# I think Ron Paul could pull it off **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 15, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343 "2011-12-15T21:37:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/101 "2011-12-29T14:32:33Z")
I just heard on the radio that Bachmann is now endorsing Paul. So, there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/102 "2011-12-29T14:51:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I just heard on the radio that Bachmann is now endorsing Paul. So, there’s that. No, the head of her Iowa campaign has defected and is now endorsing Paul. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/103 "2011-12-29T15:08:59Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I’m not a Ron Paul supporter, I just like the idea of him being the Republican nominee. I look forward to hearing Obama losing his cool and saying things like “what the fuck?” and “holy shit!” on national tv and have everyone in America say “I was thinking the same thing.” I think you cut right to the point there. Obama is to Ron Paul as Ron Paul was to Bruno. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/104 "2011-12-29T18:14:14Z")
> [@Buchanan](#): > > I agree with his comment about the TSA workers and their looks. The trigger for the creation of the TSA and the extensive searches were Arab terrorists, 9/11,\*\* the shoe bomber\*\*, etc.; its therefore ironic that a greater percentage of middle easterners work for the TSA than exist in American society overall, and these same folks are the ones searching the traditional American majority population while we refuse to racially profile (like, for example, what the Israelis do to every Palestinian who walks into David Ben Gurion airport). This shows a stunning level of ignorance about a subject that clearly has you quite worked up. The shoe bomber wasn’t a Middle Easterner. Nor for that matter was the underwear bomber or the guy who shot up the recruiting center in Kansan, nor were a host of other wannabe Jihadis. In fact, John Walker Lindh IIRC was blonde-haired and blue-eyed as was Pierre Robert, the infamous “blue-eyed Amir”. Moreover, Middle Easterners aren’t a “race” and the idea that you can tell who is an who isn’t by looking at them is simply absurd to anyone who’s ever visited there. For example, most people in Syria and Lebanon, look as “white” as people in Europe. Here’s Bashar Assad, the President of Syria. [http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Bashar+Assad&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWC0KOnFWDYZuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8504421/Syrian-presidents-brother-placed-on-EU-sanctions-list.html&docid=7GWgw7GXDWTxVM&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01891/ASSAD\_1891690c.jpg&w=460&h=287&ei=W638TvPQB8Ls0gGSvNiOAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=957&vpy=315&dur=2544&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=180&ty=83&sig=114170450824947533661&page=1&tbnh=108&tbnw=144&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&biw=1280&bih=603](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Bashar+Assad&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWC0KOnFWDYZuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8504421/Syrian-presidents-brother-placed-on-EU-sanctions-list.html&docid=7GWgw7GXDWTxVM&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01891/ASSAD_1891690c.jpg&w=460&h=287&ei=W638TvPQB8Ls0gGSvNiOAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=957&vpy=315&dur=2544&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=180&ty=83&sig=114170450824947533661&page=1&tbnh=108&tbnw=144&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&biw=1280&bih=603) Obviously, there are quite a few, including myself, who are significantly darker than most Europeans, but outside of North Africa, we’re hardly typical. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/105 "2011-12-29T18:29:33Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > This shows a stunning level of ignorance about a subject that clearly has you quite worked up. > > The shoe bomber wasn’t a Middle Easterner. Nor for that matter was the underwear bomber or the guy who shot up the recruiting center in Kansan, nor were a host of other wannabe Jihadis. > > In fact, John Walker Lindh IIRC was blonde-haired and blue-eyed as was Pierre Robert, the infamous “blue-eyed Amir”. > > Moreover, Middle Easterners aren’t a “race” and the idea that you can tell who is an who isn’t by looking at them is simply absurd to anyone who’s ever visited there. > > For example, most people in Syria and Lebanon, look as “white” as people in Europe. > > Here’s Bashar Assad, the President of