Byron York sums up Ron Paul's bizarre comments at last night's debate.
For a man who had just grabbed the spotlight in a nationally televised presidential debate, Ron Paul seemed a little, well, defensive. A few minutes after the debate ended here at the University of South Carolina, Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas, ventured into the Spin Room to talk to reporters, only to find that they wanted to know whether he really blamed the United States for the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“Who did that?” Paul snapped. “Who blamed America?”
“Well, your critics felt that you did.”
“No, I blamed bad policy over 50 years that leads to anti-Americanism,” Paul said. “That’s little bit different from saying ‘blame America.’ Don’t put those words in my mouth.”
“But the policies were bad American policies?”
“We’ve had an interventionist foreign policy for 50 years that has come back to haunt us,” Paul continued. “So that’s not ‘Blame America’ — that’s demagoguing, distorting issues…That’s deceitful to say those kinds of things.”
To many people, however, it did appear that Paul blamed the U.S. for the attacks. A few feet away from where Paul was meeting reporters, Washington lawyer Ted Olson, at the debate to support his friend Rudy Giuliani, was taken aback at what he heard from Paul. “I find it personally offensive and very disturbing,” said Olson, whose wife Barbara died on September 11, “that an American, especially an American member of Congress, can say those things about what happened to cause 9/11.”
It all started when Paul was asked how September 11 changed American foreign policy. “Have you ever read the reasons they attacked us?” Paul answered. “They attack us because we’ve been over there; we’ve been bombing Iraq for ten years…”
Questioner Wendell Goler, of Fox News, asked, “Are you suggesting we invited the 9/11 attack, sir?”
“I’m suggesting that we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it,” Paul said. “They don’t come here to attack us because we’re rich and we’re free. They come and they attack us because we’re over there.”
Paul really threw himself off a cliff with that.
It's easy to imagine Paul sharing wacko 9/11 conspiracy nutjob theories with his kook brethren.
It seemed like he was at the wrong the debate. He would fit in better with the Democrats.
Paul is the very definition of what it means to "blame America first."
York ends his reflections on the debate and Paul's performance with this:
So in the end, the candidate who made a big move, who came out of nowhere to win new name recognition was…Ron Paul. But it’s probably not the sort of name recognition Republican presidential candidates want. “Wow,” said one adviser to a rival campaign after listening to Paul’s blame-America lecture. “I haven’t heard anything like that this side of Rosie O’Donnell.”
I think Ron Paul would be wise to bow out of the race now.
It might be a good idea to send his resume to Barbara Walters. There will be a seat open at The View soon that he could fill quite nicely.
10 comments:
Is it impossible for American foreign policy to be wrong? Even the 9/11 (whitewash) commission said they bombed us because we are over there in their politics. What are you going to do when the remaining brain-dead sheeple wakeup and realize what you are? Hope its not too late for you to "bow out" then.
Of course American foreign policy can be wrong.
Look at what happened to the country during Jimmy Carter's disastrous term.
Look at what happened during Clinton's years in office. The Mogadishu debacle, the failure to respond effectively to repeated terrorist attacks on American soil and American interests abroad, and the North Korean monumental screw up are all examples of his bad policy that produced horrific results.
By the way, I would take your comments more seriously if you didn't resort to the "sheeple" line and the "brain-dead" label.
Some advice: State your opinions in a more mature manner. Your style is very easy to dismiss.
US President Tim Kalemkarian, US Senate Tim Kalemkarian, US House Tim Kalemkarian: best major candidate.
Wow… Freedom Eden? I would honestly question your blog name. Are you saying that this was a great garden for man, that once tempted with sin, fell into darkness and the garden became for no one and everyone had to leave, therefore it was free of people? Or are you saying its only for Christians like me? Cause that’s cool. Especially if its only for blue eyed dark hair Christians like me. Even better…. “scratches head”…. If I understand your name properly It would seem a spot-on name for the republican/democrat debauchery of our once great nation. I have digressed.
