Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Exposing the Authors of the Ron Paul Newsletters

Julian Sanchez and David Weigel explore the history here and conclude:
[T]hose new supporters, many of whom are first encountering libertarian ideas through the Ron Paul Revolution, deserve a far more frank explanation than the campaign has as yet provided of how their candidate's name ended up atop so many ugly words. Ron Paul may not be a racist, but he became complicit in a strategy of pandering to racists and taking "moral responsibility" for that now means more than just uttering the phrase. It means openly grappling with his own past acknowledging who said what, and why. Otherwise he risks damaging not only his own reputation, but that of the philosophy to which he has committed his life.
Sounds right to me. I have believed for some time that Rockwell and the people at the Mises Institute seemed a bit too comfortable straddling the libertarian/class-based poplulist line, all to often directing their arguments to the base racial-insecurities of the right-leaning fringes of the libertarian movement. It all becomes so clear. Pathetic.