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Republican candidate Ron Paul was invited to Wolf Blitzer's CNN show last night to address the re-awakening of a story about newsletters published under his name which contain highly-offensive language.
Blitzer asked Paul to explain how his name came to be attached to such "shocking" content, leading Paul to repeat what "everyone knows" about him and his viewpoints, without ever once explaining how the content came to be. After avoiding the original question for two solid minutes - the testy reply ended with Paul saying, "I am the anti-racist because I am the only candidate - Republican or Democrat who would protect the minority from these vicious drug laws."
Blitzer tried a different approach to encourage Paul to actually answer the question being asked of him.
WB: Congressman, there's a lot of material there, but let me try to just figure out: How did this stuff get in these Ron Paul newsletters?
RP: Well....well....I have no idea...uh, have, have you ever heard of a publisher of a magazine not knowing every single thing? The editor is a responsible for the daily activity, and people came and gone [sic] and there were some people that were hired. I don't know any of their names I do not, absolutely, honestly do not know who wrote those things. But I do know there was a transition, there were changes around, and...uh...it...to me it's been rehashed, and this is the politics of it all. If it were important enough, why didn't the people of my district who have heard this for these ten years or so since it came up, and people believe me. Why don't you believe me? And just say, look, its in there, its bad, I had a moral responsibility, but that doesn't mean you can, you know, indirectly charge me as being a racist, and that is what is being done, and yet I am the most anti-racist because I don't see people in collective groups and I practice...and you now, right now, even before this thing broke guess when our next fund raising day, our next Super Day...we raised $4 million one day, $6 [million] on the next...the next one is on Martin Luther King Holiday...I mean, this is it. Martin Luther King. Rosa Parks. Gandhi. They're the heroes of my, in practice of civil disobedience, in trying to get the burden of Government off our backs, and that's why I'm the one that protects the individual blacks who are in the city who are so being, so unfairly being treated and thrown in prison. That's the message that needs to be heard and I'd appreciate someone helping bring that out, rather than nit-picking over something done many years ago which I did not write.
Blitzer followed up with the question which has been on the lips of most people following the story:
WB: Did you used to read these newsletters? Congressman?
RP: Not back, not back, not back then. There might have been times I would, at times. But you know I was in a medical practice, I travelled a lot, I was doing speeches around the country. Frequently, you know, I never did see these. Matter of fact, some of the things you just read, uh...I, I wouldn't have recognized them...and, and the point is its not part of my character. The point also is, when people get charged, they usually have a clip. They never have a clip of someone saying something, a slip of the tongue, then they are blasted to Kingdom Come. No body has ever heard me say that, they know those are not my thoughts, and therefore the people have not rejected me in Texas and in a way this is a bit of a witch-hunt. I know there is reason, I don't say that you are unjustified in asking the question, but you also have to think of the motivation behind this and maybe, maybe this is part of the anti-Ron Paul deal - you know, I got excluded from the debates the other night - and maybe this is part "knock down Ron Paul because he's gaining grounds with the blacks." I've got more votes right now and more support from the blacks because they understand what I'm talking about and they trust me.
Blitzer then asks Paul to repudiate all of the slurs, racist comments, and such contained in the letters, which Paul does in the following way:
RP: The most important thing is anything I've ever said in my life has repudiated that for years and years and years. So I do repudiate everything that is written along those lines and what I heard tonight. And like I say, I've never read that before, if you ask me to dig up a copy of that I wouldn't have the vaguest idea, that's how unimportant it was to me. But obviously it IS important, it needs to be ironed out. In many ways, Wolf, I think I should thank you for bringing about so I could clarify this and make sure everybody knew where I stood on this position.
The entire interview can be seen below (the transcript here is my own, and may contain slight errors):
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So the guy's defense is that he is not a bigot he is an idiot.
He is asking us to believe that several years worth of bigoted newsletters went out under his name, claiming to have been written by him, and yet he never checked them?
OK I will accept that. That then means that he is too stupid or too lazy to be president since if he can't be bothered to check up on what is being written under his name how can we trust him to check on other more important things?
Simple question: Why won't he release the newsletters, what does he have to hide?
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He answered that: The newsletters were unimportant to him and he has no idea where any of them even are.
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Apparently it didn't take very long for reporters to get ahold of these newsletters, and I would think Ron Paul could spare a campaign staffer to dig them up if he wanted too.
I think he was hoping this wouldn't come up again, and that's why he's stayed quiet about it. I agree completely with lensman67 that his defense is bogus. If he's too careless to read things being published under his name, he's too careless to be president.
