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More Racist Ron Paul Newsletters Discovered
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 7:28 am
By: Frederick Cosby, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com
So much for just 10 sentences.
A fresh batch of Rep. Ron Paul's infamous newsletters have been unearthed and offer more racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, conspiratorial and downright crazy stuff under the Republican presidential candidate's aegis.
Paul and his supporters deflected criticism of the first spate vitriolic dispatches from the newsletters – published in the 1980s and 1990s – as "probably 10 sentences out of 10,000 pages.” The 76-year-old House member from Texas has insisted that he didn't write or read any of the items, even though he was the publisher and the newsletters carried his name.
The new round of newsletters, discovered by The New Republic, offers more of the same in terms of content from the first batch of newsletters – just a lot more of it.
Looking for racist? Try this September 1992 dispatch from Paul’s Political Report.
"Today, gangs of young blacks bust into a bank lobby firing rounds at the ceiling," the issue read, adding, "We don't think a child of 13 should be held as responsible as a man of 23. That's true for most people, but black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult, and should be treated as such."
A June 1990 Political Report story titled “Race War?” says that such a conflict is looming because of “the victimization mentality created by the civil rights movement, where every black failure is a white crime. If there is indeed this sort of trouble ahead, it is just another reason why every honest American should be armed."
Not to be outdone, a December 1990 Paul-published Investment Letter reported that "Abortion is rampant, race war is heating up, AIDS is spreading, and inflation is wiping out the middle class."
You want homophobic? Look no further than a November 1993 issue of Paul's Survival Report which called people with AIDS who go to the dentist "deadly customers" and adds that "the criminal ‘Justice’ Department wants to force dentists to treat these Darth Vader types under the vicious Americans with Disabilities Act."
The dispatch goes on to say "we all have the right to discriminate, which is what freedom of association is all about, especially against killers."
The top story of the March 1987 Investment Letter falsely states that "AIDS can be transmitted through means other than sexual intercourse and blood transfusion, specifically saliva, tears, sweat, feces and urine." The dispatch says "federal laws which force schools to accept students known to carry a fatal communicable disease, and businesses to employ adult victims as ‘handicapped’" should be repealed.
Jews aren't left unscathed in the newsletters. A February 1993 Survival Report piece said that "major Jewish organizations are complaining that Zionists did not get enough jobs in the Clinton administration. Plenty of Jews were appointed by being Jewish doesn’t count. These lobbyists went people 100 percent dedicated to Israel."
And Paul apparently has a taste for dark conspiracies. Take the Sept. 15, 1995 issue of The Ron Paul Survival Report which theorizes about the Oklahoma City bombing, “Were there, as some people now say, two bombs that went off in the building? And might the government have the wrong man? Who doubts the possibility that the government – which lied about Waco and Ruby Ridge – may also be covering up true information and planting false information about the Oklahoma bombing?” The newsletter also lauds of story from The New American, the official magazine of the John Birch Society.
What this new batch of newsletters means to Paul's campaign is anyone's guess. The first batch didn’t deter him from finishing a strong third in the Iowa caucuses behind Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)
Paul finished a distant second behind Romney in New Hampshire. Paul isn’t expected to do well in Saturday's South Carolina, largely because his foreign and military policy views run counter to the conservative voters of the Palmetto State.
But no matter where Paul finishes, he's not likely to drop out of the race. He has gained a following, largely because years ago, he forecasted many of the economic problems America is experiencing today.
He was a “boutique” candidate in 2008 who mostly appealed to younger college-age, mostly white voters who viewed him as a grandfatherly sage.
But some of his long time issues – eliminating the Federal Reserve, returning the United States to the gold standard, and slicing the federal deficit – have gone from being the loopy dreams of the crazy uncle you keep locked in the attic to becoming planks in the Republican Party platform.
And that shift has caused some older mainstream voters - who may have lost their homes or who are suffering in the current economy - to take a look at Paul as presidential material. It has also brought Paul money: He has more than $12.6 million in his campaign war chest, nearly triple what Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have combined.
Paul's supporters are diehard, true believers so he isn’t likely to go away. But neither is the controversy over his newsletters.
