I'm not sure if Eric is the same person that wrote the remarks, but he was fired by Ron.
Reason: Your former staffer Eric Dondero is challenging you for your House seat in 2008.
Paul: He's a disgruntled former employee who was fired.
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120338.html
Are you referring the this FMNN article?
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=41822
Yes that was the
Free Market News article. The article quoted anonymous sources for the newsletter article and did not quote Dr. Paul as disavowing the article or saying that a staff member was fired, which is the claim that was posted on our site. The Reason blog post deals with the AIPAC issue and not the statements concerning blacks. Dr. Paul says:
I'd have to have you show to me that I wrote it because that doesn't sound like my language, and in campaigns, some things get into newspapers that aren't actually correct.
In politics we call that a non-denial denial.
As a journalist, the whole thing raises some questions.
1--The newsletter was published in 1992. Why weren't the contents disavowed then? Perhaps, as the Free Market News article suggests, he did not know what was in the newsletter.
2--But he did know about it when it became a campaign issue in 1996 in a Houston Chronicle article where Dr. Paul appeared to say the words were his:
Paul, a Republican obstetrician from Surfside, said Wednesday he opposes racism and that his written commentaries about blacks came in the context of "current events and statistical reports of the time."
If there words were not his, why not say so at the time?
3--In 2001, five years after it was an issue in a campaign and nine years after the newsletter was published, he says the words were not written by him. But again the Texas Monthly article does not say anything about a staff member being fired for writing the article nor does Dr. Paul say he he did not know what was being published in the newsletter.
These kind of time lapses are what raise red flags not only with journalists but also with political opponents.
Free Market News says the newsletter company published the comments without Dr. Paul's approval but does not quote Dr. Paul as confirming this nor does the story provide any quotes by any newsletter company official on the record.. He says in 2001 that he did not write the words but does not disavow them. A story circulates that a staff member was fired over the newsletter article but a search does not turn up a quote from Dr. Paul or his staff that confirms this.
I'm not saying that this did not happen but as long as there are gaps in the timeline or a lack of a definitive statement from Dr. Paul that disavows what was said and confirms that a staff member was dismissed, it remains an undocumented claim that can be used by the opposition. I can tell you as a former political operative who worked on a number of GOP campaigns that this is the kind of thing we would jump all over in an opponent's record.
I have Dr. Paul's statement regarding racism and it is a well-worded generic comment on the subject but does not specifically address the issues raised in the newsletter article. His quotes to the
Houston Chronicle, if correct, suggest that he agrees with the statements in the newsletter because it reflects what may have been the sentiments at the time.
As one who knows first hand what can happen when something is done by someone else I'd prefer to give Dr. Paul the benefit of the doubt but it needs to be more fully documented and explained. If he does emerge as a serious contender for the nomination it will become an issue and the explanation offered so far probably will not put the issue to rest.
Any additional information that anyone has would be most appreciated. If we can document it we will print it and tell the full story.
Thanks.
--Doug
