So far, the revelations give little sign of undercutting his backers’ support of his candidacy.
The controversial statements are in political and investment newsletters Paul published in the 1980s and ’90s. A 1992 issue of the Ron Paul Political Report said order was restored in Los Angeles following the Rodney King race riots “when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks,’’ according to documents published by The New Republic. Another issue linked the AIDS epidemic to “hyper-promiscuous sodomy’’ practiced by homosexuals, saying gays were “far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.’’
An issue of the Ron Paul Survival Report worries about America’s “disappearing white majority.’’ Another defends the late chess champion and Holocaust-denier Bobby Fischer.
Paul, the libertarian-leaning congressman from Texas, has denied penning the treatises, which were published without a byline, or even having read them. But he stood silent yesterday while reporters asked about the newsletters as he entered and left a campaign forum.
While campaigning in New Hampshire last week Paul brushed the controversy aside and characterized the attacks on him as “politics as usual.’’ He has also refused to disavow the support he receives from extremists, including white supremacist and antigovernment groups.
“Nobody talked about it for 20 years until they found out the message of liberty is making progress,’’ Paul said. “Everybody knows I didn’t write them and they’re not my sentiments.’’
The revelations and criticisms from other GOP candidates - Newt Gingrich has said he would not vote for Paul if he becomes the GOP nominee - have done little to diminish Paul’s large crowd of ardent followers. At a Newton town hall yesterday, hundreds, as usual, packed the media center at the Iowa Speedway. Many of Paul’s fans, even his younger, more mainstream supporters who have grown up in a more diverse society, seem to brush aside his ties to extremists and hate groups.
