I decided I'm not voting Ron Paul anymore.

Washington Post- Paul pursued strategy of publishing controversial newsletters, associates say

Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian , has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged newsletters to make money and spread his ideas, said three people with direct knowledge of Paul’s businesses.

The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views.

But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day.

“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. . . . He would proof it,’’ said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman’s.

The newsletters point to a rarely seen and somewhat opaque side of Paul, who has surprised the political community by becoming an important factor in the Republican race. The candidate, who has presented himself as a kindly doctor and political truth teller, declined in a recent debate to release his tax returns, joking that he would be “embarrassed” about his income compared with that of his richer GOP rivals.

Yet a review of his enterprises reveals a sharp-eyed businessman who for nearly two decades oversaw the company and a nonprofit foundation, intertwining them with his political career. The newsletters, which were launched in the mid-1980s and bore such names as the Ron Paul Survival Report, were produced by a company Paul dissolved in 2001.

The company shared offices with his campaigns and foundation at various points, said those familiar with the operation. Public records show Paul’s wife and daughter were officers of the newsletter company and foundation; his daughter also served as his campaign treasurer.

Jesse Benton, a presidential campaign spokesman, said that the accounts of Paul’s involvement were untrue and that Paul was practicing medicine full time when “the offensive material appeared under his name.” Paul “abhors it, rejects it and has taken responsibility for it as he should have better policed the work being done under his masthead,” Benton said. He did not comment on Paul’s business strategy.

‘I’ve never read that stuff’

Mark Elam, a longtime Paul associate whose company printed the newsletters, said Paul “was a busy man” at the time. “He was in demand as a speaker; he was traveling around the country,’’ Elam said in an interview coordinated by Paul’s campaign. “I just do not believe he was either writing or regularly editing this stuff.’’

In the past, Paul has taken responsibility for the passages because they were published under his name. But last month, he told CNN that he was unaware at the time of the controversial passages. “I’ve never read that stuff. I’ve never read — I came — was probably aware of it 10 years after it was written,’’ Paul said.

CONTINUE- http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ron-paul-signed-off-on-racist-newsletters-sources-say/2012/01/20/gIQAvblFVQ_story.html?wprss=rss_linkset&tid=sm_twitter_postpolitics

I really don’t give a damn if he wrote his newsletters or not. The fact is, he published them from his home, he was listed as the editor and publisher on many issues of these letters, his face and signature was planted all over each issue, they sounded like he was talking in first person about “my wife Carrol” and so on, and besides that he made MILLIONS off of this kind of disgusting BS! IT’S NO EXCUSE! 20 years later he is somehow MORE responsible to run a country? He’s the one who voted for term limits year after year in the 80’s and 90’s! The man is a hypocrite and he is much older which does not help things at all. Ron Paul is disgusting.

Ron Paul: The Radical Right’s Man in Washington

An oldie but goodie: DAILY KOS

This time, let’s turn our attention from Paul’s words to his actions, and see how the congressman from Texas has, for the past quarter century, systematically built a support network for himself among the worst far-right crackpots, racists, and neo-Nazis in America.

THE STRANGE CASE OF LARRY PRATT

In 1996, presidential candidate Pat Buchanan got in hot water when the Center for Public Integrity revealed connections between Buchanan’s campaign co-chairman Larry Pratt and Pastor Pete Peters, a leader of the white supremacist Christian Identity movement. Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, had been a frequent guest at meetings and on radio and television programs hosted by Peters, who inveighed against “Talmudic filth” as Pratt looked on. On February 15, 1996, Pratt took a leave of absence from the Buchanan campaign, so as to avoid causing a “distraction.”

The very next day, reported the San Antonio Express-News on February 18, Ron Paul distributed a press release touting Pratt’s endorsement of Paul’s candidacy for the U.S. Congress. Pratt’s endorsement of Paul was anything but pro forma; the February 22, 1996 issue of Roll Call noted that Paul and Mike Gunn, a Republican candidate for Congress in Mississippi who had done some work for David Duke in the latter’s 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial campaign, were the only two candidates formally endorsed for office that year by Pratt’s organization. Paul’s opponent in the Republican primary, Rep. Greg Laughlin, called upon Paul to repudiate Pratt; Paul declined to do so, with his spokesman saying that Paul opposed racism but that “nothing has been proven against Mr. Pratt. He has denied it.” (Pratt’s enthusiasm for Paul continues to this day, as this quasi-endorsement of Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign makes clear.)

THE COMPANY RON PAUL KEEPS

Paul’s disinclination to separate himself from the Larry Pratts of the world is part of a pattern that over the last 20 years has seen him snuggling up to some extremely questionable characters on the far right fringe. Like, for example, secessionists, who gathered at a conference in April of 1995 to hear Paul speak about the ”once and future Republic of Texas.” Or the beady-eyed listeners of The Political Cesspool. It’s the unofficial radio program of theCouncil of Conservative Citizens—you know, the repainted White Citizens Council that got Trent Lott into a bit of trouble a few years ago. (Tune in tonight for their special program on “the disastrous Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education decision, one which ushered in an era of radical leftist ideology upon the American citizenry.”) Paul has been a guest on the program; you’ll find him listed under P, right above Prussian Blue, the white supremacist teenage singing duo.

