Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Ron Paul: The Smearbund Hates What It Can't Control and Doesn't Understand (Updated, 12/26)





















Uncompromising men are easy to admire. They have courage – so has a dog. But it is precisely the ability to compromise that makes men noble.”

The Earl of Carrick, leprosy-stricken and utterly amoral father to King Robert I of Scotland, as (plausibly) depicted in the film Braveheart



The proverbial “Hand” that manipulates public opinion may be invisible, but it is readily detected by those who consume the news with any degree of critical intelligence. The Invisible Hand has rarely been less subtle than it's been during the past several days when it has summoned into existence a classic hate campaign against Ron Paul. The Hand has assumed a very familiar configuration – a pointing finger of spurious accusation at the end of a limp wrist.


In using the term “Invisible Hand” I do not mean that we are seeing the product of a highly organized conspiracy, with dozens or hundreds of people working with Jesuitical guile and Prussian efficiency. It is most likely a “conspiracy” in the precise etymological sense of the expression – a large group of people “breathing together,” or sharing the same inspiration.


It is certainly possible that “Mordor sent out the memo the libel Ron Paul,” in the words of the somewhat (but not entirely facetious) comment by the estimable Lew Rockwell. But whether or not a specific directive was handed down, it's certain that there has been a distinct change in the direction of the prevailing suck-up wind. Pundits, power brokers, and blogosphere second-handers know that in order to cultivate the favor of an alarmed but potent Power Elite it's necessary to join in the unfolding smear of Ron Paul. The result has been a torrential outpouring of unfiltered ... well, in the interests of decorum, suffice it to say that it's been a real colon-full.


The currency of this smear is the language of guilty insinuation, denominated in hints, winks, smirks, and “I'm-just-passing-this-along” deniable libels. None of the people giving circulation to the charge that Dr. Paul is somehow “linked” to white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups appears to believe that Paul himself harbors such views or impulses. This includes Don Black and others of that persuasion who are, as my perceptive friend Tom Eddlem points out, most likely looking for the free publicity they've obtained from Paul's detractors. (There is, as I've noted, an imperceptibly small chance that the Stormfront set might convert to libertarianism,which would require a complete re-examination of their premises.)


The first to put a whetted finger to the suck-up wind, and the source of some of the seminal smears against Ron Paul, was Eric Dondero, a former staff aide to Paul who has announced his intention to run for Paul's congressional seat.


Dondero's resume proudly boasts that he's a “20-year federal appointee [to the] Selective Service Board” for the Houston area. Authentic liberty activists seek the abolition of the SSS, not a seat at the table on the local draft board.



[Correction, 12/26: As can be seen in the comments section below, Mr. Dondero insists that his objective in taking a seat on the draft board was to help bring about the end of the SSS. Since he is the expert regarding his own motives, I accept that explanation -- while pointing out that the militarist foreign policy Dondero supports -- see below -- will eventually require conscription.


And as long as we're in the business of corrections and clarifications, I will exploit this opportunity to encourage Mr. Dondero to begin what would be the long and daunting task of fumigating the blogosphere to abate the foul-smelling insinuations he has made regarding Ron Paul's supposed anti-Semitism. A good place to begin would be to retract his misrepresentations regarding Dr. Paul's views of foreign aid -- again, see below. I would hope that Mr. Dondero's zeal for accuracy would not be purely self-serving. -- WNG]

But Dondero's soi-disant “mainstream libertarianism” makes generous allowance for imperial militarism: Like a number of celebrity libertarians, Donadero seems to believe that it's possible to have minimalist government at home while following a foreign policy of endless and unlimited interventionism. Or it's possible that he doesn't care at all about intellectual consistency, and he's just in the habit of spitting out words to watch them splatter.


Dondero announced his desire to unseat Dr. Paul following the now-famous confrontation between the good Doctor and the Demented Rudy Giuliani over the origins of the 9-11 attack.



That isn't a kilt, folks: Rudy Giuliani, Eric Dondero's vision of martial virtue, appearing -- as he frequently has -- in drag.