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 7:28 am
By: Frederick Cosby, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com
So much for just 10 sentences.
A fresh batch of Rep. Ron Paul's infamous newsletters have been unearthed and offer more racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, conspiratorial and downright crazy stuff under the Republican presidential candidate's aegis.
Paul and his supporters deflected criticism of the first spate vitriolic dispatches from the newsletters – published in the 1980s and 1990s – as "probably 10 sentences out of 10,000 pages.” The 76-year-old House member from Texas has insisted that he didn't write or read any of the items, even though he was the publisher and the newsletters carried his name.
The new round of newsletters, discovered by The New Republic, offers more of the same in terms of content from the first batch of newsletters – just a lot more of it.
Looking for racist? Try this September 1992 dispatch from Paul’s Political Report.
"Today, gangs of young blacks bust into a bank lobby firing rounds at the ceiling," the issue read, adding, "We don't think a child of 13 should be held as responsible as a man of 23. That's true for most people, but black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult, and should be treated as such."
A June 1990 Political Report story titled “Race War?” says that such a conflict is looming because of “the victimization mentality created by the civil rights movement, where every black failure is a white crime. If there is indeed this sort of trouble ahead, it is just another reason why every honest American should be armed."
Not to be outdone, a December 1990 Paul-published Investment Letter reported that "Abortion is rampant, race war is heating up, AIDS is spreading, and inflation is wiping out the middle class."
You want homophobic? Look no further than a November 1993 issue of Paul's Survival Report which called people with AIDS who go to the dentist "deadly customers" and adds that "the criminal ‘Justice’ Department wants to force dentists to treat these Darth Vader types under the vicious Americans with Disabilities Act."
The dispatch goes on to say "we all have the right to discriminate, which is what freedom of association is all about, especially against killers."
The top story of the March 1987 Investment Letter falsely states that "AIDS can be transmitted through means other than sexual intercourse and blood transfusion, specifically saliva, tears, sweat, feces and urine." The dispatch says "federal laws which force schools to accept students known to carry a fatal communicable disease, and businesses to employ adult victims as ‘handicapped’" should be repealed.
Jews aren't left unscathed in the newsletters. A February 1993 Survival Report piece said that "major Jewish organizations are complaining that Zionists did not get enough jobs in the Clinton administration. Plenty of Jews were appointed by being Jewish doesn’t count. These lobbyists went people 100 percent dedicated to Israel."
And Paul apparently has a taste for dark conspiracies. Take the Sept. 15, 1995 issue of The Ron Paul Survival Report which theorizes about the Oklahoma City bombing, “Were there, as some people now say, two bombs that went off in the building? And might the government have the wrong man? Who doubts the possibility that the government – which lied about Waco and Ruby Ridge – may also be covering up true information and planting false information about the Oklahoma bombing?” The newsletter also lauds of story from The New American, the official magazine of the John Birch Society.
What this new batch of newsletters means to Paul's campaign is anyone's guess. The first batch didn’t deter him from finishing a strong third in the Iowa caucuses behind Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)
Paul finished a distant second behind Romney in New Hampshire. Paul isn’t expected to do well in Saturday's South Carolina, largely because his foreign and military policy views run counter to the conservative voters of the Palmetto State.
But no matter where Paul finishes, he's not likely to drop out of the race. He has gained a following, largely because years ago, he forecasted many of the economic problems America is experiencing today.
He was a “boutique” candidate in 2008 who mostly appealed to younger college-age, mostly white voters who viewed him as a grandfatherly sage.
But some of his long time issues – eliminating the Federal Reserve, returning the United States to the gold standard, and slicing the federal deficit – have gone from being the loopy dreams of the crazy uncle you keep locked in the attic to becoming planks in the Republican Party platform.
And that shift has caused some older mainstream voters - who may have lost their homes or who are suffering in the current economy - to take a look at Paul as presidential material. It has also brought Paul money: He has more than $12.6 million in his campaign war chest, nearly triple what Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have combined.
Paul's supporters are diehard, true believers so he isn’t likely to go away. But neither is the controversy over his newsletters.
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