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Vote "uncommitted", not for racist Ron Paul (or hope-less Hill)

by: David Boyle

Wed Jan 09, 2008 at 17:12:09 PM EST


     Although respected posters here may say they're voting for Ron Paul or other Republicans...this may not be good. Explanation below.

    See the poor man's Michigan Liberal, the New Republic, Angry White Man: The bigoted past of Ron Paul.,

    ...Martin Luther King Jr. earned special ire from Paul's newsletters, which attacked the civil rights leader frequently, often to justify opposition to the federal holiday named after him. ("What an infamy Ronald Reagan approved it!" one newsletter complained in 1990. "We can thank him for our annual Hate Whitey Day.") In the early 1990s, a newsletter attacked the "X-Rated Martin Luther King" as a "world-class philanderer who beat up his paramours," "seduced underage girls and boys," and "made a pass at" fellow civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy. One newsletter ridiculed black activists who wanted to rename New York City after King, suggesting that "Welfaria," "Zooville," "Rapetown," "Dirtburg," and "Lazyopolis" were better alternatives. The same year, King was described as "a comsymp, if not an actual party member, and the man who replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration."
    While bashing King, the newsletters had kind words for the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. ...

    Hillary hasn't been good on MLK issues, but Paul is much worse.
    Do you want to vote for Adolf, uh, Ron Paul now? Maybe not. I hope.

    There is also the ethical issue about messing with somebody else's primary; I don't really like it, any more than I would appreciate 10 zillion Repubs crossing over and making Mike Gravel the winner. Dems should vote...DEM, etc.
    And finally, there is also the "dilution" tactical problem, i.e., one Dem thinks, "I'll vote for that loser Huckabee and he'll win the Michigan vote, haw haw", but another thinks "I'll vote for that loser Ron Paul and he'll win the Michigan vote, haw haw", so that the "loser" votes may be spread out too much and let Romney or McCain slip through anyway--and ALSO let Hillary slip through.
    This is what professionals call A Bad Result.

    See, too, Daily Kos today, cartwrightdale, Changing my vote from "Ron Paul" to "Uncommitted" (in Michigan),

    ...I stated a few days ago that Senator Clinton needs to say, on record, unambiguously and as Shermanesque as possible, that she will not challenge the Michigan delegate ban under any circumstances, and not accept delegate votes from Michigan under any circumstances.  If she won't commit to this statement, she is patently unqualified to run in the Democratic primary to begin with, as she would be advocating the strategy of stealing an election.  I spent the last day or so trying to get an answer from the Clinton campaign, and no one will commit to this statement that I've talked to so far.  Which is terrifying.  
    Therefore, I have changed my mind about the strategic advantage of voting for Ron Paul.  It is now the clear strategic advantage, if you're in Michigan, to vote "uncommitted".  Voting "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary allows the delegates to be freed up to support who they like, should the convention prove a close one.  
    Yes, most Michigan Democrats I know still plan on staying home, or voting in the Republican primary, but I hope the word gets out in time that there is a better option.  Voting uncommitted isn't the same as not voting -- it's stopping Hillary Clinton from the potential of hijacking an election with invalid delgates (should the final totals be close).  And that in and of itself is even more valuable than assuring Ron Paul keeps being a pest.

    As for Hillary, by the way: congratulations on her slim 2-point victory over Barack in NH last night, although Barack's 9-point Iowa victory over her was proportionately more impressive.
    However, as Maureen Dowd notes in Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?,

    ...Gloria Steinem wrote in The Times yesterday that one of the reasons she is supporting Hillary is that she had "no masculinity to prove." But Hillary did feel she needed to prove her masculinity. That was why she voted to enable W. to invade Iraq without even reading the National Intelligence Estimate and backed the White House's bellicosity on Iran. ...
    Hillary sounded silly trying to paint Obama as a poetic dreamer and herself as a prodigious doer. "Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act," she said. Did any living Democrat ever imagine that any other living Democrat would try to win a presidential primary in New Hampshire by comparing herself to L.B.J.? (Who was driven out of politics by Gene McCarthy in New Hampshire.)
    Her argument against Obama now boils down to an argument against idealism, which is probably the lowest and most unlikely point to which any Clinton could sink. The people from Hope are arguing against hope. ...

