At a teabagger forum in March, Rand Paul was asked about claims that Nazis were supporting his candidacy.
Rather than explain that, no, Nazi’s are racist skinheads, what’s he do? He says it’s a ridiculous assertion because Nazism was “big government.” He went on to say, “there’s nothing about Nazism that would even appeal remotely to people who like what I stand for because I’m for limited constitutional government.”
See for yourself:
If you were asked whether or not Nazis support your candidacy, wouldn’t you say no, they don’t, because it’s the sickest form of racism on the planet? Nah, not if you’re Rand Paul. You merely say Nazis don’t mesh with you because they support big government.
While Paul certainly isn’t saying he agrees with Nazism, he chose his words carefully. What he doesn’t say speaks just as loudly as what he does.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Jim // May 24, 2010 at 1:40 pm
He merely wanted to make clear to the skinheads in the audience that their differences are based on what the role of government is. I’m guessing Paul probably thinks there’s really nothing inherently wrong with concentration camps, so long as they are private ventures. If they really are a bad idea, the market will take care of it.
2 Lisa Graas // May 24, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Shared, linked, and off to take a nausea pill.
3 Anon E Mouse // May 24, 2010 at 3:23 pm
As one who was there, I remember doing a double take and thinking….. “do you REALLY think the Reason people join the Nazi party is POLiTICS?”.
4 Steve Magruder // May 24, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Jim’s post for the Hall of Fame.
That Paul’s response was like that from a dispassionate Harvard professor, I think, is not going to go over well with the non-TP Republicans, who, I’m sure, mostly reject Nazism viscerally.
5 Rand Paul Sucks // May 24, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I suspect Rand will appeal to rednecks, but when it comes to funding, I can’t see him getting big bucks from people who don’t want their donations scrutinized. He’s either a racist, has his head up his ass about reality, or both.
6 FGFM // May 24, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Kinda reminds of Pappy Paul’s line about racism being “collectivism” somehow, therefore bad. Having heard an audio recording of Ron Paul slipping and referring to the “Jew World Order,” I’m not surprised that the Paul family has to intellectualize opposition to racism instead of having a visceral reaction to it.
7 Steve Magruder // May 24, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Rand Paul – Too Alien for Kentucky
8 Rod // May 24, 2010 at 6:34 pm
What he was doing was giving a response much like his father did and possibly I would have. Racism is just another ugly form of collectivism. We don’t get our rights because we’re white, black, or Jewish. We have our rights as individuals from God. Fredrich Hyeck (who won the Nobel Prize for Economics) made the exact same argument about the Nazis in the seminal book The Road To Serfdom.
9 jake // May 24, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Pardon?
God?
Really?
I love how it always comes back to jeebus with the wingers.
10 Steve Magruder // May 24, 2010 at 7:14 pm
If racism is “just another ugly form of collectivism”, why would Rand Paul allow private businesses to discriminate based on race? Collectivism is all right if people other than him engage in it?
Silliness, I know. The bottom line though is that when it comes to this issue, he simply does not demonstrate a moral center.
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