Dear Congressman Paul:
Your Presidential campaign has drawn the enthusiastic support of an imposing collection of Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Holocaust Deniers, 9/11 “Truthers” and other paranoid and discredited conspiracists.
read here:
http://michaelmedved.townhall.com/blog/g/77711671-de32-47da-a721-8f606d586ad0
Responses:
What about the others Mr. Medved?
I would like to respectfully as possible disagree with your positions concerning the $500 unsolicited donation to Congressman Ron Paul. Why is this BIG news? Is a candidate responsible for the views of all of their supporters? If we dive into the contributions to other candidates, I'm sure we can find this type of scum in all of the others' pools. The Congressman has already voiced his opposition to the 9/11 truthers; on your show…
I agree that this individual may be a nut-case and a hate-monger, but should you be held responsible for the views of each and every one of your supporters, readers, or listeners like-wise? As a long time Conservative, I find this quite distracting. We should be arguing policy. We should be concerned with candidates' Conservative credentials.
If this item causes such uproar, why are you not writing an open letter to Rudy Giuliani addressing his employment of an accused child molesting priest as well?
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=3753385&page=1
Personally, I find that a little more disturbing.
If we are to require such a high moral standards and constant support policing of Congressman Paul, why not every other candidate? I would hope that once this issue is addressed you will find it in your heart to question the support and employment practices of other Republican candidates.
Real People Support Ron Paul
My wife and I are a mixed race couple. We are both well educated and well paid professionals (a scientist and an engineer). We are both active in our community and support numerous charitable agencies. We are both Republicans. I am also an Army Reserve officer.
We are hardly "lunatic fringe."
We support Ron Paul for President, as do many other regular folks.
To paint that all Ron Paul supporters as insane radicals because there are a few nuts who support Ron Paul is as intellectually vacant as calling all Republicans racist because David Duke was once a Republican.
Mr. Medved is either unintelligent disingenuous- I'll let you folks decide which...
I am so happy!
This letter is wonderful news for Ron Paul because it represents acknowledgment! Jesus said to turn the other cheek. I think that many people misunderstand the reasoning behind this. Many people believe that this type of action was advocated by Jesus because he was able to display pure forgiveness. This is part of it. The other part of it is that by turning the other cheek is proof that the actions of the aggressor are irrelevant - and by extension, they are irrelevant.
Ron Paul's candidacy is hurt the most by its marginalization. Michael Medved has proven tonight that Ron Paul is not irrelevant. Pretty soon America is going to know that Ron Paul is not irrelevant. Then we can have an honest debate. A debate that Ron Paul will dominate by ruthlessly driving to the truth. These accusations are irrelevant - a smoke screen that aims to distract from the truth.
Ron Paul is my candidate because he will ignore any distractions while attaching himself to the one truth that cannot be withstood. He will bore a hole, single mindedly through any obfuscation, clearing a path large enough for all of us to follow, lifting the debate to its proper position above the bickering of politics as usual. He will be our President, we will restore our republic, and only America will remain.
Your Open Letter to Ron Paul, Mr. Medved
Michael - I have watched and listened to you for many years, and lately have been much disappointed in you.
I am a Jewish, strongly pro-Israel supporter of Dr. Paul. I've known him on and off for about 20 years, and he is a man of great integrity. I've never heard him utter a racist comment, even in private.
I have donated money and my oldest child to Israel. I simply love the place. On the other hand, I do not believe that my love for Israel or my world view justifies one dime of anyone else's tax money going to Israel, or any other foreign country. And am I appalled by some of Dr. Paul's supporters? Yes. In fact, I think many of them are actually trying to discredit him by their support. If you understand what a Nazi is, it means National Socialist. There is no candidate less socialist than Ron Paul. At least not in my over fifty years.
The American Free Press? I doubt Ron has ever seen it. They publish his articles; he does not endorse theirs, or likely even know their agenda. In fact, someone handed me that rag at a meetup the other night, and the only worthwhile thing in it was a Ron Paul opinion piece.
Should Ron disavow support and give back the money of these people? I don't think so. They'll just use it to do bad stuff. Better it gets Ron elected.
Here's the deal. Only fringe types like Alex Jones have ever given Ron Paul the time of day. The mainstream media wouldn't even take notice of him. And now that you have, in your own non-journalistic way, you expect him to drop the people who gave him a venue all these years. Shame on you for lying about him and talking over his message. And if he now ran away from those, like Alex Jones, who I have never even listened to, then I would think less of him.
What?
Michael,
How can you even write something like this? This is a scurrilous, baseless attack if there ever was one. You think Paul should apologize because some extremists have decided to support him? I'm sure some nuts and racists supported Bush (just as some supported every President in the past)- these Presidents don't have to publicly disown such contingents. Extreme elements will latch onto candidates and causes for any number of reasons. If your interest is to debate the issues honestly, then where do you disagree with Paul? Let’s have a frank discussion about those specific points.
