Moron -- Er, More On Ron Paul
Several months ago, I commented to a co-worker (we'll just call him CB) that, all things being equal, I would indeed vote for Ron Paul in the general election if and only if he somehow attained the Republican nomination for President (a statement I'll obviously never have to back up with action). After all, he passes my litmus test on abortion, at least in principle, as opposed to any potential Democrat, and I must confess I have a bit of a soft spot for his views on states' rights. His views on foreign policy would be disastrous for this country, and quite frankly I believe Hillary Clinton would indeed do a much better job prosecuting the war and maintaining a strong overseas presence, but on principle I will never vote for a pro-abortion candidate for higher office (sorry, Rudy). But I digress...
Recently, some vociferous RP supporters gave Rudy Giuliani a hard time while he was riding the ferry,
Normally, a candidate shouldn't be held responsible for the views of his supporters that he doesn't openly share. This is a little different; it seems first of all that he disproportionately attracts these... Paulnuts. Second, particularly given the context of his little mini-rant right in the middle of his Huckslapping that, maybe, his beliefs are indeed not too far off from the Paulnut gallery.
Recently, some vociferous RP supporters gave Rudy Giuliani a hard time while he was riding the ferry,
some of whom shouted taunts about 9/11, including: “9/11 was an inside job” and “Rudy, Rudy, what did you do with the gold?” — an apparent reference to rumors about $200 million in gold alleged to have disappeared in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.Therefore, I must amend my original statement: I would vote for Ron Paul for President if and only if a) he received the Republican nomination, AND b) he unequivocally rebukes and disassociates himself from the entire "Truther" movement. And I'm not talking a simple "You guys are wrong; could you please quiet down?" -- I mean "You guys are nuts. Stop using my name in any context, and please, for the love of all that is good and holy, don't vote for me, and after that, please die in a fire." And that's assuming Ron Paul doesn't curse like a sailor when he's angry.
Normally, a candidate shouldn't be held responsible for the views of his supporters that he doesn't openly share. This is a little different; it seems first of all that he disproportionately attracts these... Paulnuts. Second, particularly given the context of his little mini-rant right in the middle of his Huckslapping that, maybe, his beliefs are indeed not too far off from the Paulnut gallery.
Labels: politics
posted by Benjamin at 11:30 AM
5 Comments:
You know, this whole 9/11 conspiracy retardedness is perhaps one of the dumbest things I've heard in a while (and, unfortunately, I actually know some adherents to this particular brand of idiocy). I'd sooner believe ALF was Herve Villechaize after a horrible plastic surgery mishap.
My main dispute with this "theory" (with quotes due to my hesitation to even honor the idea with such a word) is that it doesn't pass the smell test. Assume you're really chomping at the bit to turn Iraq into a smoldering hellhole, and you want to stage an incident to justify it (at the risk of ripping your economy to shreds, BTW). Who are you going to frame as the perpetrators? Here's a hint: IRAQIS. Instead, we have 19 Saudis, the alleged darlings of the president's family. Um...what? How does that make any sense?!?! Hell, if I'd been tasked to put together such a thing, I'd have pinned it on a crew chock full of known Baathist intelligence goons, complete with little notes in their lunches from El Jefe himself..."I packed y'all some shorts, since it's hot where you're ending up. Speaking of which, tell Hitler I'll get him back his Protocols of the Elders of Zion when I see him down there. Smooches, S"
Also (and this is rather striking to me), if we're so friggin' conniving as to orchestrate such a mess to justify the Iraq war, why in BLAZES wouldn't we plant some WMDs there, just waiting to be "found" by the liberators?!?! Seems like that's the kind of loose end a well-planned conspiracy would need to tie up, y'know? Of course, since the conspiracy angle is PURE FICTION, we're all set...
Annnnnd...I'm spent.
< /rant >
They're even weirder than the JFK conspiracy theorists. What is with these people. It's like watching waht could be a wacky hobby, like model train obsession or butterfly collecting if it involved anything else, become a mind altering drug. And Ron Paulism has become that to many people I know. Though, to my knowledge, the co-workers that Ben speaks about haven't tipped over into anti-semitism and other maladies of some RP weirdos, they have definitely gone off the deep end. I have a theory (and you'll please excuse the seeming contradiction that follows: I'm not wedded to this theory) that conspiracy theories, doctrinaire libertarianism, and RP fanaticism tend to be subscribed to by people who like theories. They like life to fit patterns and have problems with perspective, complexity, and the ultimate contradictions that plague all systematic views of human life.
I've got my own pet theory on that, Marty. I can sum it up in one word: Gnosticism. Ok, maybe more words: I think that, for alot of people, it's the desire to be a part of some "special knowledge" that the "mainstream" "just doesn't get." (After a particularly long-winded rant by aforementioned co-worker, I said out of the blue "If you were around in the second century AD, you would have been a Gnostic." Unfortunately, all I got in response was a blank stare.)
Does the proponent of your current hobby horse seem a little nutty to the population at large? Nonsense! He's just better informed, when you look at his rhetoric as an initiate!
It's cults for people who don't like to wear the costumes.
Think about it: have you ever heard one of these types of folks say something along the lines of the following: "We're the only true conservatives! That's why you should join us!" Scary stuff.
But I think your theory says a very similar thing, too. Definitely a lot of overlap on the Venn Diagram of Ron Paul supporters between the two theories, anyhow.
Yes, but my theory is the true, complete, and all-encompassing explanation of the phenomenon.
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