Or the crazy-as-fuck John Birch Society, to which Paul is more than happy to grant the occasional interview and even speak at their dinners (the podcast, I am sorry to report, no longer seems to be available). In fact, Paul is the only member of Congress to receive aperfect 100 from the John Birch Society in its most recent member ratings.

THE KLAN’S MAN IN WASHINGTON

Like many members of Congress, the prolific Paul posts his speeches, columns, and statements on his House Web site. He allows anyone to republish and distribute them, and many do. For example, our old friends the Council of Conservative Citizens occasionally publish Paul in its newsletter, the Citizens Informer (warning: PDF). And then there’s David Duke, who can’t get enough of Ron Paul; you can find his columns on davidduke.com here and here and here andhere and here. If you’re more of a dead-tree fan, you can find Paul’s thoughts on foreign policy reprinted in the January 2007 issue of the National Times, a white supremacist newspaper that apparently gets distributed through the time-honored neo-Nazi method of throwing the thing onto unsuspecting people’s porches in the middle of the night and scurrying away.

For a real look inside the tiny, demented mind of the neo-Nazi, though, we need to go toStormfront. Stormfront is the oldest and largest white supremacist site on the World Wide Web; its discussion boards provide an unequaled opportunity for eavesdropping on the thoughts and plans of the racist underground in America and around the world. And you don’t have to visit for very long before one thing jumps out at you: they positively adore Ron Paul. (Please note that links in this paragraph go to a hate site and should probably be considered NSFW.) An “Is Ron Paul the One?” topic is currently stickied in Stormfront’s Newslinks & Articles forum;another active topic on Paul’s candidacy has received 446 posts and 12,040 pageviews since late March. A topic called “Ron Paul’s Race Problem” (hey, Wonkette musta read my diary!) was just started today and already has 17 replies. They’re busy little racists over there.

DOES ANY OF THIS STUFF REALLY MATTER?

Politicians can’t choose their supporters, after all. Isn’t it a bit unfair to tar Paul by association to these lunatics? No, it isn’t. This stuff matters because Paul makes so little effort to disassociate himself from the racist, anti-Semitic, crackpot groups that support him. Whether he shares these groups’ beliefs or not, the fact that he doesn’t care enough to do anything about them speaks volumes. I’ll wrap up by turning the floor over to Eric Dondero, a senior aid to Paul from 1997 to 2003, who had this to say in a blog comment in May:

Ron Paul has had some ties that are nothing to be proud of in the past to far-right groups. My former boss IS NOT AN ANTI-SEMITE. However, he is grossly inattentive in dealing with groups who are blatantly anti-Semitic.

…Whether they are using him to gain in credibility, or whether it’s just coincidence doesn’t matter much. It’s the image that counts. No doubt this will all come to haunt him in his race for the Presidency.

Raw Story’s Mike Rogers: Ron Paul hiding an extremist agenda

Raw Story’s managing director Mike Rogers was a guest on Thursday’s The Ed Show, discussing Ron Paul and the real ramifications of the candidate’s views on “states’ rights,” civil rights, and the rights of LGBT people under a potential Paul administration.

The Paul campaign prominently featured the endorsement of Rev. Phillip G. Kayser, a Christian pastor who believes that gays should be executed in accordance with “Biblical law.” Kayser is a Paul supporter, saying that he believes that Rep. Paul’s policies are consistent with a Biblical world view. As Kayser’s more controversial statements have come to light, the Paul 2012 website scrubbed any mention of the pastor.

VIDEO: http://youtu.be/GabD0Nucwa4

Rogers pointed out that Congressman Paul has left a trail of contradictory statements on the rights of gays and minorities and indicates that this may be part of a pattern of disinformation and obfuscation. He added that Paul may even be using the guise of so-called “libertarianism” as a springboard toward the goal of rolling back all civil rights legislation, effectively stripping away the hard-won rights of any U.S. citizens who are not part of the white, heterosexual mainstream.

Rep. Paul has said before that he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a view that is shared by his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-TN), who claimed that the Civil Rights Act was an intrusion on the rights of businesses owners, who he feels should be able to determine for themselves who they will and will not serve.

