Why Is Ron Paul Paying 911 Truther Conspiracy Nut, Alex Jones?
Posted on October 27, 2007
Update: From Beth in the comments: $1300 of Alex Jones’ $2300 donation was refunded, per the FEC disclosure. (See the update to my post.)
Why only a partial refund? I’m guessing RP sees a need to distance himself from troofer scum, but not COMPLETELY disavow them. If he did, his support base would all but disappear.
Update: To continue to be fair to Mr. Paul….I’m not accusing him of anything here, just asking him for an explanation. Many people, fans of his, in the comments and email tell me that this money was a refund from a contribution and point out Mr. Paul’s attempts to distance himself from Alex Jones before. I hope that is true, but we won’t really know for certain until we hear from Ron himself on this matter.
I’ve sympathized for Mr. Paul on several occassions and defended his personal mental state from that of his followers. I’ve stated before that he can’t help how nutty his fans are, and that just because so many of them think the U.S. secretly blew up the twin towers doesn’t mean that he does. I’ve also stated he should visibly distance himself from these wacky beliefs. Of course he hasn’t done that, leaning more in the direction of sympathetic to their cause. Now, Beth has discovered a payment from Team Paul to Alex Jones, the 9/11 Truther leader, for $1300 in “services”.
Well, now he has some explaining to do.
Assuming it’s the same Alex Jones, which seems a safe bet, pray tell what might that payment have been for? The likeliest explanation is that it’s some sort of service fee, either Jones doing something on behalf of the campaign or allowing the campaign to do something using his property. Either way, I’m mighty curious to know what special service might have been provided such that Paul’s people couldn’t have gone elsewhere and gotten the same deal from someone who isn’t a degenerate conspiracy theorist.
This goes much closer to the heart of Paul’s direction. While anyone can contribute to a political campaign, the choice of where the money goes is directly and completely relevant to an analysis of the candidate. If Paul chooses to help fund a 9/11 Truther, voters can reasonably conclude that Paul has sympathy for the paranoid conspiracy theorists.
The Paul campaign really has to explain their support of Alex Jones, more so than they need to explain the David Black contribution. So far, they haven’t explained either one.
I agree. It isn’t the donation or its amount that matters, but who it was given to. That is what will be hard to wiggle out of .
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, News, Politics As Usual, War On Terror
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20 Responses to “Why Is Ron Paul Paying 911 Truther Conspiracy Nut, Alex Jones?”
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Is someone surprised? Ron Paul has never repudiated any of the wackos who support him. It really doesn’t matter because he has as much chance of being nominated for President as I do.
You are running for President Gary?
With nothing more than a name and an amount, it’s impossible to say. I hope someone asks, though.
You do have to keep in mind that Alex Jones, for all his faults, has tremendous reach amongst the early Paul supporters. If Paul wanted to get a particular message out to his supporters, it would be pretty silly to use expensive, conventional means when a 30 second radio spot will reach all of the same people. And FEC laws probably forced them to pay fair market value for the spot. Just a guess.
Don Black endorsed Bush in 2004. Bush did not “renounce” him. Does that make Bush a neo-nazi? By your logic, it does.
Re Alex Jones: so no one can associate with 9/11 Truthers or they’re instantly unacceptable? Well, I guess we can’t watch “Two and a Half Men” because Charlie Sheen is a Truther. I guess CBS should “repudiate” Sheen, except that he just won an Emmy and it’s one of the most popular shows on TV.
This really is the worst you can find on Ron Paul? Then I know he’s going to win — and I suspect you do, too.
PS — Jay, look for the Ron Paul Money Bomb on Nov. 5th. It’s going to be an historic event!
Maybe Ron Paul is giving back a donation/refund, did anyone think about that?
It’s funny to see how people jump to conclusions when they don’t even know the facts. It is quite possible this is not the same Alex Jones, that name is common by the way. Check your facts please, because I would like to know. Ron Paul has my vote and support regardless, and junk like this will not sway me, just as I will not be swayed from the Constitution.
Jumping to conclusions? Nobody has jumped to any conclusions, everyone is simply questioning it and asking for an explanation.
Ron Paul is NOT a 9/11 “truther” or conspiracy nut. See the YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWQfU6q9Ujs) at about 3:45 into it.
Dr. Paul has said in other interviews that we should understand why the government failed to prevent 9/11, but he clearly blames inept government bureaucracy at the FBI and the CIA for failing to put the pieces together even after we had Zacharias Moussaui in custody. He in no way believes that the U.S. government staged 9/11 or any other such nonsense.
The common sense interpretation, since Alex Jones gave the legal maximum $2,300 to the campaign, is that this was a reimbursement for costs incurred by Jones (perhaps in promoting Paul on his site or by the purchase of advertising or other promotion), in order to conform to the election laws and avoid exceeding the limit. And where on the FEC report does it say the check was issued for “services”?