Syria. > > [http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Bashar+Assad&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWC0KOnFWDYZuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8504421/Syrian-presidents-brother-placed-on-EU-sanctions-list.html&docid=7GWgw7GXDWTxVM&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01891/ASSAD\_1891690c.jpg&w=460&h=287&ei=W638TvPQB8Ls0gGSvNiOAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=957&vpy=315&dur=2544&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=180&ty=83&sig=114170450824947533661&page=1&tbnh=108&tbnw=144&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&biw=1280&bih=603](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Bashar+Assad&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWC0KOnFWDYZuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8504421/Syrian-presidents-brother-placed-on-EU-sanctions-list.html&docid=7GWgw7GXDWTxVM&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01891/ASSAD_1891690c.jpg&w=460&h=287&ei=W638TvPQB8Ls0gGSvNiOAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=957&vpy=315&dur=2544&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=180&ty=83&sig=114170450824947533661&page=1&tbnh=108&tbnw=144&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&biw=1280&bih=603) > > Obviously, there are quite a few, including myself, who are significantly darker than most Europeans, but outside of North Africa, we’re hardly typical. Fortunately, they **can** be identified by DNA. Once the current round of “vaccinations” is finished, yo- . . . _ahem_ . . . they’ll all be safely rounded up, don’t you worry! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/106 "2011-12-31T03:34:15Z")
> [@CNN Quoting Ron Paul\*](#): > > “Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity,” Paul wrote. “Why don’t they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable.” Handwave this away however you want, nobody’s going to believe you or care. He’s done. Forever. \*[Link](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/30/in-early-book-rep-ron-paul-criticized-aids-patients-minority-rights-and-sexual-harassment-victims/?hpt=hp_t1) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/107 "2011-12-31T16:34:25Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > Handwave this away however you want, nobody’s going to believe you or care. He’s done. Forever. > > \*[Link](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/30/in-early-book-rep-ron-paul-criticized-aids-patients-minority-rights-and-sexual-harassment-victims/?hpt=hp_t1) C’mon, Lew Rockwell or someone probably wrote the book and Ron Paul never realized there were offending passages in it. Besides, that’s ancient history and did you realize the Austrian economists have predicted all of our economic troubles and the government has too much power and Ron Paul is really really sincere. He’s gonna win, wait and see. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/108 "2011-12-31T17:32:28Z")
Here’s another potential source of major embarrassment for Ron Paul - his affiliation with the [Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Physicians_and_Surgeons) (he’s a lifetime member who has addressed their annual meeting). \*"Though it describes itself as “non-partisan”,[7] AAPS is generally recognized as politically conservative.[6][8][9][10] According to Mother Jones, “despite the lab coats and the official-sounding name, the docs of the AAPS are hardly part of mainstream medical society. Think Glenn Beck with an MD.”[10] The organization opposes mandatory vaccination,[11] universal health care[12] and government intervention in healthcare.[10][13] The AAPS has characterized the effects of the Social Security Act of 1965, which established Medicare and Medicaid, as “evil” and “immoral”,[14] and encouraged member physicians to boycott Medicare and Medicaid.[15] AAPS argues that individuals should purchase medical care directly from doctors, and that there is no right to medical care.[16] The organization requires its members to sign a “declaration of independence” pledging that they will not work with Medicare, Medicaid, or even private insurance companies.[10]"\* And that’s just for starters. Articles/commentaries in the AAPS journal have among other things claimed that HIV does not cause AIDS, denied human activity’s role in global warming, claimed that abortion causes breast cancer, that ““humanists” have conspired to replace the “creation religion of Jehovah” with evolution” and that "“anchor babies” were launching a “stealthy assault on [American] medicine” (including the false claim that illegal aliens have sparked a recent leprosy epidemic in the U.S). Bottom line - the AAPS is a bunch of raving libertarian loons. Ron Paul’s association with them provides abundant fuel for his opponents.\* \*the saner ones, anyway. Michele Bachmann is probably applying to AAPS as an auxiliary member as we speak. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/109 "2011-12-31T17:52:49Z")
Yes because Obama’s ties to ACORN were meaningful factors for his losing the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/110 "2011-12-31T18:29:48Z")
