via: ryking –

Ron Paul signed off on racist newsletters in the 1990s, associates say

[P]eople 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…

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.’’

Ron Paul’s supporters (at least those who don’t consider themselves racists, because many are), will need to decide one thing: if he did sign off on all the racist and homophobic and fear-mongering nonsense in his newsletters, are they okay with that decision. Is Ron Paul admirable after all? They need to look deep and decide if the things he stands for which they support (and would probably never get past Congress if he ever was elected president) are more important than this racist baggage he will carry with him forever. Because the alternative to his signing-off on the garbage in his newsletters, which is that he knew nothing, is completely ridiculous. And for him to now claim he knew nothing about the content of his newsletters is hypocritical and cowardly, to say the least.

image: wrongpaul