Jones is a net contributor to the campaign: unless and until the checks to Alex Jones exceed the checks from Jones to the campaign, it simply isn’t accurate to suggest that the campaign has given Jones money. Otherwise, we need to research why the girl at McDonald’s gave me 84 cents today after I had given her $5: exactly what “services” did she receive from me for her payment … hmmmm?
As for the fact that Black and Jones have both contributed, I simply don’t agree that Ron Paul is presumed to endorse the views of every one of the tens of thousands of contributors to his campaign: I can say for certain that I don’t agree with all of Paul’s positions, yet I have sent him money for his campaign because I believe his consistent Constitutional position and clear political courage over decades in Congress puts him head-and-shoulders above all other choices.
It takes more time and energy to study Ron Paul’s positions and to look at his legislative initiatives and votes over 10 congressional terms than to find a convenient excuse to simply ignore him. But America will be better served if we make the greater effort.
These ad hominem arguments–guilt by association muckracking–fall flat every time. Is this the worst that Paul’s detractors can unearth? Ad hominem arguments make up 99% of the country’s current political discourse. These arguments are a facile and shallow way of engaging the candidates’ ideas, positions, and principles. There is no substitute for thoughtful reflection or critical evaluation of Ron Paul’s positions. Because his positions are well-defined, well-thought-out, and deeply held, those who resort to ad hominem attacks simply demonstrate that they are intellectually lazy or deficient, or that they are mere shills for the establishment. “Gotcha” politics can never replace reasoned political discourse.
The $1,300.00 item was a CONTRIBUTION REFUND. Anyone going to the FEC page and looking under disbursements can see this for themselves.
The obvious question is why Captain Ed and this organization so blatantly omit that fact. Why do they omit the fact that the item is specifically listed as a CONTRIBUTION REFUND? Why do they then create a controversy? The obvious implication is that the Ron Paul campaign received a contribution, and then returned that contribution…that is what is reported to FEC, and anyone can look at it for themselves and see what Captain Ed and this organization saw. Why seek to create controversy, and why lie by omission?
“The $1,300.00 item was a CONTRIBUTION REFUND. Anyone going to the FEC page and looking under disbursements can see this for themselves.”
Exactly. A few minutes after Captain Ed posted his blog entry I posted a comment pointing that out. He deleted it. Make your own decisions about his motivation.
What’s ironic is that a few days prior he had posted a blog entry about how he would never censor Ron Paul supporters the way Red State has done so long as their comment is relevant. Wasn’t my comment relevant?
Hopefully this blog doesn’t delete it to the way the Captain’s Quarters does.
I just checked back at the comments to the Captain’s post — and I noticed he allows 9/11 conspiracy theorists comments on that entry in support of Alex Jones (talking about the lawn in the Pentagon and all that) but he doesn’t allow sensible comments pointing out that where the $1300 came from, the very question he asked in his post?
Before I posted here, I posted a similar correction on Captain Ed’s blog, and it has not been deleted, yet.
$1300 of Alex Jones’ $2300 donation was refunded, per the FEC disclosure. (See the update to my post.)
Why only a partial refund? I’m guessing RP sees a need to distance himself from troofer scum, but not COMPLETELY disavow them. If he did, his support base would all but disappear.
Paul Eres, you’re being paranoid. Captain Ed is as fair-minded as anyone on the internet. It’s entirely possible your comment is being held in moderation or was mistakenly flagged by the software as spam. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, and it doesn’t matter what the commenters’ ideology is. Lighten up.
Paul Eres: I should note that the comment I just posted here is also being held in moderation, and I’m not freaking out about it. Get a life.
Ron Paul has some good ideas, just some that is…
.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
just blame America
for all the ills of the world
don’t blame simple dictators
.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
ignore the threat of jihad
SCREAM that it’s made up
an excuse for blood for oil
.
http://absurdthoughtsaboutgod.blogspot.com/
.
I’m not so sure anyone but people who already hate Ron Paul really care about this “9/11 Troofer” and “Neo-Nazi” donation stuff. It’s not like anyone who is illogical enough to not vote for a guy because of a donation he received would ever be logical enough to vote for Ron Paul anyway. One look at the blogroll on the sidebar and ya notice tons of crap blogs that spread a lot of hate. It’s like they have a circle jerk in an echo chamber everytime Ron Paul or a Muslim passes gas.
Sounds like a lot of old women sitting around talking about the
old men in a old folks home, because they can’t do anything for
themselves, like read…..the facts people! Quit just blowing
hot air, we have enough in this country already. Ron Paul The
Revolution
I don’t understand why this is an issue. Why focus on one donation? The individuals that contribute to a campaign don’t make the candidate. It is dismissive and arrogant to simply call Alex Jones a conspiracy nut. Everyone herds in like sheep to utter this insult. Alex Jones knows far more about the issues he proposes than most who dismiss him. His conclusions may be fairly viewed as extravagant but to call him a nut means that facts do not matter if you don’t buy the conclusion. The whole issue of who donates is entirely irrelevant.