    Hope against hope. Heh.
    And with Hillary confirming in her victory speech that she'll get us out of Iraq "the right way", it implies she knows better than other Dem candidates what to do there. Which she didn't when she voted to send us to war there, causing far more tears in the families of our dead soldiers than she herself has shed recently; and I don't think she knows better now about Iraq, either. So much for Hillary.

    So if you want a viable change candidate like Barack Obama (cf. the other poor man's Mich Lib, the Huffington Post, Obama Wins Key Support Of Nevada's Largest Union today) or John Edwards to win--and no lawsuit knocks over the primary, and if you don't want to boycott the primary, and maybe even if you like Richardson--, vote "uncommitted" and make sure all your friends do, too, and spread the word the best you can. --Kucinich is campaigning here, so he's violating the pledge not to campaign, maybe? and who wants to vote for a dishonest candidate? And Dodd is out. And Gravel...is Gravel, God bless him.
    Ironically, then, if you are COMMITTED to change, you may have to vote UNCOMMITTED on 1/15. Funny, I know, but that's life.

    Peace.
David Boyle :: Vote "uncommitted", not for racist Ron Paul (or hope-less Hill)
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Vote "uncommitted", not for racist Ron Paul (or hope-less Hill) | 24 comments
Vote thoughtfully (4.00 / 1)
     The consequences of not doing so could be catastrophic.
Conyers, Steelworkers: vote uncommitted (0.00 / 0)
     See DetNews, Levin, Brewer urge Michigan Democrats to vote in their primary,

    ...U.S. Rep. John Conyers and his wife, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, are urging people to vote for uncommitted if their candidate isn't on the ballot. The Conyers hope that will give some national convention delegates to someone other than Clinton, who's expected to win the Michigan contest. ...
    Michigan State University student Tara Clark, who's organizing Obama efforts at colleges and universities around the state, said supporters have been asking what they should do Tuesday. She's urging them to vote for uncommitted rather than staying home.
    "It's really ... to get people to feel that their voice can still be heard in some way," she said.
    The United Steelworkers union, which backs Edwards, also is urging its members to vote for uncommitted in the Democratic primary. ...

Ron Paul????? (4.00 / 2)
Gee David, I read the title to this and I thought it was going to be about Ron Paul, not another Clinton bashing diary. Should have known better.

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson
It said "Hill" (0.00 / 0)
 , and talked extensively about Ron Paul, as we both know...
[ Parent ]
Hopeless? (4.00 / 2)
So why is Hillary hopeless? seems like she took the politics of hope to school last night.

"Win if you can, lose is you must, but ALWAYS cheat!" -- Jesse Ventura

"Whether you like it or not, learn to love it, because its the best thing going. Wooooo!" -- Ric Flair

Haw (0.00 / 1)
     By 2 points, as I said.

    ...I was riffing on Dowd's joke, that's all. Of course Hill plows on, but that Culinary Union endorsement for O gives him some real hope in NV...

[ Parent ]
Michigan Democrats (0.00 / 0)
Due to violating party rules, the Democratic National Committee has stripped Michigan of all its delegates to the Democratic National Convention. You can vote in the Democrat's primary, but no Michigan delegates will be sent to the DNC to vote for you.

As if that isn't bad enough, most candidates running for the Democrat's nomination didn't even register to be on the ballot or have withdrawn their names. Here is a list of people who will be on the ballot: Hillary Clinton, Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich. So if you wanted to vote for Barack Obama, John Edwards, or any other candidate you're SOL because they won't even be on the ballot.

Instead of casting a meaningless vote on the Democrat's ticket, you can vote in the Republican primary, helping bring a "win-win" ballot for the 2008 Presidential election by voting for Ron Paul. The war in Iraq has consistently rated the highest issue important to voters. Another issue not polled which I'm sure matters to voters is the restoration of our civil liberties.

Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate who is against the Iraq war and for the restoration of our civil liberties. All of the Democrats oppose the war in Iraq, so by voting for Ron Paul in the Republican primary you can help create a "win-win" 2008 Presidential ballot. It will be an anti-

Ron Paul-bot failed (4.00 / 1)
     to complete the last paragraph.

    Thanks for visiting anyway!!

[ Parent ]
Not a bot... (0.00 / 0)
I can't speak for the post you're referring to, but I can speak for myself.

I'm not a "bot" as the media has coined.  Neither are the 20,000 or so voters in Iowa and New Hampshire who have put Dr. Paul into an overall 4th place when the states' counts are summed up.  (beating Thompson and Giuliani).  

Neither are the hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters who've donated an average of 100.00 to equal 20,000,000.00 in one quarter alone.

Neither are the 90,000 or so meetup group members nationwide.  
.
.
.
Sorry for all of that, I'm sure you mean well, but I'm tired of the bias.

As the name suggests, I'm in the Air Force.  I want the troops (me!) home.  Please help me to do that.

[ Parent ]
Ah bias... (4.00 / 1)
     I thought that's what Paul's newsletters had...

    But I do hope you come home soon! Good luck.

[ Parent ]
Not there (4.00 / 1)
Sorry... didn't mean to imply I'm overseas.  Just that I'm a troop.  I'm stationed in TX now, but my point still stands.

Thanks!

[ Parent ]
If we go back on the Gold Standard (4.00 / 2)
and do away with the income tax...

We won't be able to afford to send you anywhere.

[ Parent ]
Stationed where? (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
Good luck with your racist candidate there, buddy. (4.00 / 1)
You must be proud.
[ Parent ]
Not a racist... (0.00 / 0)
I'm originally from Detroit (live in TX), have never voted (I'm 24), and am completely independent. [preface: keep reading]

Seriously.  Do your homework before you buy into this stuff... it's a Presidential election season.  Any dirt is good dirt.  Unfortunately for his opponents, Dr. Paul has NO dirt, except contrived and thoroughly disproven "dirt".

This was written without his knowledge during his political hiatus.  Even his Congressional opponents admit he didn't write it or know of it.  There was a media investigation and he was exonerated in the public's eye just prior to his re-entry into Congress in 1997.

This is old news... being dug up to hurt his campaign going into NH and MI.

Now, leaving aside any "strategic" analysis above.  

You should vote for Dr. Paul for the following reasons:
1. The Economy is approaching collapse as you're beginning to see in MI.  The dollar inflates, gold remains near constant in value (goes up when priced in dollars).  He knows how to fix the economy.

2. He's going for President!!!  Not "Dictator" (recent new executive powers aside).  Half the stuff he wants to do won't get done, because he'll need 2/3 of congress (minimum).

3. What he CAN do, as COMMANDER IN CHIEF, is pull all troops home immediately with a single order.  Isn't that what you want?  Only Kucinich has the same complete anti-war view.  NO ONE ELSE.

4. You can't vote for the Dems, help keep the worst Republicans from winning.

Interesting (0.00 / 0)
     He should have paid more attention to those newsletters, tho...
[ Parent ]
Maybe (4.00 / 1)
I don't mean to spam your post here (though I guess I'm doing just that!), but before I head to bed, I want to make sure I say the right thing.

He was practicing medicine full time at the time of publication, and didn't really plan on entering politics again, so probably wasn't as attentive.  As soon as it was discovered, the "ghost-writer"(s) were fired immediately, and he apologized for not paying closer attention.

[ Parent ]
Maybe (4.00 / 1)
I don't mean to spam your post here (though I guess I'm doing just that!) but before I head to bed, I want to make sure I say the right thing.

