The company he keeps? Oh come off it.

Jamie Kirchik seems very upset that some unpleasant people give money to Ron Paul's campaign and, worse, that people who have some time for Paul aren't demanding that he hand the money back:

Today I learned from Dave Weigel that the Paul campaign has no intention of returning the money it has received (and will probably continue to receive) from white supremacists. You may recall that in 1996, Bob Dole returned a $1,000 contribution from the Log Cabin Republicans. I imagine that episode made Andrew [Sullivan] angry, as it ought have. But Ron Paul taking money from a prominent neo-Nazi merits no response from Andrew, just attacks on those who merely point it out. 

Andrew has been Ron Paul's biggest booster on the blogosphere. He should explain why Ron Paul's unapologetic acceptance of money and support from neo-Nazis does not disturb him.

Well it doesn't bother me in the same way that it doesn't bother me that other candidates receive pots of cash from individuals and groups whose views I find disagreeable or repellent. In this particular instance it's pretty clear to me that Ron Paul is not in fact a Nazi sympathiser or white supremacist.

Equally it is patently daft to assume that accepting money from white supremacists is in any way an endorsement of those views. You might as well condemn WalMart for permitting Neo-Nazis to shop in their stores. If white supremacists want to waste their money upon a candidate who is not especially sympathetic to their worldview then that's their problem. I don't really understand why it should be Ron Paul's (or any other candidate who found themselves in this situation).

Comments

[FZappa]

Ron Paul also polls higher than any other Republican candidate among African-Americans. Wonder why Kirchick doesn't bother to let his readers know about *that*?

http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/2008/articles/ron-paul-polling-african-americans.html

[Jim Peterson]

I agree. If candidates start refusing money from citizens they disagree with, the next thing you know, Hillary Clinton will be returning the money of white males who aren't feminist.

[SamDamnit]

Money is what buys influence in politics. That is why people give money to candidates. Paul is now indebted to some pretty awful people.

[Dave]

Lol, yeah, Ron Paul is indebted to donors. I mean, you can totally see how his voting record has been influenced over the years due to all the money given to him by...lol, no one. Lobbyists don't even bother knocking on his door.

It really does kill me the ridiculous lengths people go, to try to paint negatives on the man.

[TanGeng]

Ah, yes I've hated that argument against Ron Paul.

If you look at his track record, he's sold himself to donors by promising to spread his message loud and clear. You don't really have to worry about Dr. Paul giving donors that donate to his cause influence over his decisions.

But for the candidates that do sell influence for contributions, it is actually disturbing. One example is the massive amount of contributions Hillary gets from corporate sponsors. That really has to make you wonder where her allegiance lies.

But Ron Paul does have that old buried but unanswered allegation of racism. I still don't know what the rest of that article says so it's a disturbing quote taken out of context.