“I have spent the early morning scanning the major political blogs, and news sites,” wrote Dondero on RedState.com, which is sort of a cyber-Volkischer Beobachter for Red State Fascists. “It's unanimous," declared Dondero after a small poll of people who agree with him. "Ron Paul got slammed by Rudy Giuliani last night for suggesting that we - the United States of America - are to blame for the attacks on 9/11. He even had the audacity to cite Osama bin Laden.”


One of the basic understandings shared by all libertarians is that the people of our country, and the government ruling us, are not identical, and our interests very rarely – if ever – coincide. Ron Paul has underscored that principle by pointing out that the attack on innocent Americans that took place on 9-11 was in large measure “blowback” from Washington's decades of foreign adventurism.


Although it requires a certain kind of dogmatic ignorance to do so, I can imagine how someone of a certain political bent could regard the government to be completely blameless in its foreign policy, and insist that its actions abroad have no material connection to 9-11. A person of that sort, however, couldn't honestly call himself a libertarian.


Dondero, it should be noted, wrote in the immediate aftermath of the first debate, in apparent anticipation that the machinery of mass conformity would make quick work of Dr. Paul. He described the exchange as “a horrible moment for Ron Paul. My former boss looked like a complete nutcase. He looked frail. His hands shaked [sic]. He showed his age. He was completely unprepared for Giuliani's romping response.”


Well.... not exactly. More than half a year later it's clear that Dr. Paul – whose demeanor was actually quite composed, and who made his points with plangent conviction – impressed millions of Americans (and millions more abroad) by the courage and decency he displayed in that exchange. He has become an increasingly effective spokesman of truths largely unspoken – about the Constitution, about the Federal Reserve, about our impending descent into bankruptcy and ruin.


Uncompromising men are easy to admire. This is why those accustomed to compromise feel such urgency to compromise them somehow or, failing that, to traduce them by any means necessary.


Dondero takes credit for inducing Rep. Paul to cast one of the few votes with which I've taken issue, and one he now publicly regrets – his “yes” vote on the post-9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Although described as authorizing military action against Afghanistan, the AUMF is now widely recognized as little less than an Enabling Act – in the Reichstag Fire sense of the expression, if you will.


Donadero, who is Jewish, has likewise been chumming the waters with greasy intimations that Dr. Paul is anti-Semitic. Donadero claims that Paul was somehow guilty of tokenism in hiring him and using him as his “Jewish staffer,” even though he admits Paul had no idea he was Jewish until after hiring him.



Ron and I finally departed [sic] ways, partly because I was ashamed to work for such an explicitly anti-Israel advocate,” Donadero wrote on one occasion in typically malapropism-strewn prose. “If you still doubt his anti-Jewish/anti-Israel views, ask yourself this question: Why is it that when Ron Paul talks about the evils of taxpayer dollars going overseas for foreign aid, he only singles out Israel as a recipient? Why does he never mention the billions we send each year to Egypt for foreign aide?[Sic] Turkey, the Palestinians, other Nations?”


Leaving aside, for the nonce, the fact that Israeli government is by far the largest and most influential aid recipient (that nation's people don't benefit therefrom), it's a lie at once bold and inept to say that Paul has been fixated only on Washington's aid to Israel. Consider this 2006 essay which doesn't mention Israel, and condemns foreign aid for enriching domestic middle men in this country.

Consider as well this essay from last January – several months prior to Donadero's above-cited denunciation.


In that piece, the congressman protests: “We give Israel about $3 billion each year, but we also give Egypt $2 billion. Most other Middle East countries get money too, some of which ends up in the hands of Palestinian terrorists....Our foolish and unconstitutional foreign aid has produced more violence, not less. Congress and each successive administration pledge their political, financial, and military support for Israel. Yet while we call ourselves a strong ally of the Israeli people, we send billions in foreign aid every year to some Muslim states that many Israelis regard as enemies. From the Israeli point of view, many of the same Islamic nations we fund with our tax dollars want to destroy the Jewish state. Many average Israelis and American Jews see America as hypocritically hedging its bets.”


