Ron Paul can do no wrong. At least, that's what I'm seeing in the replies to other Blogcritics articles. There are some who are absolutely sure that Ron Paul had nothing whatsoever to do with those racist newsletters (photocopies here; they're very interesting reading). So let's first examine the known facts, the possibilities, and then let's examine the proof. For all those who are absolutely sure that Ron Paul is completely innocent, at least do yourselves the favor of reading this whole article before replying. The known facts:
1 - Ron Paul's newsletters came out under at least three different names, but have been published mostly on a monthly basis since 1978.
2 - The racist newsletter articles in question were written over a five-year period, from 1989 to 1994.
The possibilities:
1 - Ron Paul wrote the articles in Ron Paul's newsletter.
2 - A ghostwriter for Ron Paul wrote the articles in Ron Paul's newsletter (and Ron Paul either knew or did not know about what the ghostwriter wrote).
3 - Ron Paul was in no way associated with Ron Paul's newsletter and couldn't have written the articles.
In a 2008 interview with CNN, Mr. Paul flatly denied writing those articles in his newsletter, he denied knowing who wrote them, and CNN was told by a Paul spokesman that the Paul campaign would not try to find out who wrote them.
In a 2001 interview with Texas Monthly, Ron Paul stated that his campaign staff told him that "it would have been too confusing" to come right out and say that he didn't write any of those articles.
The proof:
So far it all looks rather harmless, if confusingly so, right? But the Libertarian site reason.com points out what was published in 1996:
The Dallas Morning News:
Dr. Paul denied suggestions that he was a racist and said he was not evoking stereotypes when he wrote the columns. He said they should be read and quoted in their entirety to avoid misrepresentation...In the interview, he did not deny he made the statement about the swiftness of black men. "If you try to catch someone that has stolen a purse from you, there is no chance to catch them," Dr. Paul said. He also said the comment about black men in the nation's capital was made while writing about a 1992 study produced by the National Center on Incarceration and Alternatives, a criminal justice think tank based in Virginia.
The Houston Chronicle:
Paul, a Republican obstetrician from Surfside, said Wednesday he opposes racism and that his written commentaries about blacks came in the context of "current events and statistical reports of the time."...Paul also wrote that although "we are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers." A campaign spokesman for Paul said statements about the fear of black males mirror pronouncements by black leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has decried the spread of urban crime.
The Austin American-Statesman:
"Dr. Paul is being quoted out of context," [Paul spokesman Michael] Sullivan said. "It's like picking up War and Peace and reading the fourth paragraph on Page 481 and thinking you can understand what's going on."... Also in 1992, Paul wrote, "Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions." Sullivan said Paul does not consider people who disagree with him to be sensible. And most blacks, Sullivan said, do not share Paul's views. The issue is political philosophy, not race, Sullivan said. "Polls show that only about 5 percent of people with dark-colored skin support the free market, a laissez faire economy, an end to welfare and to affirmative action," Sullivan said.
The Washington Post:
Paul, an obstetrician from Surfside, Tex., denied he is a racist and charged Austin lawyer Charles "Lefty" Morris, his Democratic opponent, with taking his 1992 writings out of context. "Instead of talking about the issues, our opponent has chosen to lie and try to deceive the people of the 14th District," said Paul spokesman Michael Sullivan, who added that the excerpts were written during the Los Angeles riots when "Jesse Jackson was making the same comments."
Roll Call:
In a statement, Paul said he had "labored to conduct a campaign based upon the issues that are vital to our nation" and charged Morris with "repeated attempts...to reduce the campaign to name calling and race-baiting." He called Morris's request that he release all back issues of the newsletter "not only impractical, but...equivalent to asking him to provide documents for every lawsuit he has been involved in during his lengthy legal career." Of his statements about Jordan, Paul said that "such opinions represented our clear philosophical difference. The causes she so strongly advocated were for more government, more and more regulations, and more and more taxes. My cause has been almost exactly the opposite, and I believe her positions to have been fundamentally wrong: I've fought for less and less intrusive government, fewer regulations, and lower taxes."
