From Renae Hathway, Ron Paul’s former secretary, on his famously racist and loony newsletters:
It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. . . . He would proof it.
This should surprise exactly no one, but it’s still good to get it on the record. And there’s more:
A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said.
“It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government,’’ said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this stuff. It was good copy. Ron Paul is a shrewd businessman.’’
What a creep. All things considered, though, I guess I’m glad this came out today, not yesterday. Paul deserves all the grief he’s gotten over this, and I’m delighted to see his phony teddy bear image permanently tossed in the dustbin of history where it belongs. Still, I’m not sorry that we didn’t waste debate time on this nonsense. It might have taken valuable attention away from Newt’s plan to turn the moon into the 51st state.