Even more germane to this discussion is a long and thoughtful speech given by Dr. Paul on September 25, 2001 – while Donadero was on Paul's staff – in which he condemned, in detail and at great length, financial and military aid given to various radical Islamic states and movements; in that speech he doesn't mention Israel at all, which is a curious omission for someone so fixated on that nation, as Donadero would have us believe.



Like others who seek to bemerde the name and character of Ron Paul, Donadero accuses the mild and principled doctor of being obsessed with Israel because he doesn't share their obsession with that foreign state. (Rudolph Giuliani, incidentally, has surrounded himself with such people.) Paul obviously and indisputably wants to see the Middle East at peace, which would certainly be to the benefit of the Israelis, as well as everyone else in the region. Dr. Paul has expressed understandable misgivings about the process through which the United Nations created the modern nation-state of Israel.


But his chief concern is to extricate the United States from its entanglements in the region because he is convinced that our national interests – which is to say, the interests of the individuals who compose our nation, rather than its ruling elite – requires it.






Robert the Bruce in Battle: Although he equivocated in his career, and even signed a dishonorable peace accord with England's King Edward I, The Bruce found his true calling at Bannockburn, winning his country's independence in 1314.


Ron Paul is obsessed with individual liberty and prosperity, national independence, and international peace. As someone consumed with principle rather than individual ambition, he's willing to retain his integrity and lose, rather than compromise and "win" politically. This makes him utterly incomprehensible to the Smearbund -- and it may make him invulnerable to their tactics.



Dum spiro, pugno!



43 comments:

Freedom2Learn said...

A very well written support for the truth in the message delivered by Ron Paul. Great Work!

Al Newberry said...

Will, I don't know if I can forgive you for putting a picture of Eric Dondero in my face.

I've been familiar with this guy for quite a while, and in my experience, he has always been quick to stand up and smear anyone who supports liberty, while claiming to be a libertarian himself.

He is a loathsome creature who was fired from Paul's staff and just wants to attack him. Too bad for him he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Pedregal said...

Dear William,

I love reading blogs from those who actually use their head for something other than a hat-rack. This was a well thought out and written article. Congratulations on a job well done.

Don

Kate said...

Ron Paul truly is the "Champion of The Constitution" and it is resonating very soundly. Good article that brings the "Truth to Light".

Anonymous said...

Another great post. I enjoy your writing immensely.

Eric Dondero said...

Umm, I do favor abolishing the Selective Service and ending the Military Draft. Why do you think I joined the Draft Board?

BTW, there are two other Libertarians in the US who also serve on the Board, one of them is Tom Knapp from St. Louis, a well-known Radical Libertarian.

Daniel Maxwell said...

Thanks for writing this Mr. Grigg, and for being one of the first to write much on the topic of Eric Dondero. I remember his blow up after the Ron Paul-Rudy confrontation at the debates. He now trolls libertarian or libertarian leaning blogs (such as the left-libertarian Reason or the Orange County Register), posting smart-ass comments with the 'Eric Dondero Aid to Ron Paul 1997-2003' at the end.

When I saw the 'mainstream libertarian' site a couple weeks ago, I was stunned. It is libertarianism's answer to the 'Republican Mainstreet partnership' IE a libertarian-light. Throughout the site, it is claimed, that Rudy is a 'libertarian' and not a complete and total warmonger that he is (by far the worst of the 'top tier' Republicans).

Even better, some guy on the comments board was making a 'libertarian' case for a smoking ban. Wow. But I guess if you can make a libertarian case for endless wars a smoking ban might seem small potatoes eh?

That website needs to be exposed for what it is. Let's hope Lew does an article on it.

KCUF Media said...

Eric the Shake has been attempting to infect the libertarian movement with his brand of idiocy since the late 1980's, when he claimed he was "purged by extremists" from the Libertarian Party. This behavior of his towards Ron Paul is cyclical -- he pulled the same routine back in 2004 after Michael Badnarik won the LP's presidential nomination, forming "Libertarians for Bush." This time it's the even-more preposterous "Libertarians for Giuliani."

Anonymous said...

Eric Dondero Rittberg, is scum. Luckily it seems the people of Brazoria County (and the other areas which Paul represents in Congress) also recognize this as Dondero's "challenge" to Paul for his seat has failed so spectacularly.