There is something about Paul that scares the elites. Their response is not academic or even intellectual, it is visceral- it seeks to censor and to vilify. I'm not ready to buck the party, but this censorship and refusal to discuss the issues with candor is disturbing to say the least. Given the relentless attack by elites, whitewashing by the MSM, its not clear Paul can come out on top. Paul isn't my worry. His treatment by conservatives is - it says far more about the state of the GOP and our ability to accept internal reform. Too bad; if things don't bend, they break. It may be back into the political wilderness for the next 40 years- just as it was before 1994.
Ron Paul
Ron Paul has the problem that Romney has. There are many misconceptions about Ron Paul and his positions/image. It is hard to deal with those directly as they can take you off of message. On the other hand Medved is raising rumors that Ron Paul may need to address more vigorously.
I am not aware of Ron Paul making any personal or religious attacks on Romney (unlike Brownback and McCain). Further, Ron Paul takes votes away from Rudy and McCain especially in NH where Ron Paul may run 3rd. Therefore, as long as Ron Paul and his folks don't make personal attacks against Romney I am very willing to live and let live.
If he disagrees with Romney on issues such as bombing Iran that is fair game. If he starts mistaking Romney's religious beliefs that requires an answer. I would suggest that the Romney folks be nice to the Ron Paul people. Ron Paul is one of the few candidates who is not gunning for Romney on a personal level.
It would seem this Piece has Misfired
While Medved has clearly written a piece intended to smear one of the last truly good men involved in our government, the result has clearly backfired.
It would seem more people see through the veiled smears than Mr. Medved would have hoped for. This type of attack is nothing new, and Dr. King had to deal with this type of attack daily. Dr. King was also supported by the Black Panthers.
The adage we should all remember "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". It is clear that Town-Hall along with Medved have chosen to attempt to make Dr. Paul an enemy, as has Dr. Paul's own government, party and the media as a whole.
Mr. Medved has clearly forgotten that it is not Dr. Paul who must speak for those who support him; it is the job of those that support him to speak for themselves. Mr. Medved you are a supporter of Islamo-fascism awareness week, does this not make you a bigot? Does one need awareness of a specific type of fascism? A much more educational experience can be attained if you simply concentrate on the real issue which is fascism itself.
Fascism needs no bounding with religion as it often has nothing to do with Religion. Hitler claimed to be a Christian while nothing he did was Christ like. Osama Bin Laden claims to be a Muslim, but Jihad was not founded in the Koran.
If our world is to exist even in it's incredibly non perfect form we must all learn that free will along with a certain rational must be attained. It is this "free will" which makes us human, yet at the same time makes us irrational. Luckily we are the intelligent ones who will one day make this World of bigotry and hate Unify toward the cause of Liberty. We have so little hope left, but we at least have one who leads us in this hope.
We are good. We are real good. You do have one thing wrong though. We’re not just a force on the World Wide Web.
Regarding the results of your poll; we flooded it, with votes. However, your organization and the rest of the television media fail to realize is that we flood other events as well.
"…but I haven't seen him pull those kind of numbers in any "legit" poll."
Congressman Paul has consistently placed in the top three of numerous straw polls, and those involve one thing; live in-the-flesh participation. You can view the results here (http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-po...) if fact checking doesn’t require too much effort from your end.
"Now these Internet polls are admittedly unscientific and subject to hacking. In the end, they are really just a way to engage the reader and take a quick temperature reading of your audience. Nothing more and nothing less. The cyber equivalent of asking the room for a show of hands on a certain question."
If these Internet polls are meaningless, and “unscientific,” why pull them down? Why would your organization feel the need to ignore those of us who 1) watched your program 2) watched your commercials and 3) participated in your “show of hands” ceremony? I find it rather odd, and slightly offensive that someone in your position turns around and attacks the consumer. Frankly sir, that’s just bad business. Instead of blaming those of who took the time to “consume” your product, how about CNBC figure out how your organization could best “supply” the information that we are “demanding.”
"So there was our after-debate poll. The numbers grew ... 7,000-plus votes after a couple of hours ... and Ron Paul was at 75%."
After your debate, a rally was held in which 2500-plus real people showed up. Were you there? Where was CNBC or any of the other NBC affiliates? Why is it so hard to believe a candidate can gather such a number of people in one location, and receive 7000-plus votes in an online poll? Think about it sir. Attendance at a rally requires people to actually get off their couch, drive to a location, stand around outside, and listen to a man speak. An online poll requires the click of a mouse. It’s not our fault, as supporters or consumers that other candidates can’t get their base of support to show up, let alone click a button.
"The next day, our email basked was flooded with Ron Paul support messages."
Perhaps we are real!
"Some of you Ron Paul fans take issue with my decision to take the poll down. Fine. When a well-organized and committed "few" can throw the results of a system meant to reflect the sentiments of "the many," I get a little worried. I'd take it down again."
You refuse to look at the facts sir, and you contradict yourself. If we are an organized “few,” how is it your basket was flooded with e-mail? Why do you insist that we are throwing the results when we simply did what was asked of us and voted? Are you asking us not participate Mr. Wastler? Would you rather we not consume your product?
I am one man. I raised my hand one time, but I’ll think twice before offering it up just to have someone cut it off.