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so you don't subscribe to the idea that since the people in his district in texas were ok with it, we all should be too?
;-)
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I believe him, he is more honest than other politicians I see especially Hilary's crocodile tears and Giuliani's repeated 9/11 quotes. He has been consistent over the years. If this had been the issue he wouldn't have been reelected before. He made a mistake not controlling what others did. But he has not said this overtly or anybody has evidence that he said this in a public forum. Wolf, he just wants Hillary to win, so he will do anything to bring him down.
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Wolf let him ramble, uninterrupted, even though he was politicking rather than answering the issue. He let him plug his next fund raising event.
I think it is a huge mistake to say "if this had been an issue he wouldn't have been elected". I know a candidate who has had several drunk driving arrests and physically attacked a reporter for asking him about it, who was reelected. And others who have said or done things that you would THINK would keep them from being elected, but yet they get the votes. It is irresponsible to think that "well, this group of people over here elected him, he must be fine."
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@ Eric S. Wyatt
He answered that: The newsletters were unimportant to him and he has no idea where any of them even are.
And he expects anyone to believe that? Please! He could lay his hands on copies if he wanted to, as could the thousands of supporters he sent them to.
The fact that he would try to claim that he never once looked at several years worth of newsletters that purported to be written by him tells me all I need to know about his character. -
@ Eric S. Wyatt
so you don't subscribe to the idea that since the people in his district in texas were ok with it, we all should be too?
;-)
Absolutely not! I should think that the very fact that a bunch of Texans were OK with Paul's opinions would be proof positive that there is something wrong with those opinions. Texas is, after all, rather noted for sharing many of the beliefs that are ascribed to Paul's news letters. -
@ Chris V. (cgull)
He has been consistent over the years.
Yes, apparently he's been consistently racist and homophobic
@ Chris V. (cgull)
If this had been the issue he wouldn't have been reelected before.
Two problems with this "logic" There was a Senator who faked his own wife's kidnapping(in order to get sympathy votes), it was discovered before the election that he faked it, and he was still reelected. Secondly, his district is in Texas, perhaps they just liked what they read.
@ Chris V. (cgull)
But he has not said this overtly or anybody has evidence that he said this in a public forum. Wolf, he just wants Hillary to win, so he will do anything to bring him down.
He sent it out in a newsletter!!!! How much more public a forum do you want? As for Wolf wanting Hillary to win, Paul has zero shot of winning the Republican primary, he had zero shot before this came out, so he would never have faced Hillary. Man are you brainwashed -
Wolfie loves HillBilly, yes cgull he sure does. I thought he was going to weep while describing her humanity and softness as clearly demonstrated in a cafe performance.
All the worry and teeth grinding over whether or not Dr. Paul had access to, knowledge of or agreement with the content of newsletters is moot. He will not be the next President of the United States.
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This reminds me of how everyone ganged up on Pat Buchanan after he won the New Hampshire Republican presidential campaign of 1996. It was a witchhunt. The power brokers in this country fear populist, nationalist candidates like Paul and Buchanan. If you don't like him on the issues, fine don't vote for him. Don't vote against him or throw him under the bus because of some stupid, insignificant newsletters written many years ago. If people in his congressional district don't care, I don't care either. I don't like smear campaigns against anyone. Stick to the issues. It was a well written article.
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@ Dave G. (TruthMan)
This reminds me of how everyone ganged up on Pat Buchanan after he won the New Hampshire Republican presidential campaign of 1996. It was a witchhunt. The power brokers in this country fear populist, nationalist candidates like Paul and Buchanan. If you don't like him on the issues, fine don't vote for him. Don't vote against him or throw him under the bus because of some stupid, insignificant newsletters written many years ago. If people in his congressional district don't care, I don't care either. I don't like smear campaigns against anyone. Stick to the issues. It was a well written article.
Pat Buchanan is certainly someone who deserves to be challenged on every thing he says. -
I don't like smear campaigns against anyone.
Nor do I -- but, there is at least one in every election. This time it is Dr. Paul. I'm fairly confident he was under the bus months ago. -
NAACP President, Nelson Linder, backs Ron Paul and says "Ron Paul's No Racist." Link
BTW - Nice article. It needed to be said. And don't worry about the negative comments. The welfare state and socialists don't like Paul because he threatens their give-me's and freebees. The idea of self-reliance and taking care of one's self went out the door awhile ago in this country. Add a Comment
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'Everyone Knows' Paul Not Racist: Blitzer Challenges Paul on Newsletters
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