Posted by
Andrews on Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:10:59 PM
In one word, the reason Ron Paul will lose: supporters.
No, not a lack of supporters. It is because of the people who have chosen to support Ron Paul.
I am not going to say one word about Ron Paul's positions in this essay. In fact, they really don't even matter any longer. Ron Paul could have the most brilliant plan on earth for the rebuilding of the USA, but as long as he continues along the path he is currently treading, he will never win an election, and the blame can be placed squarely on those who endorse him.
OK. I guess I do have to mention one position, but it is not a political one. Ron Paul's one fateful position is his failure to renounce some of his supporters.
Now, I am not saying Ron Paul is a racist, or an anti-semite, or anything of the kind.
Some articles have argued this position, but for my purposes it is not relevant. What does matter is that Ron Paul has been endorsed by a number of outright racists and anti-semites, as well as an even greater number of more covert racist and anti-semitic groups, many hiding behind "anti-Zionism" or other convenient fictions. Whether or not Paul believes as these groups do, as long as he does not denounce them, people assume that his supporters reflect an accurate depiction of his positions.
In short, with his supporters, Ron Paul needs no critics. Until he finds the nerve to denounce the vile tone set by his supporters, that vileness rubs off on him, and no sane person will even consider joining a coalition made up of this human refuse.
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For the record, this was inspired by a comment I posted on an
article on Townhall. In fact, I think a lot of my wording was taken straight form my original comment.
As It is short, and a bit more pithy than my essay above, I will append it here:
I knew it was only a matter of time before you started defending Hitler. I am a bit surprised it took you this long.
You
know, if you really want to help Ron Paul, you may want to hide your
liking for the man. By having those who spout anti-semitic rants and
defend Hitler say they support Paul, it makes it ever less likely that
anyone will vote for Ron Paul.
With supporters like you, he needs no critics.
Perhaps I should just copy my comments on to my blog and not bother with my more elaborate writing, as my comments always sound much more witty than my longer essays.