Ron Paul Apologizes For Racist Newletters From The '90's But Blames The Writings On "Ghost Writers"

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This dude can’t be serious. Ron Paul is trying to avoid getting played out like Rick “Ni**erhead” Perry by blaming his old racist writings on “ghostwriters.” SMH.

Trying to head off mounting controversy, Texas Congressman Ron Paul apologized Friday for decades-old racist and homophobic newsletters that were sent out in his name.

While the GOP presidential hopeful issued the mea culpa, his said the hate-filled screeds were not the work of his pen.

“[T]here were multiple ghost writers involved and he does not know who penned the particular offensive sections,” campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said in an email to Reuters.

“Ultimately, because the writing appeared under his name and he should have better policed it, Dr. Paul has assumed responsibility, apologized for his lack of oversight and disavowed the offensive material.”

The congressman, who is leading in many polls in the early voting state of Iowa, has come under fire in recent days for the newsletters. They were published under a handful of titles, including Ron Paul’s Political Report and Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, during his time and in out of public office during the late-1980s and early 1990s.

“We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men; it is hardly irrational,” one declared.

During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, another Paul hate-sheet read: “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.”

Others took aim at AIDS patients. One screed alleged a conspiracy between the federal government and the homosexual community to minimize the disease’s impact. Another accused people with AIDS of enjoying “the attention and pity that comes with being sick.”

The candidate’s apology was issued as video from 1995 surfaced that showed Paul discussing the controversial newsletters, which he had claimed he had not read until about 2001.

In the resurfaced video, an interview with C-SPAN, Paul — then out of office and trying to return to Congress — describes the “educational” newsletters and seems to be knowledgeable of their contents.

“It covered a lot about what was going on in Washington: financial events, especially some of the monetary events, since I had been especially interested in monetary policy, had been on the banking committee and am still very interested in that subject,” said the libertarian-leaning lawmaker.

“This newsletter dealt with it. This has to do with the value of the dollar, the pros and cons of the gold standard, and of course the disadvantages of all the high taxes and spending our government seems to continue to do.”

The video was posted on YouTube by Alexander Kaczynski, a self-described “political junkie” who has unearthed several old videos of current presidential hopefuls.

Before the candidate’s apology, his spokesman told USA Today that Paul was detailing an investment newsletter and that the incendiary comments were in others he did not write.

But on CNN Wednesday, a testy Paul said he only read them on occasion and did not write them. The normally mild-mannered congressman eventually walked out on the interview.

In 1996, Paul told the Dallas Morning News that the material was accurate but had merely been taken out of context.

Critics say the newsletter flap could hurt him in Iowa, arguing that although the controversial newsletters were reported on before, many voters were unaware of them until now.

The seeming flip-flopping and “controversy makes Paul look like just another politician,” said the Christian Science Monitor’s Peter Grier.

Leon Wolf of the conservative blog Red State said the C-SPAN video was damaging.

For “not having any inkling about what was in it, Paul was remarkably well informed as to its contents,” he said.

These Republican candidates are a trip. The GOP is gonna be hard pressed to find somebody without a cheating scandal, gay scandal or racist past to put up for this next election. SMH.

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