Ron Paul: A bigot through and through

From Socialist Worker: http://socialistworker.org/2012/01/10/bigot-through-and-through

Elizabeth Schulte

January 10, 2012

IT'S HARDLY a revelation, but here's the plain truth: Take a good look at Ron Paul, and you'll see a candidate who is racist, sexist, anti-gay and anti-worker.

The right-wing libertarian's long record is packed with conservative ravings and support for policies that make the lives of working-class people much, much worse when they're implemented. Yet there's still debate, including among some liberal commentators, about whether Paul is bringing something important to Election 2012.

For example, in a column for Truthdig, Robert Scheer argued that neither Paul's opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act nor the revelations of racism in newsletters he published in the past should stop progressives from:

seriously engaging the substance of Paul's current campaign--his devastating critique of crony capitalism and his equally trenchant challenge to imperial wars and the assault on our civil liberties that they engender.

Paul is being denigrated as a presidential contender even though on the vital issues of the economy, war and peace, and civil liberties, he has made the most sense of the Republican candidates.

While Paul might score points with liberal commentators for his criticism of wars abroad and attacks on civil liberties at home, these positions don't make up for the racism and scapegoating that he stands for in the rest of his platform.

Continue reading at: http://socialistworker.org/2012/01/10/bigot-through-and-through