Zeal For Truth

The following is an editorial and represents the author’s opinion and not any views of this site, its other authors or contributors.

Both the left and right political establishment are salivating over a rare opportunity to knock around a man who has had no scandals, no marital issues, no political waffles, no changes of heart, no demagoguing and represents the most constitutional, conservative approach to enter the mainstream of politics since Senator Robert Taft. There has literally been no ammo whatsoever for the neo-socialist liberals or the big government conservatives who are terrified of what Ron Paul represents - a man of integrity, whose personal life and principles are nearly as pure as the gold standard which he advocates.

The best they could do up until this point were the logical fallacies of middle-school cliques: ad hominem attacks on him (he’s “crazy,” or a “kook”), his supporters (Ron Paul is supported by prostitutes and white supremacists, therefore he must be bad) or his ability to win (Ron Paul isn’t “electable” - therefore we don’t have to pay attention to the truth he speaks).

When Ron Paul began to actually gain traction, proving that he was no kook, his supporters are mostly normal, mainline Americans and that he was indeed electable - the establishment and their hacks stood in frozen panic for a couple of months. When he raised the most money in the fourth quarter of 2007, there was nary a whisper in the media.

The Blessing and Curse of Grassroots Support
Ron Paul has always been supported by a grassroots effort. The only inherent disadvantage of this is that supporters get a larger say in representing a candidate. If you have even one supporter who has radical, immoral or unethical views and gets his hand on the mic, then you have a moment of discomfort. However, if you happen to represent even a slightly credible threat to the establishment and the acolytes of the “lesser of two evils” then you will be the victim of muckraking.

And so the major media and blogosphere alike, especially those invested in the same old story of every other candidate, have jumped on the first so called “scandal” associated with Ron Paul. When Paul was out of office in the eighties and nineties, newsletters were published under his name, edited and written by supporters - but most of which the congressman never read, wrote or even really cared about.

The Muckrakers
In every election he’s ever ran in since, the remarks of those supporters became “breaking news” rehashed over and over again. The apologies from Ron Paul, for remarks he never wrote or read have been quick and proficient every time. The man has every right to come out swinging against the muckrakers who dig it out every election, but instead, like a true leader and ethical man of integrity, he apologizes again and again - despite having nothing to do with it except his name.

But this doesn’t stop so called conservatives (where the majority of the attacks come from) from acting like children and bored old women, suspending their high and mighty preaching about morals and values to churn out negative gossip-columns before even doing the most basic research on the issue.

Ron Paul has never been seen or heard saying anything racist. In fact, he has the most support among blacks in the Republican party. His individualist message is the most open and tolerant concerning issues of race, and has always been. There is no evidence whatsoever that he has any racist leanings - yet the witch hunt goes on.

The NAACP itself has come to Paul’s defense. Yesterday, Austin President Nelson Linder, who has known Paul for over 20 years, maintained that Paul was being attacked because he represents a threat to “the establishment.” He remarked further:

Knowing Ron Paul’s intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that….so I think it’s very easy for folks who want to to take his position out of context and that’s what I’m hearing

The Real Kooks Reveal Themselves
Ironically, the major media have been the first to admit their mistakes in this whole joke of a story. Wolf Blitzer had Ron Paul on right away and finished his interview declaring, “You and I have talked a lot… and I was pretty shocked, because it certainly didn’t sound like the Ron Paul that I have come to know, and our viewers have come to know.” Fox News, who has been blatantly anti-Ron Paul, didn’t even bring it up in their most recent debate.

Tucker Carlson told the author of the story that it was “right over his head” when he accused Ron Paul of speaking in “racist code” as part of his covert racist agenda. Ironically, many of the conservatives who openly dismiss Paul as a “kook” are jumping on an anti-Ron Paul bandwagon driven by a man who thinks Paul is speaking in “racist code” as a “transmitter.” The author also admitted he “had no evidence” of Ron Paul actually saying racist things.

But the so called “conservative” under-media continue to revel in their hypocrisy. Like all self-righteous entities, they boldly proclaim themselves, their candidates and their causes moral and just - sounding the biblical trumpet of pride as thy announce their moral superiority - while simultaneously exposing their ignorance and unabashed hostility towards the closest embodiment of true conservative principles in the modern era. Many who use this example of yellow journalism will call Paul a kook, and base this accusation on a man who thinks Paul is a “neo-confederate transmitter” of “racist code.”

Even the left-leaning New York Times printed a retraction on a story from last year accusing Paul of being tied with white supremacists. It will be interesting to see if the conservative media and their followers will bear even a shred of the integrity the Times has, and retract their ungrounded accusations.

The Blowback Generation of Conservatives
The false conservatives publications, authors and pundits, many paying lip service to the free market, strong national defense and the constitution, have been revealing their true colors the past few elections. This incident has now proven that they are desperate and the era of big-government conservatism will likely not endure. The moral “majority” soon will have a choice - make the full transition to Huckabee and Hillary-style moral socialism, or repent and return to the way of freedom, limited government and individual responsibility.

Ron Paul will not win this election, but he if he maintains his status as a fund raising, conservative magnet, then the next election will move a little closer to the right. Politicians are predictably eager to go where the wind blows, and a significant gust is brewing in the form of Ron Paul republicans. For the first time in my lifetime, the mainstream media is broadly and openly questioning the federal reserve, the constitutionality of previously sacrosanct government programs and the war on drugs. Paul is educating and inspiring a new generation of conservatives, armed with the moral and political principles that the current generation has either forgot or abandoned. We will never vote for a faux conservative again. We are the generation of their blowback. And the siren song of their big-government pundits is wasted - gradually decreasing into baseless accusations, and the whining of a faded empire.