I'm going to join Steve's side of the Ron Paul newsletter debate, in a half-assed sort of way. ;-)
I don't think anyone should be held accountable for everything they said fifteen to twenty years ago, as if they still held those views. But they do need to provide reasonably strong evidence that those views were either not theirs or they've changed. That's my problem with Ron Paul. He has yet to provide those kinds of reassurances.
Robert Byrd provided the opposite case, a political figure who was clearly a racist in the early years of his career, who voted for civil rights measures in later years.
Here's Steve Benen's take on the latest evidence to surface that the views expressed in those newsletters were not disavowed by Ron Paul at the time.
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Political Animal Blog
December 26, 2011 10:05 AM
Paul boasted about unhinged newsletters
By Steve Benen
Among the many problems surrounding Ron Paul’s presidential campaign is the series of radical materials he published in the 1990s. Paul’s newsletters and fundraising appeals, as has been well documented, included racist, homophobic, and anti-Israeli propaganda, as well as bizarre conspiracy theories.
Paul, when asked about his publications, tends to stick to the same line: he didn’t write much of the content that went out under his name, and was unaware of the offensive content. In many instances, the Republican lawmaker now claims, he didn’t even read his own materials, and just didn’t pay much attention to the entire venture.
Paul may want to rethink this explanation. Andrew Kaczynski posts this previously unearthed video from 1995, in which the Texan not only acknowledges the “Ron Paul Survival Report,” but boasts about it.
On a related note, the New York Times reports today on Paul’s racist allies and outreach, and his reluctance to disavow the support of radicals. This isn’t exactly new, but as Paul’s notoriety as a presidential candidate increases, these associations warrant fresh scrutiny.
washingtonmonthly.com |
