Ron Paul Ruins Polical Future with Offensive Tweet
About Michael John ScottMr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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In 140 characters, the newly retired congressman reminds us why he — and maybe his son — won’t top the GOP presidential ticket.
Ron Paul doesn’t mince words on Twitter, it seems.
John W. Adkisson/Getty Image
When news started spreading that Chris Kyle, a former SEAL and author of the best-selling autobiography American Sniper, was shot dead with a friend over the weekend — allegedly at the hands of a PTSD-suffering former Marine he was trying to help by taking him shooting at a hunting range — conservatives were incensed over the callous tweets of “some on the anti-gun Left.” And then this happened:
Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense
And just like that, the three-time Republican presidential candidate’s tenuous coalition of pro-gun libertarians, anti–Federal Reserve goldbugs, and foreign policy non-interventionists crumbled. Paul is an opponent of gun control — saying after December’s Newtown, Conn., grade school massacre that “more guns equals less crime” and that “private gun ownership prevents many shootings” — but also of U.S. military adventurism. Kyle, also an outspoken gun-rights advocate, earned a reputation in Iraq as one of the deadliest snipers in U.S. military history. With Twitter erupting in outrage over his comment, Paul took to Facebook to explain himself:
As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend’s violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle’s family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences. A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies. -REP
That not-quite-apology didn’t quell the anger or the virtual yelling. “You really are vile,” tweeted GOP strategist Rick Wilson; Commentary‘s John Podhoretz said Paul’s tweet was “appalling.” The newly liberated Paul “is more callous than ever, with an extra helping of sanctimony and a healthy dollop of anti-military sentiment,” say the editors of Michelle Malkin’s Twitchy. Not content with just “dancing on the grave of a military hero,” Paul poured fuel on the fire by invoking Jesus to justify his “ghoulish” views. Even Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — rumored to have presidential ambitions himself — rushed out a statement to Breitbart.com: “Chris Kyle was a hero like all Americans who don the uniform to defend our country. Our prayers are with his family during this tragic time.”
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AnonymousNot
February 5, 2013 at 11:17 am
His followers are fanatics. He could shit on TV and they’d praise him, and probably attempt to imitate him.
James Smith
February 5, 2013 at 11:52 am
Just one more example of an extremist shooting himself in the foot. (pun intended)
Peter Lake
February 5, 2013 at 11:54 am
Ron Paul does have some looney followers.
Jim Moore
February 5, 2013 at 12:02 pm
I won’t miss this nut in the political arena, but it’s sad to see a vote sponge, capable of undermining a GOP candidate, drift away.
We have to remember that we managed to get Clinton elected in large part because Ross Perot siphoned votes from Bush-I. Similarly, one reason Gore lost in 2000 was because Ralph Nader pulled a crucial 97,000 votes from Gore in FL, the deciding state. The next most popular “3rd party” candidate, Pat Buchanan, pulled only 17,000 FL votes. So the scales tipped to Bush-II by a factor of about 80,000 Nader votes…and that allowed Bush to beat Gore by an alleged 500 vote margin.
In 2008, Nader, once again, sucked 3/4 million votes from the left. Ron Paul, meanwhile, only garnered 42,000 votes, but at least those votes mitigated the Nader effect by that much. Nader and the Greens are symptoms of what wrong with progressives. As far as I’m concerned, Nader single-handedly turned the country over to Bush in 2000. Such an exercise in pointless, self-destructive futility appears to be lost on many, so my only solace is that quite a few hard-right nut jobs can blunt the Nader effect to some degree.
Nader is a stick-in-the-spokes of the Democratic candidates, and so I’m always eager to see a spoiler on the right. Ron Paul played a valuable role, and it will be progressives’ loss to see him go.
Michael John Scott
February 5, 2013 at 12:20 pm
You make some important points here Jim. Thanks.