Video Defense of Ron Paul’s Newsletters Falls Flat

Posted by in Blog, Politics on January 6, 2012 2:16 pm / 13 comments

A video has just been released offering a defense for the controversial Ron Paul newsletters. In it, the commentator attempts to make the argument that every candidate in the 2012 election has been accused of racism at some point. While this is 100% true, he also makes the following statement:

The talk of racism has become the lowest form of political discourse. But even, even as I just went down that list of candidates, some of you at home thought to yourselves how the candidates you don’t like probably are racists. And when you heard the name of a candidate you support you thought no, that’s ridiculous. See how it works? Anything that can be deemed insensitive these days is called racist. Anyone who stands too close to those who say those things? A racist. Under the examples I just gave you, are they all racist? Maybe none of them are.

How about this year we try to have an election based on substance and on ideas and on political record rather than on name calling.

My issue isn’t that the video is an attempted defense of Ron Paul, or that Ben Swann or those touting the videos are obvious supporters of Ron Paul. It makes total sense to want to defend your candidate. What I do take issue with is the disingenuous way it’s being done here. It’s tough to swallow a lecture by Paul supporters about racism being the lowest form of political discourse and wanting to have a campaign about ideas and political records and not name-calling, when Ron Paul himself has employed the very tactic Swann decries against Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum.

See:

Maybe Ben should ‘Reality Check’ himself on how he can decry charges of racism while failing to mention that the candidate he is clearly trying to defend has employed that very same race card in front on millions.

 
 

13 Comments

  1. Nanowerx says:
    January 6, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    The thing you are forgetting is that Santorum and Bachmann indulge their racism, they don’t hide it. They have both said racial profiling is just fine. You are trying to compare that with newsletter Paul himself did not write and disavows? That is the difference here. It’s not a “tactic” to call someone out on their firm beliefs.

  2. Eric5139 says:
    January 6, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    I like how you totally neglected to mention the main part of the story which is who the real author of the racist comments was; James B. Powell…NOT Ron Paul. LOL, You blame the reporter for supporting Paul but he has evidence about the story. You obviously dislike Paul and ignored the facts. hahaha

  3. Jake says:
    January 6, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    I don’t believe the video or the argument made “falls flat”. Yes, Ron Paul did make the “she hates muslims” remark and that was a very poor decision. The video was not a “defense” to the newsletters, but an investigative piece done to find out who the author of the “racist content” of the newsletters was, since it has been reported on for over 4 years with no indication of who the actual author was. The segment was more of an “offense against ‘journalists’” for being lazy and witholding information than a “defense” of Dr Paul. The segment you’ve chosen to take issue with is the portion that calls for people to pay attention to substance of ideas and voting records and not name calling (and yes, Dr Paul is guilty of that as I mentioned above). Therefore, I believe that the plea for substance from the media has fallen flat and not the “defense of the newsletters”.

  4. Tommy says:
    January 6, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Except that wasn’t what the reporter was doing. His commentary was that all candidates have been accused of it either for something they said or something people near them said and this should be about ideas and not name-calling and accusations of racism are the lowest form of discourse… Something Doctor Ron Paul did himself.

    I notice you neglected to mention that. Feel free to say Ron Paul was wrong to go on national TV and say what he said. You might feel better!

  5. Paul says:
    January 6, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    Your article labels the video as being from a Ron Paul supporter. But this is an investigative video done for a local Fox News broadcast! Maybe they do support Ron Paul, but I saw nothing in the reporting to suggest they didn’t do what they said they did, which is try and further investigate the story.

    http://www.fox19.com/story/15014159/fox19-balanced-news

  6. Mike says:
    January 6, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    I kinda thought that the video was pretty non bias. So because the facts he found support Ron Paul being right this whole time you think he is supporting him? The only thing that falls flat is this article. You obviously forgot to watch the entire video. It clearly says that there is a bi line for a special guest writer. Go figure the original report on these newsletter printed the whole letter except the last page. Now who is bias again?

  7. James B. Powell says:
    January 6, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    Hey, I wrote the newsletters not my buddy Ronnie!

  8. Daniel K says:
    January 7, 2012 at 3:48 am

    Of course the news reporter was bias. He didn’t call Ron Paul loony or try to distort the facts even once. Anyone who says that he ISN’T biased…is a racist.

  9. Woody says:
    January 7, 2012 at 9:35 am

    News regarding the newsletter flap. James Kirchick just released the name of the only by-lined author from his pdf files of the newsletters. Why didn’t he do this 4 years ago? Paul isn’t believed by many when he says he didn’t exercise sufficient editorial control. New Republic and Stephen Glass, anyone? The irony is that the original piece was written by Kirchick for, you guessed it, The New Republic.

  10. martyblueyes says:
    January 8, 2012 at 3:13 am

    Ron Paul is about as racist as Romney is ugly.

  11. Daniel says:
    January 16, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    Bad argument man, Bachman and Santorum wear their bigotry on their sleeves.

  12. David says:
    January 30, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    I think you missed the most point of the “Reality Check” video. The investigative reporter uncovered the writer of the racist newsletters, James B. Powell.

  13. Ron Paul says:
    February 22, 2012 at 10:49 am

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C3T_2O3YpA&w=420&h=315

    Served

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