Responding to the Mona Charen absurdity, the Paul campaign shows that it is starting to take the concerns about its ties to lunatics seriously. This is the first time I've seen the campaign make a somewhat high-profile response to the criticisms of "moon-battery." I must say- quite effective and well done.
Most of the original column was completely off the wall, as my response post argued. But, she also made the popular argument about the association with moonbats- just far more viciously than most. The campaign's response is pretty effective, and comes close to what I and others have been asking for, even delving into the realm of vicious sarcasm of its own:
Dr. Paul’s “Texas Straight Talk Column,” for example, is public record and anyone, from the American Free Press to Cat Fancy, has the right to reprint it.Yes, Ron appears on the Alex Jones radio program. But you know who else talks to Alex Jones? People like Judge Anthony Napolitano. Guess who hosts Alex Jones? FOX’s John Gibson and National Public Radio. Dr. Paul has said time and again that he does not believe 9/11 was an inside job. He does, however, think we should always question authority. When, by the way, were conservatives supposed to become trusting of big government? Dr. Paul stands for freedom, peace, prosperity, and the protection of inalienable individual rights. He knows that liberty is the antidote for racism, anti-Semitism, and other small minded ideologies. Dr. Paul has focused all of his energy on winning the presidency so he can cut the size of government and protect the freedom of every American. Neither he nor his staff is going to waste time screening donors. If a handful of individuals with views anathema to Dr. Paul’s send in checks, then they have wasted their money. I cannot profess to understand the motivations of Don Black as neither Dr. Paul nor I know who he is, but a simple Google search shows that his $500 contribution has netted him at least 88 news hits, including Charen’s column. Perhaps a better explanation for his “contribution” is not support for Ron, but the attention he knew he would receive.
This alone isn't going to be enough to put an end to the association between Paul and the moonbats- but it's a damn good start. If this letter just represents the beginning of an outspoken campaign of defense against the accusations, then the Paul campaign could be the spark that libertarianism has been seeking for years. But, I must emphasize- there is still a long way to go. But this is a promising first step.
HT: Liberty Papers.
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