Ron Paul: Slanders Exposed [fleet footed]

Posted by Brewskie on January 27, 2008 : 11:01pm (430 views)
Filed Under Politics, Racism, Republican Party, Ron Paul

NOTE: This is a work in progress. As I update this article I will post the changes here.

Slander [slan-der]
noun
1. defamation; calumny: rumors full of slander.
2. a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slander

This is the first “paper” on the recent smear campaign against 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul. To see the other papers please visit the main page.

These smears are formed by taking quotes out of newsletters, which were published by Ron Paul from 1978 to 1995.

The Slander:

“If you have ever been robbed by a black teenaged male, you know how unbelievably fleet of foot they can be.”

The Facts:

While most of the attempts at slander have a source within one of the newsletters, this particular one can not be found. I have searched many times for this quote yet it still remains elusive. Until I actually see this quote in a newsletter I’ll have to say it is probably something manufactured and hence just another baseless smear.

Even though this quote was taken out of context it still doesn’t rise to the level of racism, unless we’ve become so sensitive to racism that to say anything at all negative is racist, which would be an absurd position as it would make virtually everyone into a racist. Insensitive it surely is, when put into any context, but racist it is not. The claim of racism is a very big accusation. It must be considered whether there is truly racism going on, and not merely racial insensitivity. If not then true calls against racism will be lessened, much like the boy crying wolf. But until this quote is put in it’s proper context there is no way of knowing just how insensitive it is overall.

There are people who are posting what is said to be a newspaper article from 1996 by the Dallas Morning News. That article says that Paul answered this quote. However, as hard as I’ve tried, I can not find one link to the actual article. Each and every web site that posts this “article” fails to mention the fact that this article is nowhere to be found. Most web pages mentioning this 1996 article are pointing to either an article at dailykos.com or reason.com, and even they do not point to a source. Without a link to the actual source it is impossible to say whether the posted article on the 1996 Dallas Morning News interview is accurate or even real.

So, until there can be more information about this Slander and the elusive 1996 Dallas Morning News article I am going to have to say that this Slander is just that….slander.

Both the slanderous quote and the article to back it up are missing in action. To continue to use them against Ron Paul is to continue the lies and distortions.

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UPDATE:

The 1996 Dallas Morning News article has been forwarded to me.

It mentions a newsletter it says was published in June 1992. A newsletter that has yet to surface.

The article says that Paul claimed that the quote was taken out of context. He said “It’s typical political demagoguery…..If people are interested in my character . . . come and talk to my neighbors.” Paul also said that the column was not evoking stereotypes and that the column “should be read and quoted in their entirety to avoid misrepresentation”

Paul responded to the quote by saying “If you try to catch someone that has stolen a purse from you, there is no chance to catch them”. While probably being technically correct he didn’t deny whether the quote was his.

While the article makes note that Paul did not deny writing the newsletter they didn’t say he acknowledged writing them either. Some may say that since he didn’t deny writing the column shows that he did write it, I’m not buying that. There could be a hundred reasons why he would not deny writing it, one of which could have been the fact that Paul was being paid for the use of his name on the newsletters.

Not knowing the entire column this article is referring to it’s impossible to know whether the quote is being taken out of context and distorted. As much as all the other quotes from the newsletters have been taken out of context I would, at this point, say that this is probably the case here as well. But, then again, without the newsletter no one can say what is going on, other than the news paper article, and the fact that Paul has since denied writing the columns.

The writer of the Dallas Morning News article was Catalina Camia. I have sent her a request for more information and hopefully will hear back from her. If/when I do hear back from her I’ll update this paper.

You can read the 1996 Dallas Morning News article Here.
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If I find more information on this quote I will update this paper and post the changes to the main page here.

Changes:

Added information about the 1996 Dallas Morning News article interviewing Ron Paul.

Click HERE to return to the Ron Paul: Slanders Exposed main page.

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