Ron Paul's fans are passing around an illustrated list of 22 reasons Ron Paul isn't racist, as Politico's Ben Smith points out. Some of the evidence is good, like Paul saying the death penalty is racist, that he opposes racial profiling, that minorities are unfairly punished in the war on drugs. Here's Paul talking about how black folks don't do any more drugs than whites, yet they are the majority of the people imprisoned for drug offenses:
And some of the evidence is lame, like that Paul voted to honor black pioneers in Colorado, to honor Jackie Robinson, and for a "resolution recognizing the African-American spiritual as a national treasure."
The frustration of Paul's die-hard fans is understandable. After all, the guy has some pretty revolutionary ideas, and they have nothing to do with race. But you know what's worse than being falsely accused of being a racist? Falsely posing as a racist so racists will give you money.
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Elspeth Reeve
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