> [@Buchanan](#): > > […] ironic that a greater percentage of middle easterners work for the TSA than exist in American society overall, and these same folks are the ones searching the traditional American majority population while we refuse to racially profile > […] > So clearly there is provocation; retaliation or a ‘race war’ has likely only not been a result due to white’s incredible unwillingness to recognize group interests even when every possible faction around them does. > [@Buchanan](#): > > […] there is a huge problem, and that this order-of-magnitude-plus criminality, especially in violent crime, is unique to blacks and blacks alone. > […] blacks are more likely to commit violent crimes than other races - and this is true across all countries and times, and whether blacks are a minority or a majority or relatively rich or poor I’m shocked, shocked! Well… not that shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/111 "2011-12-31T19:04:24Z")
Will, if we’re talking about gradations of crazy, ACORN barely gets the needle quivering. AAPS fries the meter. Ron’s got some more splainin’ to do. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/112 "2011-12-31T19:14:28Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Will, if we’re talking about gradations of crazy, ACORN barely gets the needle quivering. AAPS fries the meter. > > Ron’s got some more splainin’ to do. He hardly addressed the newsletter issue and he’ll treat this with the same degree of attention. He only feels compelled to explain claims he has made personally. The truth is that his own rhetoric as been fairly moderate compared to the craziness he gets saddled with by association. The statements from his book aren’t a big deal in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/113 "2011-12-31T19:16:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > C’mon, Lew Rockwell or someone probably wrote the book and Ron Paul never realized there were offending passages in it. Besides, that’s ancient history and did you realize the Austrian economists have predicted all of our economic troubles and the government has too much power and Ron Paul is really really sincere. > > He’s gonna win, wait and see. Yes, but win WHAT? Candidate with the most delusional fanbase? _throws confetti_ ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/114 "2011-12-31T19:53:48Z")
nvm ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/115 "2011-12-31T20:03:50Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > He hardly addressed the newsletter issue and he’ll treat this with the same degree of attention. :):p:D ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/116 "2011-12-31T20:06:22Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > The statements from his book aren’t a big deal in my opinion. You don’t see a problem with him blaming the victims of sexual harassment? The boss gropes somebody in the copy room and instead of him getting in trouble for what he did they should just quit their job? It’s partially their fault? Yeah, voters are going to love that. edit: Wait, was your reply supposed to be sarcastic? I can’t even tell anymore. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/117 "2011-12-31T23:23:09Z")
[quote=“Terraplane, post:116, topic:606343”] You don’t see a problem with him blaming the victims of sexual harassment? The boss gropes somebody in the copy room and instead of him getting in trouble for what he did they should just quit their job? It’s partially their fault? QUOTE] Where does he say the boss shouldn’t get in trouble? He says civil rights laws are not needed to handle this, which is hardly a surprising position coming from him. This is just politically correct sensationalism. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/118 "2011-12-31T23:53:51Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Where does he say the boss shouldn’t get in trouble? He says civil rights laws are not needed to handle this, which is hardly a surprising position coming from him. This is just politically correct sensationalism. I should have said 'instead of _just_ him getting in trouble…" I didn’t mean to imply that he meant the harasser shouldn’t be punished. But he does _blame the victim_. If somebody is the victim of sexual harassment, it’s not their fault. They shouldn’t have to lose their job because they didn’t do anything wrong. There is no shared blame. There’s nothing sensational about that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/119 "2012-01-01T00:01:27Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Where does he say the boss shouldn’t get in trouble? He says civil rights laws are not needed to handle this, which is hardly a surprising position coming from him. This is just politically correct sensationalism. Then what laws should be used to administer justice to the employer, if not civil rights laws? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343/120 "2012-01-01T00:15:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Then what laws should be used to administer justice to the employer, if not civil rights laws? I assume every state has a law against sexual assault. I also believe its fairly simple to obtain a restraining order. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-ron-paul-could-pull-it-off/606343.md?page=7)