I should add that you repeatedly misspelled the chav's name as "Donadero" it should be Dondero in all cases.

Sam Grove said...

...it is most likely a “conspiracy” in the precise etymological sense of the expression – a large group of people “breathing together,” or sharing the same inspiration

I call this a tacit conspiracy, where various interests perceive benefit from contributing to the same goal without the necessity of secretive correspondence.

Grung_e_Gene said...

There is a concerted Whispering Campaign to plaster Ron Paul with the label Racist.

Because those opposed to Paul on the Left and Right know his candidacy is gaining momentum among the people.

The whole point is to plant the racism meme so debate no longer is needed and the trump card of "Isn't he a racist?" can be played over and over...

Dale Fitz said...

Your article wonderfully explains why the smears won't work against Dr Paul- he has hundreds of speeches and articles, freely available to anyone with an internet connection, that unequivocally refute any accusation of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia or religious bias. His "big tent" live-&-let-live conservative constitutional libertarianism is apparent to anyone who takes time to examine his record. That's the reason that hippies, homeschoolers, feminists, evangelicals, stoners, unreconstructed confederates, civil libertarians, and liberals and conservatives of every permutation stand together arm-in-arm with one another at Ron Paul meetings- they will tolerate one another long enough to elect someone that will allow them to never have to associate with one another ever again. It's an alien strategy in today's PC world, but a winning one.

Ben Novak said...

Please share with American supporters of Ron Paul the following expression of support for Ron Paul in Europe.

Below is the statement adopted by the "Strasbourg Tea Party" held on December 16th in conjunction with the Boston Tea Parties for Ron Paul celebrated across the US that day.

After the statement are pasted a few of the dozens of videos made of the event.

Sincerely,
Ben Novak
Co-Founder of Americans in Europe for Ron Paul-Bratislava (Slovakia)

Proclamation of the Strasbourg Tea Party for Ron Paul
15-16 December 2007

On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul supporters from the United States and seven European nations (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, and United Kingdom) assembled in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, for the purpose of joining their American brothers and sisters for Ron Paul in celebrating the famous "Boston Tea Party" of 1773, and demonstrating the broad base of international support that Dr. Ron Paul inspires in Europe. On the previous day, many the participants attended a conference held to discuss ways to help Ron Paul's campaign for president of the United States, and furthering the Ron Paul Revolution in Europe. The following statement was adopted by the participants:


We Proclaim:


Never before has a candidate for president of the United States inspired people around the world as Ron Paul has done.

Ron Paul has cured our apathy and inspired the enthusiasm of youth throughout Europe, just as he has in America. He has given us hope in limited government, and restored faith that democracy can work.

We thrill to his message of liberty and personal responsibility, which is so different from that of normal politicians, who see the people they are supposed to serve as little but helpless clients to be managed by the state.

We no longer wish to have our lives interfered with and controlled by bureaucrats.

We share Ron Paul's concern for the stability of our financial system, and believe that sound money is essential for the economic health and financial stability of not only America but also of Europe and the rest of the world.

We share Ron Paul's insight that our bloated governments and financial managers are controlled by special interests who are neither responsible nor responsive to the people. We applaud Ron Paul for bringing these issues into the public consciousness, and dedicate ourselves to educating people about them.

We believe that Ron Paul's call to return to the original principles of the United States Constitution, and of America's Founders, is the best route to world peace and security.

We believe that Ron Paul's foreign policy principles of respect for sovereignty and non-interventionism are as applicable to the European Union and to our own nations as they are to the United States.

Ron Paul has been called an "isolationist" by his opponents. We want Americans to know that Ron Paul is inspiring an international movement, and that he is the only candidate who is making friends for America and gathering broad-based international support.

We believe that Ron Paul has sparked a revolution of friendship between all those in Europe and America who share his values, and that this friendship and this Revolution will continue to grow in depth and strength.

We dedicate ourselves to supporting Ron Paul in his election campaign this year, supporting his goals when he is elected president, and bringing his message of liberty and personal responsibility to our own nations in Europe.