When Ron Paul was asked by several newspapers about the racist newsletter articles in 1996, he did not deny writing them, and it's quite apparent that his staff thought he wrote them, too.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Nisha
You know we did this in 2007, I am black and I am NOT buying it. I know Dr.Paul already in 2007 said he didn't endorse these writings and didn't know about them. Dr.P is honest about everything so I trust him, I know Rosa Parks is one of his heroes because of her civil disobedience. I am more concerned about you being from the south and liberal, are you sure you aren't racist?
2 - Nisha
I am posting my friend's endorsement of Dr.P so you can see we 'ain't' buying it.
3 - patrick
Racism is bombing, falsely imprisoning and torturing brown people.
Racism is drug laws that lock up non-violent offenders.
Ron Paul opposes these manifestations of racism in THE REAL WORLD. Who cares about some some newsletter?
4 - ProudBlackMan
So, the smearbund got the memo. This lame attempt to generate controversy is such a tempest in a teapot.
5 - Daniel
Lol Ron paul endorses "fringe economic theories"?? It was his understanding of austrian free market economics that allowed him to predict the housing crisis way back in 2002. See this speech on the house floor AND his foreign policy is not isolationism it is non interventionism he wants to trade with countries, he points out our history and how our intervening overseas has actually caused all the problems we are facing today. Also Ron Paul has never said he believes 911 was a conspiracy theory, if he thought that why would he vote to go after OBL??? As far as the letters those quotes are interesting, with Ron Pauls view on freedom of choice and personal liberty I highly doubt he is a racist, he was willing to accept responsibility for the letters even though he did not write them and that should be applauded.
6 - Chris
ah, it looks like someone dusted off the newsletter chestnut. Snore.
7 - Realist
Whether or not he wrote them, I am not aware that he's refuted them. Therefore he owns them.
8 - smokntuesdays
A nation that once prided itself on a sense of rugged individualism has become uncomfortably obsessed with racial group identities.
The collectivist mindset is at the heart of racism.
Government as an institution is particularly ill-suited to combat bigotry. Bigotry at its essence is a problem of the heart, and we cannot change people's hearts by passing more laws and regulations.
It is the federal government that most divides us by race, class, religion, and gender. Through its taxes, restrictive regulations, corporate subsidies, racial set-asides, and welfare programs, government plays far too large a role in determining who succeeds and who fails. Government "benevolence" crowds out genuine goodwill by institutionalizing group thinking, thus making each group suspicious that others are receiving more of the government loot. This leads to resentment and hostility among us.
Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views humans strictly as members of groups rather than as 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.
The true antidote to racism is liberty. Liberty means having a limited, constitutional government devoted to the protection of individual rights rather than group claims. Liberty means free-market capitalism, which rewards individual achievement and competence - not skin color, gender, or ethnicity.
In a free society, every citizen gains a sense of himself as an individual, rather than developing a group or victim mentality. This leads to a sense of individual responsibility and personal pride, making skin color irrelevant. Racism will endure until we stop thinking in terms of groups and begin thinking in terms of individual liberty.
-Ron Paul
9 - Mike
Im sorry I wasted my time reading that article.
10 - mark m
Lew Rockwell wrote them. He would gladly fall on that sword.
11 - SC
SmoknTuesdays, so what you're essentially saying is that Ron Paul is incompetent and bad judge of character. I mean, if he's not racist and abhors racism, why did all this crap appear, repeatedly, in his newsletter over several years? Was he so clueless that he didn't even know what was being presented in his own newsletter, with his name in the banner, and presented as being his own writings? This is a newsletter largely staffed by his own family and close associates, by the way. No one that read his newsletter told him "Hey, Ron, what the hell's this in your newsletter?" and suggested he clean house with his staff? This is a man you think can actually run a country? He can't apparently even pick decent reliable ghostwriters and editors, but somehow he's supposed to be competent to select a VP candidate and cabinet members and judges if he's elected President? Add onto this the fact that he'd be in his mid-70's when taking office if actually elected, which means a high chance of his dying or being incapacitated in office by health issues, or worse, NOT being incapacitated but being affected by them (dementia affects 6 percent over the age of 65, 20 percent of those over 85, so Paul falls somewhere in that range...do you really want a President that, if he doesn't just flat out die or stroke out of office, can't remember what the big red button on his desk does?
12 - J
More dirt tricks. Couldnt just ignore could you media... look at the backlash that caused you morons. Ron Paul's message can't be stopped.
