Life before 2008 21 Jan 2008 12:14 pm
Ron Paul’s recent comments re: racism in the news
I confess I haven’t been too involved in the latest/greatest/breakingest Political News lately…. but I have been glancing at the Primaries here and there. There is still only ONE candidate that talks about a “big enough” level of change for me and the only one who interests me enough to move me from an apolitical status to one where I actually may care enough to vote this time and be involved. So Ron it is. But I was disturbed lately to hear a rumor on the wind about some racists comments he may or may not have made. In true disclosure I have NOT heard the comments directly that are in question, nor do I have the time to go looking for them these days. But I am on his mailing list and I got this response in my inbox, that may be helpful to anyone interested in what he had to say about it all:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jesse Benton
January 8, 2008 703-248-9115
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – In response to an article published by The New Republic, Ron Paul issued the following statement:
“The quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts.
“In fact, I have always agreed with Martin Luther King, Jr. that we should only be concerned with the content of a person’s character, not the color of their skin. As I stated on the floor of the U.S. House on April 20, 1999: ‘I rise in great respect for the courage and high ideals of Rosa Parks who stood steadfastly for the rights of individuals against unjust laws and oppressive governmental policies.’
“This story is old news and has been rehashed for over a decade. It’s once again being resurrected for obvious political reasons on the day of the New Hampshire primary.
“When I was out of Congress and practicing medicine full-time, a newsletter was published under my name that I did not edit. Several writers contributed to the product. For over a decade, I have publically taken moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name.â€
Should Ron not get the R. nomination, I will set my sites on Obama next, the one who had my interest before I heard of Ron. But he doesn’t excite me enough to do what Ron did, which was to get signs for my yard and stickers for my car. Oh and…hope for our future, which I hadn’t done in the political realm for a very long time.