Michael Moore and Keith Olbermann were exposed as de facto misogynists and rape apologists. Moore and Bill Maher were caught channeling their inner Limbaughs in being exposed as racists; and poor, irrelevant Joan Walsh let it inadvertantly and tellingly slip that she resents black people and that all strident supporters of the President are GOP trolls paid by Andrew Breitbart.
More worryingly, we've seen these selfsame self-appointed spokesmen for the
Does he ever.
In the past few weeks, I've reiterated Paul's dodgy political and sociological positions, especially regarding racism, but in doing so, I find that those poor misguided EmoProgs (those who are entitled to criticize but must not be criticized, themselves) more akin to their Tea Bagging cousins in becoming selectively deaf when confronted with Ron Paul's disastrous shortcomings.
Be that as it may, and amidst all the inconsistent denials and rationales offered by Paul and his bots regarding the racist, homophobic and xenophobic content of his newsletters, CNN's Peter Hamby has come up with a book, written by Ron Paul, himself, during the late 1980s when he was mounting his first Presidential campaign as a Libertarian candidate.
As Hamby reports, it makes uncomfortable reading. What's more uncomfortable is that this was actually written by Paul, himself, and not some shady ghostwriter.
In his 1987 manifesto "Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years," Paul wrote that AIDS patients were victims of their own lifestyle, questioned the rights of minorities and argued that people who are sexually harassed at work should quit their jobs.
The slim, 157-page volume was published ahead of Paul's 1988 Libertarian Party presidential bid and touches on many of the themes he continues to hammer on the stump.
Returning again and again to the of concept of "liberty," he hails the virtues of the gold standard, attacks the Federal Reserve and defends the rights of gun-owners.
But the book, re-issued in 2007 during Paul's last presidential bid with a cover photograph of an ominous SWAT Team, has so far escaped scrutiny amid the latest furor over his newsletters.
In one section of the book, Paul criticized people suffering from AIDS or other contagious diseases for demanding health insurance coverage.
"The individual suffering from AIDS certainly is a victim - frequently a victim of his own lifestyle - but this same individual victimizes innocent citizens by forcing them to pay for his care," Paul wrote.
In another chapter on the rights of individuals outside of government – the central theme of Paul's libertarian philosophy - he sharply criticized the "absurdity" of politicians who try to bestow differing rights on various social and ethnic groups.
It's dangerous to craft a separate set of rights for groups like Hispanics, African-Americans, children, employees and the homeless, Paul wrote.
"Until all these terms are dropped and we recognize that only an individual has rights the solution to the mess in which we find ourselves will not be found," Paul explained.
"Every year new groups organize to demand their 'rights,'" he continued. "White people who organize and expect the same attention as other groups are quickly and viciously condemned as dangerous bigots. Hispanic, black, and Jewish caucuses can exist in the U.S. Congress, but not a white caucus, demonstrating the absurdity of this approach for achieving rights for everyone."
Paul also defended the rights of an individual to "control property and run his or her business as he or she chooses," without interference from "the social do-gooder."
In a passage first flagged by the Houston Chronicle in 2007, Paul then claimed that sexual harassment should not be a violation of one's employment rights.
"Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity," Paul wrote. "Why don't they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable."
This book was re-issued in 2007, as the article states, and Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign manager, who's no stranger to Stormfront, himself, defends everything contained in its pages as exemplary of purist Libertarian doctrine.
Supporting Ron Paul isn't like eating in a cafeteria. You cannot pick and choose the policies which accommodate your so-called Progressive leanings. This is the real deal. Accept the fact that he wants to legalise the pot you smoke on a medical prescription, and you accept the fact that he wants to repeal Roe vs Wade and bring government control to centre around a woman's vagina and reproductive rights. Accept that if you're sexually harassed at work, it's up to you to quit. Accept that he wants to end America's empire, but also accept that he thinks the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional and that he believes vehemently in property rights and states' rights. In case you are unaware, a Civil War was fought for just that purpose.
Accept a Ron Paul candidacy and you get to share the big tent with a whole passel of neo-Nazis, real Nazis, white supremacists, Truthers and people who genuinely do believe that if you're poor and unemployed in the United States, it really is your fault. Don't mention climate change or environmental regulations, and be prepared to watch Wall Street go large.
Accept a Ron Paul candidacy and take it on the chin. No whingeing. No whining and no crying. You asked for it. And congratulations. You are no longer either Progressive or Liberal. In fact, if you're even thinking of supporting Ron Paul, you never really were.
Happy New Year.
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