rating from the immigration-restrictionist group FAIR, for his voting record in Congress, can I figure out how exactly has he misrepresented himself.
The one time that Ron broke openly with the Right on family morality legislation is when he voted against a proposed amendment banning same sex marriage. And Ron explained himself exhaustively on this point by saying that it was not the federal government’s business to get into family issues that fell under the purview of the states. My own justification for his stand is that the proposal in question is a cheap trick by which Republicans can ingratiate themselves with gullible members of the Religious Right, by voting for an ill considered amendment that has no chance of passing. What such amendments aim at doing, besides stripping state governments of legitimate constitutional power, is generate the kind of controversy that benefits Republican hacks. Such types moralize, while leaving it to others, like Ron, to talk seriously about reining in public administration.
It would seem from the latest hits on Ron Paul that Republican regulars are eager to see him go, lest he hurt the Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani. In a tight race between Hillary and Rudy (would that both could go down to defeat!), Ron might damage the Republican candidate, while running on a third party-ticket, by taking away enough Republican votes to hand the race to the Democrats. That could easily happen given the current poll figures for Hillary and Giuliani-- and given the significant effect that a loss of a few percentage points might have on Giuliani’s showing. For those who enjoy Republican patronage as well as for neocon operators who have already picked their candidate, there would be value in pushing Ron Paul out of the race sooner rather than later. If he stays in and proceeds to take as much as 8 to 10 percent of the Republican primary vote, he might continue his bid for the presidency. Which major party’s candidate would likely suffer more as result of his decision should be obvious.
Comments
The attacks on Ron Paul within and without the Republican party and the downplaying of Ron Paul by the media, seems to me to be a deliberate attempt (dare I say conspiracy?) by interests vested in the insane domestic and foreign policies of the U.S. Government. Sanity can be restored if Ron Paul is elected. Any other of the candidates in both parties, who might be elected in 2008 just continues the roller-coaster ride into national oblivion. And if so, I want to get off.
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there is ALL different kinds of people out there who don’t like this candidacy. One guy I know is a publicist for a recently voted out eccentric democrat. He and I had bonded over pat buchanan’s columns. Now he’s all but joined forces with the neo cons and others printing the smears about ron Paul mixed in with ridiculous interprettations of his positions. I can honestly say i don’t know why he is doing it or where he is coming from with it, but it’s a bad sign.
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Please forgive my sentence fragment. First sentence should read: “The attacks on Ron Paul within and without the Republican party and the downplaying of Ron Paul by the media, seems to me to be a deliberate attempt (dare I say conspiracy?) by interests vested in the insane domestic and foreign policies of the U.S. Government to belittle him as a credible candidate.
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A nation of people who would accept the likes of
Guliani, or for that matter any candidate other than
Ron Paul deserves the likes of Hillary Clinton as
president, if only to wake them up to our awful
situation in America
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The only people allowed to decide whether someone is antisemitic or not are Jews themselves. If you disagree with them, you’re antisemitic too.
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Twiddle-dee or twiddle-dum?
Rudy or Hillary?
Blackmail or extortion?
Two very undesirable candidates from the
same power center running both ends against
the middle(class.)
I know Ron Paul and admire him greatly, but running
for President is the first questionable decision
I have ever seen him make. He is willingly exposing
himself and his family to the most foul and
degenerate circus of people that live anywhere on
or off this planet.
God protect him and his family.
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What an amazing display of ignorant politics. I would absolutely destroy Paul Gottfried, Justin Raimondo, or ANY Paul supporter who tries to deny, not only his association with some of the most vile and racist hate groups in the planet, but also his PARTICIPATION with these groups and people. You can stick your head in the sand and claim “he didn’t say that”, but there is no denying his participation with groups like the Neo-Confederate Movement and many others, and that he takes many of the same positions they do. Before you paint me as a republican, guess again. I’m a liberal antiwar independent, and I believe that Ron Paul is the LAST thing this nation needs as president. This man would make George Bush look like Humanitarian of the Century. Paul is a snake oil salesman, and like any good snake oil salesman, he surrounds the poison with a few charming ideas. But he nor his mindlessly myopic politics stand up to scrutiny or debate. There is no “Ron Paul Revolution” other than a small cadre of internet spammers. I’d love to debate this author or anyone who disagrees, but given the small space allowed here, suffice it to say Paul is getting more attention than he deserves.
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“some of the most vile and racist hate groups
in the planet...”
What?!?!
Has Ron Paul been caught associating with
the S.P.L.C. and A.D.L.?
Say it ain’t so, Ron....
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And very few saw the Soviet empire crumbling from internal rot. But it fell down very quickly. As did Enron, and now mortgages and hedge-funds that invested in them.
Germany fought WW1, went bankrupt, but sustained a while on inflation, until the Weimar republic collapsed with many tales about wheelbarrels which were worth more than the fiat currency they carried.
Our unfunded liabilities are 51 trillion dollars. That is simple math which Congress cannot repeal nor can any president dismiss with a signing statement. I would ask Richard if he has found anyone else who is honest about it.
The old guard must fall. Whether it will be smoothly with a Ron Paul presidency, or something which will be nightmarish, it will be for us to choose.
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