I just don't get it.

I read David Mizner's diary that was the rec list earlier today and saw all the folks I know who recced the piece and all I could think was, "What the fuck is going on here? Ron Paul doesn't agree with us on these issues (stop the wars, restore civil liberties). He believes we should stop the wars and restore civil liberties for his own, twisted, tortured and perverse reasons. (Namely, a bunch of crazy shit, like "The Jewish bankers run the world!" and "Israel controls our foreign policy!" and "We should all be left to our own devices, including the poor, the elderly and the infirmed!" etc.)"

And there have been other diaries of late shining a light on Paul and making his positions on ending wars and restoring civil liberties appear to be rational. His positions, while we may agree with them, are decidedly not rational. Not in any way, shape or form.

It is really puzzling to me why anyone who calls her/himself a progressive would do anything, in any way to promote Ron Paul and his worldview because his world view is an anathema to progressive thinking.

He is sick, racist, anti-Semitic lunatic. He's a John Bircher, and for those too young to remember the heyday of that sick, sad, racist organization, I can only say, "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Ron Paul is not rational and no self-respecting progressive should give him the time of day. He believes the exact opposite of what progressives believe, even if we happen to stumble across a couple of issues where his twisted worldview coincides with our rational denunciations of the police state and the state of war.

UPDATE

As I noted in a comment in David's diary:

I just don't get the logic of bemoaning the left's lack of leadership on civil liberties and foreign policy through the lens of a racist, anti-Semitic crackpot like Ron Paul.

That was my objection to David's well-reasoned piece. I just don't believe we should be doing anything to highlight Ron Paul.

