What's under the rock ...
Reason magazine's Julian Sanchez and David Weigel did the digging into those old Ron Paul newsletters for all of us who wish it didn't have to be done. Their conclusion is that the hate-filled newsletters were produced as part of a conscious strategy by the circle around economist Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell (now head of the Ludwig von Mises Institute) to appeal to social conservatives (really, social neanderthals) as a deliberate "paleo" break with the liberal social views of the mainstream libertarian movement. Members of Ron Paul's family were employees of the company that produced the newsletters, and Paul remains closely associated with Lew Rockwell, who played a key role in the project.
The newsletters, then, were apparently part of a cynical strategy to exploit racism for the purpose of building political support and raising money (a possibility raised earlier by Timothy Virkkala). That Paul has never personally used bigotry as part of his own political language tells me that he may not personally share those views -- but that he was (and is) comfortable enough with them to use bigotry as a political tool and to continue to associate with those who spearheaded the strategy.
To say that I'm appalled is an under-statement. I'm also embarrassed that my first reaction was something of a defense of Ron Paul, however half-hearted.
It's not enough to not be a bigot; exploiting bigotry for political gain is also despicable.
The newsletters, then, were apparently part of a cynical strategy to exploit racism for the purpose of building political support and raising money (a possibility raised earlier by Timothy Virkkala). That Paul has never personally used bigotry as part of his own political language tells me that he may not personally share those views -- but that he was (and is) comfortable enough with them to use bigotry as a political tool and to continue to associate with those who spearheaded the strategy.
To say that I'm appalled is an under-statement. I'm also embarrassed that my first reaction was something of a defense of Ron Paul, however half-hearted.
It's not enough to not be a bigot; exploiting bigotry for political gain is also despicable.
Labels: popularity contest
posted by J.D. Tuccille at
8:25 AM
2 Comments:
As I say in part 1 of 2 or more blog entries on this, I was one of the ones screaming about Paul and Companies use of bigotry against gays and blacks (and failure to be as frank about views on Israel in public as in the newsletters) back in '87-89 period. It is necessary for them to confess and apologize and convince us they don't promote bigoted views anymore. I think their actions of last 10 years prove they've largely reformed, but it will take honest words about the past to convince me it is true. It's a bad precedent to kick out people who've apologized - and perhaps even those who refuse - as long as their conduct today is sterling. Of course, each individual and organization will have to decide whether to associate with, support, etc the relevant parties for themselves.
Carol,
I agree that there's room for forgiving and forgetting once people have taken responsibility for their actions -- let's call it the Robert Byrd scenario. I'd like to see Paul credibly address the information that's come to light rather than claim that he had no knowledge of what was in the newsletters and that it's ancient history.
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