Adopted in Strasbourg by the participants of the Strasbourg Tea Party on the 15th and 16th days of December, Anno Domini 2007.

Ben Novak, Bratislava, Slovakia

Allan Stevo, Bratislava, Slovakia

Fabio Bossi, Munich Germany

Patrick Ryf, Berne, Switzerland

Peter-Willem Vanden Broucke, Ghent, Belgium

Stephan Eckert, Frankfurt, Germany

Nicole Blaess, Frankfurt, Germany

Johannes Maierhofer, Vienna, Austria

Philipe Huhardeaux, Brussels, Belgium

Igor Uszczapowski, Kaiserslautern, Germany

Michael Bienek, Reimsbach, Germany

Michael Bauwens, Ghent, Belgium

Thomas Waschko, Hamburg, Germany

Tim Wessels, Hamburg, Germany

Laura Harth, Ghent, Belgium

Denis Clijsters, Ekereen, Belgium

Lukas Mauch, Munich, Germany

Nicholas Serr, Munich, Germany

Rafael Kraft, Rotweil, Germany

Michael Neral, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (Scotland)

J. Blättermann, Munich, Germany

Janine Schleicher, Rotweil, Germany

Laura Hegedus, Munich, Germany

Ira Katz, Paris, France

Johanna von Seckendorf, Munich, Germany

Karl Stritzinger, Munich, Germany

Roger Buchschacher, Basel, Switzerland

Felix Klee, Baden-Baden, Germany

Norman Thiel, Munich, Germany

D. G., Ghent, Belgium

And here are three videos:

Ron Paul Strasbourg Tea Party '07 - Introduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONpMOX8iCMU&feature=related

Ron Paul Strasbourg Tea Party '07 - Media Blackout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEOi_hjZmLg

The Strasbourg Tea Party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaIOP3jzGZM

There are dozens more on YouTobe, but you get the idea.

Kevin said...

Excellent write up. I hope enough people can hear Paul's message in order for him to succeed.

Robert Spandell said...

Very inspirational. I am more excited about Ron Paul and the spreading the message of liberty than ever before. I discovered Ron Paul 20 years ago and he is planting the seeds of liberty in millions more. We are winning.

Anonymous said...

Perfect example of using "Braveheart" to symbolize the battle that Ron Paul is facing for many years as a COngressmen with the "Creature's -Pawns- From Jeykll Island". It is almost impossible to "Smear" Mr. Paul but they are now in this "phase" for he represents a very real fear to "their" illegal existense.

Wake Up America Your Hope Is Right Before You!

Mr. Lauren N, Dowsett

Bill Anderson said...

It always is a pleasure to read your commentary. Like Ron Paul, you are uncompromising when it comes to the truth.

Anonymous said...

Of course Don Black and Stormfront did this for publicity. Every time one of the MSM runs a hit piece on them, their numbers grow. How many websites would love to get their URL broadcast on nationwide TV? Even if it is a hit piece. Traffic will go up and some will stick around.

Anonymous said...

Good article.

It's so obvious now, it's like an inside joke...you just make the false claims more absurd then the those who originate them.

Dondero sounds like he put on a tin foil neocon hat. You can tell by the conspiracy theories of that global boogeyman that is everywhere and everyone at once.

Tron Denver said...

Holy Moly, what an insightful jam-packed read!

Whether it highly concerted or not, one who dredges the news can definitely dissern patterns in the smear-memes (smemes?) regarding Ron Paul.

He wouldn't be getting so much flak if he weren't over the target, as they say. They already have the neo-nazi and the hooker angle, what's next? I think it will be the chupacabra.

Headline:
"Goat-Sucker Runs Phone-Bank for Paul Campaign"

Again, great piece!

John Polomny said...

Dondero is nothing more then a greasy opporutunist who sniffs a chance to pickup a congressional seat. He just proves what most already know, some people will do or say anything to get elected.

RichardC said...

Some consider Ron Paul anti-Semitic. Some consider him racist. Their reasons are similar. Ron Paul believes in treating all citizens equally, regardless of race. He believes in treating all friendly countries equally, regardless of the Israel lobby.

