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Ron Paul is Not A Bigot: Refuting the New Republic Charges

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I am a supporter of Ron Paul. I have followed his career since the 1980s, and I have often referred to him as "the greatest Congressman since the days of the Founding Fathers." Though I live outside Texas, I have always considered him my true representative in Congress because of his brave, lonely, and remarkably consistent stands for peace, civil liberties and limited government.

 

(I should point out that I do paid and volunteer work for the Advocates for Self-Government, a non-partisan libertarian educational organization that Ron Paul has praised; similarly, the Advocates, like most libertarian organizations, has praised, in a non-partisan way, Paul’s work. My thoughts in this article are my own; I do not speak for the Advocates. Nor am I associated in any way with Paul’s campaign.)

 

In a campaign of sleazy, flip-flopping presidential candidates loaded down with ugly personal and political baggage, Paul has been a shining exception. A ten-term congressman of incredibly consistent views, praised by ideological friends and foes alike for his character, integrity and friendliness. A devout Christian reluctant to inject public declarations of his faith into politics; a devoted family man, married to his high school sweetheart for over fifty years. A doctor who has delivered literally thousands of babies and provided pro bono medical care for the poor; a student who paid for his first year at college by delivering newspapers, selling lemonade, and mowing lawns. No skeletons, no scandals. A squeaky-clean straight-talking Mr. Paul Goes To Washington.

 

Until… now? Recently the liberal weekly The New Republic (TNR) published excerpts from a newsletter published under Paul’s name from the late 1970s through the 1990s. The worst of these excerpts are racist, anti-gay, and hateful in tone.

 

According to TNR and others, these excerpts reveal an ugly, secret, hidden part of Paul -- that he is racist, homophobic, conspiracy-obsessed, and anti-Semitic.

 

I believe that is utterly false. I believe that many of TNR’s charges against Paul are unfair and dishonest -- deliberate distortions and misrepresentations.

 

Far more importantly, I believe that Ron Paul did not write the bigoted material that TNR quotes.

 

TNR Over-Reaches

 

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James W. Harris Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

JAMES W. HARRIS has published hundreds of articles in publications including THE NATION, REASON, THE FREEMAN and many more. He is editor of THE LIBERATOR ONLINE, the email newsletter of the Advocates for Self-Government, with over 70,000 (more...)
 
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