MORE http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/30/raw-storys-mike-rogers-discusses-ron-paul-and-gay-rights-on-ed/

Libertarian defense caucus- The Real Ron Paul: Racist, Homophobe, and Anti-Semite

http://libertariandefensecaucus.blogspot.com/2008/01/real-ron-paul-racist-homophobe-and-anti.html

The Real Ron Paul: Racist, Homophobe, and Anti-Semite

By Erik Kain

Much fuss has been made over Dr. Ron Paul, whose claim to Libertarian principles is at once laughable and tragically incorrect. In fact, Dr. Paul is anything but a Libertarian. His views about social tolerance and liberty are detestable at best. An article in The New Republic by James Kirchick examines much of what has been published by Dr. Paul and his supporters over the past several decades. The article, titled “Angry White Man” is a startling revelation about the true nature of this outspoken republican candidate. Ron Paul supporters should read through some of the following quotations to see what their candidate actually stands for. It’s not pretty stuff.
First, though, to preface some of these quotations, I would like to quote Kirchick’s article.
“The people surrounding the von Mises Institute–including Paul–may describe themselves as libertarians, but they are nothing like the urbane libertarians who staff the Cato Institute or the libertines at Reason magazine. Instead, they represent a strain of right-wing libertarianism that views the Civil War as a catastrophic turning point in American history–the moment when a tyrannical federal government established its supremacy over the states.”
I think it’s important to understand, right off the bat, that in the view of the NeoThink blog, as well as the view of pretty much any established, respectable Libertarian organization, Ron Paul is really not a part of the Libertarian party, but rather an extremist whose views are rogue views, and do a great disservice to mainstream Libertarians. I doubt either the Libertarian or Republican party is at all pleased that Dr. Paul is considered part of their organizations.
Ron Paul’s newsletters attack blacks–especially Martin Luther King–while praising prominent leaders of the Ku Klux Klan.
“In the early 1990s, a newsletter attacked the “X-Rated Martin Luther King” as a “world-class philanderer who beat up his paramours,” “seduced underage girls and boys,” and “made a pass at” fellow civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy.”
“While bashing King, the newsletters had kind words for the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. In a passage titled “The Duke’s Victory,” a newsletter celebrated Duke’s 44 percent showing in the 1990 Louisiana Senate primary. “Duke lost the election,” it said, “but he scared the blazes out of the Establishment.’”
Paul also attacks the post-apartheid government of South Africa:
“South Africa’s transition to multiracial democracy was portrayed as a “destruction of civilization” that was “the most tragic [to] ever occur on that continent, at least below the Sahara”
Of the black population in America, Paul states:
“I think we can safely assume that 95% of the black males in that city [Washington, D.C.] are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.”
“We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, but it is hardly irrational.”
Other tidbits:
“The Earth Summit is the creepiest meeting of politicos since the first gathering of Bolsheviks. Officially known as the UN Conference for Environment and Development, it will be held in Brazil in June; bad guys from all over the globe will attend.”
“Like blacks, gays earn plenty of animus in Paul’s newsletters. They frequently quoted Paul’s “old colleague,” Representative William Dannemeyer–who advocated quarantining people with AIDS–praising him for “speak[ing] out fearlessly despite the organized power of the gay lobby.”
“Readers were warned to avoid blood transfusions because gays were trying to “poison the blood supply.” “Am I the only one sick of hearing about the ‘rights’ of AIDS carriers?” a newsletter asked in 1990. That same year, citing a Christian-right fringe publication, an item suggested that “the AIDS patient” should not be allowed to eat in restaurants and that “AIDS can be transmitted by saliva,” which is false.
As you can see from these quotations, which are taken both from Kirchick’s article as well as from Paul’s publications directly, the so-called Libertarian candidate is nothing short of a radical bigot. His views on just about everyone that’s not like him are extreme and ignorant.
It amazes me that such views have been so easily hidden from Americans. The Ron Paul movement surely would not have had such widespread appeal if voters realized his true agenda. The anti-war policy has carried him this far, but it won’t carry him to the White House. Hopefully people will read this post, and the articles it was drawn from, and spread the scary truth about this man.
Spread the word. Don’t invite Paul into the White House. Elect a true American.

Links
The New RepublicAngry White Man by James Kirchick
Pajamas Media, Ron Paul: Bigotry Revolution
Ron Paul’s response to these articles.
And a post in a blog I share very little in common with, The Daily Kos.

By Erik Kain, http://neothink.wordpress.com/

Editor’s Note – Mr. Kain is a prominent member of The Libertarian Defense Caucus and creative force behind the well -known political commentary site NeoThink. This article originally appeared on his site and is reproduced here with permission.

Ron Paul Outreach Coordinator Once Blamed Gay Marriage For Rain And Crop Failure

Right Wing Watch reports that the man running GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul’s church outreach in Iowa, Mike Heath, formerly of the Maine Family Policy Council and American Family Association, once suggested that gay marriage was to blame for Maine’s “endless rain and gloom.” “Our leaders allowed a cloud of error to hide the light of reason, and then the rain began,” he wrote. “Our crops are faring like our moods. The potato crop is blighted, and corn and fruit fields wither,” he added. Heath’s embarrassing antics led to his dismissal by the rest of the anti-gay marriage movement, until he cropped up recently in Paul’s campaign. As Chris Moody reports, Paul hired Heath to win over the social conservatives who dominate the Iowa caucus. Though Paul professes to be a libertarian, he seems to have yielded to polling that indicates support for civil unions or gay marriage is a “deal killer” for GOP caucus goers.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/09/386247/ron-paul-outreach-coordinator-once-blamed-gay-marriage-for-rain-and-crop-failure/