Uncle Raisin said...

"All politics is local" rings true. While it's true that the power brokers of our world involve themselves with national and world matters, and therefore fear the Ron Pauls of our time, the real power resides in our own localities. If we could demand truth and sound Constitutional governing principles in our own towns/counties/states we would remove the basis of the power that has been collected nationally. How many with Ron Paul's courage are left?

Uncle Raisin
www.UncleRaisin.com
"Raisin" the Standard Against Injustice

Nydra said...

The USA has citizens who support Israel and would use the funds saved with no income tax to support Israel. And the better our economy and the freer the trade, the more they would have to send.
Federal funds come with golden handcuffs; individual liberty to spend your earnings as you wish, does not.

Anonymous said...

Excellent once again! Always an eye opening and pleasurable read.
You have the guts to write the truth and it gives me hope !
When I look around me and listen to so many americans that buy into
the lies and propaganda of the smearbund i do admit to feeling
hopeless about the american people being able to resist the shackles
that are being quickly fastened around their ankles.........

Anonymous said...

Another great column, Will. The only point with which I would take issue is your caution in calling the smear campaign a conspiracy. I don't see how such an organized and thorough campaign could originate without an order from Mordor.-)

racketmensch said...

Will - what F2L said!
I've been stewing for some time about The New American and the circumstances of your exit, but you have really taken off. Their loss, but having to walk on coals has obviously tempered/strengthened your writing. It's like Jeff Beck leaving the Yardbirds. or something...
thanks for saying what I wish I said, better.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
tntalk said...

Nicely done commentary and observation. The picture of Rudy G. in drag is almost as amazing, but not for the same reason.

WD said...

I was one of the 25,000 first time contributors to the Ron Paul presidential campaign on Dec. 16th. I really like Dr. Paul’s adherence to the philosophies of our founding fathers. I especially like the “no entanglements” part. With every pothole that I crash through and every creaky bridge that I survive, I think towards the time when President Paul's sound domestic/foreign policies have Americans working to repair USA infrastructure instead of destroying and then rebuilding the rest of the world. Why just the cash given to Israel alone would have paid for the "$14 Billion Dollar Big Dig" in just over two (2) years. Next year Israel wants the cash in euros.

So many of Dr. Paul’s young supporters are written off as freaks, flakes or even worse. What I have come to understand is that many of them are the families and friends of all these young people coming back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They know that they are next to be shipped off to some foreign land to fight and die in these endless wars that only the bankers love. Is that why this government pushes so hard for ever more poverty stricken immigrants? They need the poor for their war! Say, NO MORE!

Our government has admitted that almost 4,000 of our children have been killed so far in this war for Israel. Tens of thousands have been horribly maimed and burned. A literal army of teenagers and twenty-somethings in their wheelchairs. They have been permanently disfigured and they will forever suffer from this insane war for Israel.

I am almost fifty years old and I have always voted. I have already changed my party to Republican for the primary in my state (FL). I will be voting for Dr. Paul.

For the first time in my life, I sent $50 to a politician.

Anonymous said...

great article.
Hope your God is once again with you and allows the good doctor to cure your countries ills.

Eric Dondero said...

Editor,

Again, I formally ask you for a correction on your statement that I somehow favor the Military Draft. Could you explain to me how in the world did you get that idea?

I have an extensive history in the Draft Resistance movement. Perhaps you are not aware, that in 1985 I was almost thrown in jail for refusing to sign the Selective Service Registration card.

I was a the first Test Case. The Draft had been reinstituted by Carter in 1979. Took effect in 1980. I joined the Navy in 1981 at 18. When I finished my four years with an honorable discharge in 1985, I was still under the age of the required 25. But I had never signed the SS Card. Why should I have signed it?

Well, the SS came after me. Threatened with me, pleaded with me, cajoled me. Did everything they could just to get me to sign.

I told them to 'F' off. Even the Top Guy at the Agency called me. I threatened him with massive publicity, "Honorably discharged Navy Vet goes to jail for refusing to Register for the Draft." In Navy Town Jacksonville, Florida of all places.