He was ingesting pharmaceuticals full time at the time of the publication, so he was probably on the planet Golob.  As soon as it was discovered, his followers were dispensed the same medications.  We all saw ghosts and began writing these wacked out newsletters.  Someone lost the stash, and got fired immediately, and he apologized for not paying closer attention

[ Parent ]
right (4.00 / 1)
of course
[ Parent ]
Troll be gone (4.00 / 1)
Not racist? From the 1992 Ron Paul Report:

   

Regardless of what the media tell us, most white Americans are not going to believe that they are at fault for what blacks have done to cities across America. The professional blacks may have cowed the elites, but good sense survives at the grass roots.  Many more are going to have difficultly avoiding the belief that our country is being destroyed by a group of actual and potential terrorists -- and they can be identified by the color of their skin. This conclusion may not be entirely fair, but it is, for many, entirely unavoidable.

   Indeed, it is shocking to consider the uniformity of opinion among blacks in this country. Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty, and the end of welfare and affirmative action.... Given the inefficiencies of what D.C. laughingly calls the "criminal justice system," I think we can safely assume that 95% of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.

   If similar in-depth studies were conducted in other major cities, who doubts that similar results would be produced?  We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, but it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings, and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers.

   Perhaps the L.A. experience should not be surprising. The riots, burning, looting, and murders are only a continuation of 30 years of racial politics.The looting in L.A. was the welfare state without the voting booth.  The elite have sent one message to black America for 30 years: you are entitled to something for nothing. That's what blacks got on the streets of L.A. for three days in April. Only they didn't ask their Congressmen to arrange the transfer.


[ Parent ]
hmmm... (4.00 / 1)
well, I haven't seen that before now, so I can't speak of it intelligently, but it resembles something Walter Williams (http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/vita.html) would say (who is a prominent African American economist and journalist btw).  Now, this is the same Walter Williams that the campaign is talking about choosing as Ron Paul's running mate.

just FYI.

Damn I hate politics.  I've never done this crap before, and I got a lot more sleep back then.  Chew on the above.

[ Parent ]
If you support Obama, voting Kucinich is the way (4.00 / 1)
Kucinich will direct his delegates to support Obama similar to what he did in Iowa.

Uncommitted delegates would probably go to Obama's opponents based on who controls who will be delegate.  Granholm, some unions have not endorsed Obama yet they will impact who will serve as delegates.  They would likely select folks who might follow their endorsements.

just want give folks something to discuss

Why go through a Middleman (4.00 / 2)
just vote uncommitted, get your ass to the district meeting in March and send delegates who support your candidates...

Or, don't give a damn, don't vote, because no matter what, the delegates will be seated and will vote for the eventual Democratic nominee, no matter who they are pledged to...

The only importance of an early primary is to influence Super Duper Tuesday...and we completely screwed that up...

Yeah team!

[ Parent ]
ron paul's racism (0.00 / 0)
Please research more about Ron Paul's racism before you  label him as one. See his own defense on CNN, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

His policies would serve minorities more than any other Republican candidate.  He is willing to take on the war on terror and the war on drugs, two wars that kill and incarcerate minorities unevenly and unjustly.  I wish democrats would begin to consider his stance on both of these issues.  

Anyone who knows anything about the New Republic will note that they have always sought to smear Paul because he contests their neo-con ideology.  Even Paul's opponents in previous congressional elections have admitted that they didn't believe Paul wrote those horribly racist comments.  He has already dealt with this in previous elections so all voters would do well to do a little research before they write him off as a racist after reading an article written by people who have a vested interest in annihilating his policital future.  

While I could never vote for Ron Paul or any other liberitarian candidate over a democrat in a presidential election (free markets don't solve everything), I think there are many benefits from my perspective for casting a vote for paul instead of wasting one.  1. he's anti-war, 2. he's actually concerned about our economic future and the depreciation of the dollar, 3. he acutally brings up the hopeless future of medicare and social security(60 trillion dollars we don't have).  His ability to bring these topics into public discussion will do this country a service.  And will hopefully lead to the destruction of the devastatingly violent warmongers who control one of the two political parties in this country.

Vote "uncommitted", not for racist Ron Paul (or hope-less Hill) | 24 comments

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