It would also seem you have a bit of the typical I hear it on my “name the favorite polemical political viewpoint radio show, or typical angry blog or tv show” and therefore it must be Holy Scripture. And their agenda this time around is to push Ron Paul as a liberal. Or the “ Kill em if you could just pull the trigger” enemy, which in your case seems to be the evil liberals, even though that means about 150 million of our neighbors, might just push him as a hard core conservative.
You might try http://www.ronpaul2008.com/html/Issues_fx.html and see if you still
just want to throw out quick judgments on a person.
He is one of the last of the dying breed who believe in those who set up this country and our amazing constitution. Who believes there is a reason of why they set up our country to be one of trade, not one of taxes and b.s. democrat/republican socialism.
He is not one of our typical war (which is only a huge means of tax collection anyhow) supporter, and warmonger and profiteer like the two parasite parties elected representatives (democrat/republican) are. He is just honest about what has not worked since the beginning of the long 20th century. And that’s wars, invasions, etc, etc.
It’s too bad you really don’t get what’s ruining our country. Its not Ron Paul, or crazy Muslims/Vietnamese/Afghani’s, its people like you. Democrats and Republicans alike. All of you who are unable to compromise and take a step forward together. I am sorry to be so brash, but I believe not truly understanding that Ron Paul meant that since the end of World War 2, all our leaders have decided the invasive foreign policy is the way to go… its has now made us a war machine. And our intelligence as a whole has gone. There is a correlation.
Not since they (liberals/conservatives) conspired to oppress our nation with the income tax, the most ridiculous tax since we left the hindrances of England in our revolutionary dust. We continue to lose business left and right to China and South Korea, to Dubai in the Emirates. And what is even sadder, is the supposedly capitalist America is losing money to the giant economic sloth of a continent, Europe. Once our silly fiat money slips just far enough against the stronger backed monies of the world, you will truly know what the real price of items like gas and milk cost.
Ron Paul is right. We have to understand why our enemy attacks us and instills fear into people who have no reason to live their lives in such pathetic fear. We need to understand our enemy (if they are even our enemy or just the receiving country on our war of the decade plan) so we don’t invade a country and displace millions of innocent citizens and kill “whatever number you wish to believe, I could personally care less” in inaccurate bombings, misidentified troops, troop frustration or just plain language barriers. Otherwise we should just blow them up and stop pretending to be at war, and own up to what is no more then a economically strong armed invasion of a foreign land.
This used to be a country of economics and freedom. And she was sweet. And I truly believe we are facing the downward trend of both of them. And now gives way to the rise of fascism and the over policing of her ever-harder working citizens. Sounds a helluva lot like Rome.
an old fashioned (no wars foreign wars/no income tax/no prohibition on religion/ no murder in any shape or form/ less general taxes/ almost zero federal government/ and keep out of my personal life with your laws) conservative,
Dakota Boy goes to Work.
So are the 9/11 commission and the CIA correct? If so, Rudy owes the country an apology for being uninformed about his supposed one strong point--security. And his theatrics about 911 have run the course. Even the brain-dead, knee-jerk left/right are waking up to it. Look at the decline in web traffic for Malkin, Limbaugh, etc. Surely the shills of the NWO(being of superior intellect/breeding)can come up with another mantra. Your clock is getting cleaned right now.
I think Ron Paul's clock is getting cleaned.
Removing Ron Paul would be the worst thing the RNC could do. The masses are getting aggravated especially with this secret amnesty bill. The RNC will show its true colors and the facade of free elections will be gone. Then without a voice what will the people do? Bend over? probably not.
Please stop for a moment and try to get those seldomly used neurons in your brain to fire just enough for you to connect the dots on this one. I want you neo-con cheerleaders to drop the pom-poms and think for yourselves from now on. I know it might be hard, but it IS possible. Ron Paul says something that's inconveniently true, and you react how? Using mudslinging and more smoke and mirrors to distract and twist the issue. I pity you. Go Ron Paul!
You Ron Paul supporters, if you really are Ron Paul supporters, give him a bad name.
Keep up the personal attacks.
You dig your own grave.
Looks like the RNC has had a change of heart about censoring Ron Paul from the debates. I think the RNC realized whose grave they were really digging
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