Needless to say they backed off.

Paul Jacob, Scott Kohlhaas and I have been leading the opposition to the Draft ever since, both here in the US and worldwide.

In fact, 6 months ago I had a guest on my radio show "Libertarian Politics Live" on Blog Talk from Bermudans for Draft Resistance.

In 1994, Kohlhaas and I lobbied newly elected Republican Congressman to introduce a bill to abolish the Selective Service System. We managed to get 6 Co-Sponsors.

In the late 1990s as a Staffer for Ron Paul, Chief of Staff Tom Lizardo and I got Ron to sign on to a similar bill each year for 6 years straight.

How in the world you could get such information wrong about me, is absolutely mind-boggling.

Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that "Yes" Dondero is one of the leading advocates in the Nation for elimination the Military Draft.

Here's a list of references:

Paul Jacob
Scott Kohlhaas
Tom Lizardo
Jake Witmer
Tom Knapp (Fellow Selective Service Board member)

Anonymous said...

But, Mr. Dondero, what about the more important point in Will's blog--that you support the (based on provable lies) War in Iraq and the open ended sham better known as the War on Terror? And what about your assertions that, based on his opposition to aid for Israel, Ron Paul is "anti-Semitic" (whatever that means)?

Anonymous said...

Eric dondero and hi ilk will be relegated to the trash bin of hsitory while the message of freedom and liberty being promoted by Ron Paul will live on. Notice how every one of Dondero's comments on this blog are liberally sprinkled with "I" and "me" and generally follow the theme "all the great things I have done" while the good doctors speeches and interviews focus on the fundementals of liberty and are totally devoid of references to himself. Hmmmm. Which one of these messengers (and their message )will be remembered 50 years from now. Certainly not the one who is full of himself. Eric Dondero please do us a favor.... go hang out with your mainstream libertarian friends like Ventura and Nugent. Heck maybe you could all start a rock band an jump around on stage in tight briefs chanting support for the War.

Mark Anderson said...

Thanks for this commentary, WNG. What sticks out the most to me is Eric Dondero's assessment of Ron Paul's stage-presence in the Paul-Giuliani exchange.

This sticks out to me, because I recollect how Pat Buchanan, who has a really good command presence and is a skillful orator/debator, was attacked by his opponents for exactly that. Pat was referred to as "angry" and so forth.

Ron Paul, on the other hand, has a very meek, humble, and mild-mannered delivery. Eric Dondero was ridiculing him for the meekness.

What these arguments do is get you distracted with the delivery of the message, as opposed to the message itself. And apparently, there is "no" right way to deliver such a truthful message. Either your delivery is psycho-analyzed down to "anger," or it is psycho-analyzed down to "weakness."

Visible said...

Oh Bravo! and well said. I knew I was reading a kindred spirit when I saw the LOTR reference which I often reference; in fact, just did so again today.

You are brilliant and articulate and possibly the best writer I've encountered in the blogsphere so far. Riveting and incisive work!

Damn... I want to say more, add more accolades. But I'm done for now. I'll be bookmarking this site.

Les Visible
http://smokingmirrors.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I am British and I can tell you that Ron Paul is an inspiration here too. No one in America need worry about how he will be received by the rest of the world, he will instantly elevate America back to its old position as beacon of hope. Anti-Americanism is about the corruption we see in your politics. It will be forgotten in a heartbeat if you elect this man. And I can finally visit America (as soon as you guys remove the fingerprinting-on-arrival gross insult you have adopted since 911).
PLEASE!

