|
People who have known and worked with Paul personally, including the editorial staff of the New York Sun Stewart Rhodes, a Hispanic former congressional staffer for Paul and Nelson Linder, President of the Austin branch of the NAACP have publically dismissed the notion that he is a bigot. In 1993, while the most hysterical of the newsletters were being disseminated, openly-gay libertarian Rick Sincere was running for the Virginia General Assembly and found Paul readily at his side:
"Ron Paul issued a letter on my behalf, soliciting funds from libertarians and votes from constituents. Dr. Paul (then a former Congressman) was aware I was running as an openly-gay candidate and he raised no questions, concerns, or objections. I hardly think a homophobic bigot would have sent out a fundraising letter over hisown signature, endorsing an ?avowed homosexual? for public office."
Paul's intellectual heroes include Ludwig von Mises, and among his friends were Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, F.A. Hayek, and Aaron Russo, two of whom he mourned several years ago (Friedman and Russo), and all of whom are Jewish. Paul has vehemently denounced racism numerous times in print. In 2007, Paul praised Muhammad Ali as ?a man of greatcourage who practiced what Martin Luther King made popular and contributed to ending the draft."
|