Here is one of the negative articles blaming Ron Paul Supporters
Ron Paul Supporters Release Racist Ad Depicting Jon Huntsman As Maoist Soldier
America has only experienced the first of many primary contests this week, and already a candidate for “most offensive campaign ad” has come to the fore, and with gusto. The group “New Hampshire Liberty 4 Paul”– supporting Rep. Ron Paul– has come out swinging against Jon Huntsman for his ties to China, asking whether he is the “Manchurian Candidate” and whether he lacks “American values” for having lived in Beijing.
The ad begins asking of Huntsman, “The Manchurian Candidate,” “What’s he hiding?” It features “traditional” Chinese music and clips of Huntsman doing things in China: speaking Mandarin, taking interviews from Chinese press, walking around in China– you get the idea. It then asks a series of questions during the montage like, “American values, or Chinese?” and “Weak on China? Wonder why?” It also takes a detour to slam him for being Mormon (“A man of faith?”) before the coup de grace, a doctored photo of Huntsman in what appears to be Maoist military garb. Essentially, it makes “Willie Horton” look like Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can” ad.
The ad is part of an account labeled “New Hampshire Liberty 4 Paul” on YouTube and appears to have no connections to any actual Rep. Paul SuperPAC or his official campaign. But it has been floating around the blogosphere and, given that the reaction in many circles to it has been something to the effect of “those crazy Ron Paul fans strike again!” rather than “This is a joke, right?” is just as much of a problem– in fact– possibly the central problem– the Rep. Paul campaign faces in this election. The predominant attitude towards this campaign is that it would, entirely seriously, have supporters who would launch attacks like this. And even in the event that this ad is revealed to be a joke, the fact that most take it at face value is indicative of precisely the challenge Rep. Paul faces and what kind of campaign many– rightfully or otherwise– believe he is capable of.
Then there is the actual content of the ad, which is problematic (though not entirely surprising) in itself. There is a long and storied tradition on American history of discrimination against far east Asians, particularly of Chinese descent. While this ad, ridiculous as it is, may remind many of you of myriad different political attacks in the election sphere, the quote that came most to mind for me was from Justice Harlan’s dissent in the “separate but equal” case Plessy v. Ferguson. In short, this is what “non-racist” people sounded like, not so long ago in America:
There is a race so different from our own that we do not permit those belonging to it to become citizens of the United States. Persons belonging to it are, with few exceptions, absolutely excluded from our country. I allude to the Chinese race. But, by the statute in question, a Chinaman can ride in the same passenger coach with white citizens of the United States, while citizens of the black race in Louisiana, many of whom, perhaps, risked their lives for the preservation of the Union, who are entitled, by law, to participate in the political control of the State and nation, who are not excluded, by law or by reason of their race, from public stations of any kind, and who have all the legal rights that belong to white citizens, are yet declared to be criminals, liable to imprisonment, if they ride in a public coach occupied by citizens of the white race.
And that’s not even mentioned the (still totally legal!) internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans for no reason during WWII. Even when overt discrimination against black Americans became entirely socially unacceptable (some may argue it is still not entirely so), the alternative discrimination against Asian Americans was considered a responsible alternative. As far as history goes, Rep. Paul’s supporters may then be onto something here, igniting racial thoughts in voters that will cause Republicans to distrust Huntsman. But that doesn’t make it any less vile, and toxic for Rep. Paul himself should he not denounce it.
h ttp://www.mediaite.com/online/ron-paul-supporters-release-racist-ad-depicting-jon-huntsman-as-maoist-soldier/
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Then the Blaze made sure to run with it:
‘Stupid’: Huntsman Reacts to Pro Ron Paul Ad Painting Him as ‘Manchurian Candidate’
GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman said Friday a new online ad posted by apparent Ron Paul supporters painting him as a “Manchurian candidate” is “stupid” and out of line.
The ad, posted to YouTube by “NHLiberty4Paul,” includes video footage of Huntsman with his daughters – he adopted two girls from China and India — and wonders, “China Jon’s daughters: even adopted?”
Huntsman served as the U.S. ambassador to China under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011, when he resigned from his post to explore a Republican bid for president.
The ad features clips of Huntsman speaking Chinese and says, “The Manchurian candidate. What’s he hiding?”
“American values? Or Chinese?” it asks. The video ends with the words, “Vote Ron Paul.”
Asked about the video during a campaign stop in New Hampshire Friday, Huntsman said, “First of all, it’s just stupid.”
“If someone wants to poke fun at me, that’s OK,” Huntsman said, according to the Associated Press. “What I object to is bringing forward pictures and videos of my adopted daughters, and suggesting there is some sinister motive there.”
He said his daughter Gracie, now 12, was abandoned in China when she was two months old and left in a vegetable market.
“She was picked up by the police and sent to an orphanage. No future, nothing to look forward to. Now she’s in my family,” Huntsman said. His daughter Asha, 6, was left to die by the side of a road in India the day she was born.
Paul’s campaign told the Boston Globe it has no connection to the video and does not know who made it.
“We had nothing to do with it and we think it’s completely distasteful,” Paul spokeswoman Kate Schackai told the Globe. “Nobody who actually supports Dr. Paul’s principles would put together something like that.”
Huntsman has put his campaign efforts into New Hampshire, opting to skip Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses in favor of shoring up a base in the Granite State, whose first-in-the-nation primary will be held Tuesday. Huntsman’s campaign has posted several ads attacking Paul, calling him unelectable.
Despite his efforts, the latest poll released Friday from Suffolk University has Huntsman in fifth place at 8 percent among likely Republican primary voters, ahead only of Rick Perry, The Hill reported. Iowa caucus winner Mitt Romney leads at 40 percent, followed by Paul in second place at 17 percent and Rick Santorum at 11 percent. Newt Gingrich is fourth at 9 percent.
h ttp://www.theblaze.com/stories/stupid-huntsman-reacts-to-pro-ron-paul-ad-painting-huntsman-as-manchurian-candidate/