13 - sheeple
You guys are all crazy, how can he be racist and support releasing most of the prisoners who are in there for drug related crimes, and we all know that majority of the people in prisons in America are black...
By legalizing drugs he would eliminate most crimes and problems in the inner city....examples are endless...
14 - Glenn Contrarian
So in the opinion of those who believe that all this about Ron Paul's racist articles is a big lie, here's your choice - either Ron Paul:
1 - didn't write the articles but knowingly allowed his staff to think he did, or
2 - DID write the articles and is just trying to wriggle out of taking responsibility for them.
Which is it?
15 - Jared Morris
I think you are racist against Ron Paul! I would like the five minutes of my life I spent reading this back please. That Dave Nalle calls Paul an isolationist just goes to show how far he is from even understanding Paul's positions. There is a pretty massive difference from an isolationist and a noninterventionist. Why don't you make good use of your time and write an article on that.
16 - Aliksander
Or option #3: Ron Paul, and his family and associates, left a largely unread newsletter in the hands of someone he thought he could trust. That he made a mistake by thinking someone who shared some of his views would be responsible enough not to write such garbage in his name. That when he (and by proxy the person he trusted) was accused of racism Ron Paul immediately thought that it must be something blown out of proportion and got defensive (granted imprudently) rather than investigating first.
You know I could even BELIEVE, based on the available evidence that he COULD have written those articles, but for one problem. I have yet to see anyone, ANYONE, point to ONE THING that came out of Ron Paul's mouth or in his legislating that points to racism BESIDES those handful of articles that he has repeatedly denounced. Find me ONE MORE PIECE OF EVIDENCE HE IS RACIST, and I will be inclined to believe it. Until then stop digging up this very dead story.
17 - reube99
Nice try, but those old smear tactics aren't gonna work this time -- Americans of all stripes are joining with Ron Paul.
18 - Sam
You cite Davie Naile as a "real libertarian", that would be down right hilarious if it wasn't so terribly tragic...that's like calling Milton Friedman a "real free market economist" when dismissing Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises. I'll give you the benefit and assume you are unaware of your rather glaring ignorance...but you should really educate yourself. Racism is just particular form of collectivism, which Dr. Paul as an individualist rejects with the very core of his being...if you don't believe me I suggest you talk to him, it will change your world.
19 - RJS
Yet another article by someone who doesn't listen to the good doctor. "It's not me, It's the message"...Ron Paul.
20 - Stebro
Anybody here actually read the newsletters in question?
Being labeled a racist is pretty easy these days. Just to speak the truth will do the job. For instance, anyone notice that the participants in these flash mobs are all black? I'm making no judgements, just watching the tapes. Is this a blanket condemnation of all black people? No, but some of you will call me a racist just for pointing out that fact. I've seen the mobs personally. Those are kids all right, but all black kids. I haven't seen a single report from the media noticing that point. Why is that? They don't want to be called racist.
Maybe Ron Paul was reporting on what he was seeing and being labelled racist for so doing. Now, out of context and by current standards it sounds racist.
21 - jsknow
Notice how consistent Ron Paul has been over the years and watch how he bashes the FBI for their unconstitutional treatment of Martin Luther King, which certainly contradicts the unsubstantiated claims of him being a racist.
If RP was a racist he'd be speaking well of the groups he likes and bad about the ones he doesn't instead of saying exactly what he says every time... "we get our rights as individuals not as groups". In other words... the law applies equally to all.
Racism goes against everything Ron Paul stands for!
22 - bytejockey
Please have Dave Nalle tell us where the term "public welfare" appears in the Constitution. When he can do that, maybe we'll listen to his criticism of Dr. Paul's interpretation of the Constitution.
23 - Ed Helmstetter
there is no shortage of videos of ron paul speaking, youtube has thousands going back to the 80`s-if ron paul was a racist you would think that maybe one of those thousands of videos would prove it out-ago ahead and find one-i`ll wait......
24 - Glenn Contrarian
Woo hoo! Lots of insults, but not a single refutation of the evidence presented!
This reminds me a whole lot of the China-can-do-no-wrong trolls whenever something bad is posted about China.
25 - Calvin
Paul's 30-year voting record stands contrary to the newsletters that were not written by him.
Ron Paul 2012.