BradSpangler.com

Who’s telling the truth — Lew Rockwell or Eric Dondero? Although I have my differences of opinion, emphasis, style and ideological particulars with Rockwell, my wager would be on him every time.

Libertine warmonger, Bushevik and faux-libertarian Eric Dondero has publicly alleged here and here that Lew Rockwell was the author of some racially-charged material in an old Ron Paul newsletter from back in the early 90’s. I have in my possession a personal email from Lew Rockwell in which he says:

“Brad, another lie from the hate-filled Dondero.”

The Paul campaign has already deflected the larger controversy over this material (as an attempted smear) with the explanation that it was written by a staff member without Paul’s approval. Pending evidence otherwise, I find that explanation from the Paul campaign credible, if only because the remarks seemed very unlike anything I recall ever hearing from him. He has notably denounced racism in the past as a “collectivist mindset”.

However, as a self-identified left libertarian, I would like to point out that political alliances with the right that blur the lines between conservatism and libertarianism are a strategic blunder precisely because they bring with them all of the poisonous, anti-libertarian baggage of the right — such as racism.

Exhibit A: the unspecified staff member who wrote the arguably racist material in question and Dondero himself both managed to find work on Ron Paul’s staff — if we assume they weren’t one and the same person. Dondero was fired. I can only hope that was also the case with the author of the newsletter material, pending better information.

UPDATE: Carol Moore also had some things to say recently about Ron Paul and Eric Dondero.

Tags: Politics //