New Black Woman

The Washington Post is reporting something many of Ron Paul’s critics–mainly POCs–already knew: that he “pursued a marketing strategy” to promote his racist newsletters. Of course, the libertarian running as a GOP presidential candidate has denied he gave the nod to publish the newsletters.

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.

More from the article:

A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said.

“It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government,’’ said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this stuff. It was good copy. Ron Paul is a shrewd businessman.’’ The articles included racial, anti-Semitic and anti-gay content. They claimed, for example, that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “seduced underage girls and boys’’; they ridiculed black activists by suggesting that New York be named “Zooville” or “Lazyopolis”; and they said the 1992 Los Angeles riots ended “when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.’’ The June 1990 edition of the Ron Paul Political Report included the statement: “Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.”

The entire article in length is really worth the read and paints Paul as a businessman who was actively involved in promoting his racist product.

I find it hard to believe that a shrewd businessman and politician like Ron Paul would blindly allow this deplorable content to be published without his knowledge. It’s also troubling that he would stand by this content, but a year later as the Washington Post article notes, would denounce any sort of affiliation with this offensive content.

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.

Bull. Shit.

Ron Paul wrote these racist, homophobic, bigoted newsletters which claimed, “the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “seduced underage girls and boys’’; they ridiculed black activists by suggesting that New York be named “Zooville” or “Lazyopolis”; and they said the 1992 Los Angeles riots ended “when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.’’ The June 1990 edition of the Ron Paul Political Report included the statement: “Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities“.”

Ron Paul wrote those newsletters because he also believed 95 percent of black men in the District of Columbia were “semi-criminal” or “entirely criminal” and black teens were “unbelievably fleet of foot.” Ron Paul wrote those newsletters because he subscribes to each of the viewpoints above and did what other frustrated white male conservative pundits and activists did during the 1980s: use their power and privilege to express dismay at what the American underclass was doing to the America they know and grew to love and capitalized on the latent racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia of those like them to promote their warped ideology.

It will be interesting to see what lie Ron Paul conjures up to try and wiggle his way out of this latest contradiction.