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Pondering his latest story change? (Reuters)

Over the past couple of weeks, Iowa caucuses front-runner Ron Paul has been changing his story and then changing the changes about his role in publishing incendiary newsletters. Added to that now is scrutiny of Paul's 1987 book Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years. It first saw the light of day in the run-up to his 1988 campaign for president on the Libertarian Party ticket and was republished in 2007.

Peter Hamby reports:

"The individual suffering from AIDS certainly is a victim -- frequently a victim of his own lifestyle -- but this same individual victimizes innocent citizens by forcing them to pay for his care," Paul wrote. ... "Every year new groups organize to demand their 'rights,'" he continued. "White people who organize and expect the same attention as other groups are quickly and viciously condemned as dangerous bigots. Hispanic, black, and Jewish caucuses can exist in the U.S. Congress, but not a white caucus, demonstrating the absurdity of this approach for achieving rights for everyone. ... "Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity," Paul wrote. "Why don't they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable."

What a piece of work this guy is.

It would be heartening if some prominent Democrats, presidential candidates even, would say what Ron Paul is saying (mostly) about U.S. imperialism, what he is saying (mostly) about the War on Some DrugsTM, what he is saying (mostly) about civil liberties. In those arenas, the nation would be well served if he were broadly emulated.

But only by ignoring all his other odious points of view, offensive, disgusting, hate-filled points of view, can Ron Paul be defended. To ignore those is to condone racism, homophobia, anti-semitism, 1%erism, anti-environmentalism, victim-blaming, social safety net-shredding and conspiracy-mongering.



If Paul makes it tougher for the Republicans to focus on their final choice for a presidential nominee, if he becomes a spoiler, huzzah to that. But anybody on the left who thinks he would be a worthy candidate for our side is afflicted with a serious case of tunnel vision.