CK said...

http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/the-ron-paul-vid-lash/?ex=1199163600&en=7b25470d94ea3b8b&ei=5070&emc=eta1/

One moneybomb is a fluke, a thing to ooh and ahh about while simultaneously playing the "serious" card and asking "...but will all this intertubes activity translate into real votes?"
A second money bomb, 50% larger, a month later is a wake up call. Not a fluke, even the MSM has a few folks who can crunch numbers.
Median donation $50, average $105, 50,000+ donors on a single day, 200,000+ donors over the year.
5000+ show up for a rally at the Liberty Bell on a miserable november day. ( Personal observation, I just returned from a 10 hour round trip over the Christmas holiday through PA. The Only Signs for any Presidential candidate that I saw were for Dr Paul. Approximately 2 dozen signs in front of houses and hanging from overpasses and strung on fence lines ).
For everyone who has put their own small change money into Dr. Paul's campaign there are 3, 5, 10 others who haven't but who will be voting for him. For some of us, coming up with money is not easy but coming up with the time required to vote is, for those who have already invested into Dr. Paul, it is even easier to find the time to sit through the caususes or stand on the line to vote in the primary. I am one of the lucky ones, I worked for Goldwater in 64,
voted for Dr. Paul in 88 and will vote for him in the PA primary in 08 and the national election in 08.
Now practice along with me: President Paul. Sounds like victory to me.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately it took segregationist Governor Wallace to reveal the truth that "there's not a dime's worth of difference between" Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats willingly went along with the War in Iraq, suspension of Habeas Corpus, detaining protesters, banning books like America Deceived (book) from Amazon, stealing private lands (Kelo decision), warrant-less wiretapping and refusing to investigate 9/11 properly. They are both guilty of treason.
Support Dr. Ron Paul and save this great nation.

Scott said...

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!11

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this masterful column. Dondero has been meandering around the internets for months now leeching off of Paul's success. Apparently the platform of his "libertarian" Republican group is "Nothing says liberty like a little war."

He is, of course, a fool and liar.

TAYLOR said...

Will,

Regarding your "correction" on Dondero, which provided Dondero's reasoning for joining the Selective Service board, ie, to bring about it's end:

Stefan Molyneux, over at Freedomainradio.com, would probably compare Dondero's reasoning with the following metaphor (in fact he has, on numerous occasions, used this metaphor)-- imagine a child molestation ring. You think the child molestation ring is an abominable evil and you seek to end it. How do you do this? You decide to JOIN the child molestation ring and bring it down from the inside, either by convincing people or rising through the ranks to head-child-molester and then pulling the plug on the party. So, your strategy for ending child molestation, is to become a child molester yourself and spend your time molesting children everyday.


Does this make sense, Dondero? Can we reasonably believe we will not only END child molestation (selective service) but that we will also not be guilty of the evil ourselves by joining the child molestation ring (Selective Service board)?

Anonymous said...

> it is most likely a "conspiracy" in the precise etymological sense of the expression -- a large group of people "breathing together," or sharing the same inspiration

Will, I trust you have not forgotten the Insiders and the interesting fact of their {ahem} penetration of the MSM.

Eric Dondero wrote:
> Umm, I do favor abolishing the Selective Service and ending the Military Draft. Why do you think I joined the Draft Board?

So Eric, let me get this straight: In order to bring down the slavemasters and set all their works at naught in the end, instead of:

- counseling potential registrants to "monkeywrench" the draft-registration system; or
- counseling registrants to look for "loopholes" in the draft law; or
- counseling registrants on other strategies for draft resistance;

you volunteered to be an overseer of registrants for the slavers, thereby enabling them to be . . . more-efficient slavers. That's logic.

> BTW, there are two other Libertarians in the US who also serve on the Board, one of them is Tom Knapp from St. Louis, a well-known Radical Libertarian.

What's your "strategery" with that: to exempt as many potential draftees &/or draftees who appeal their classifications as possible? To put yourselves in position to "monkeywrench" the SSS in some unspecified way at some unpredictable moment? To "bore from within"?

Mark Odell

Jake Witmer said...

THIS IS A FORM LETTER THAT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSES ALL OF DONDERO'S FLAWED AND FALLACIOUS ARGUMENTS (INCLUDING HIS APPEAL TO MY AUTHORITY, AND THE AUTHORITY OF OTHER _REAL_ LIBERTARIANS). NO FURTHER TIME SHOULD BE WASTED WITH HIM. GET OUT, MAKE MONEY, SUPPORT RON PAUL!

Dondero regularly uses the fallacious debate tactics listed here:
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html

Of all of Dondero's arguments, these are his favorites, which you can find in almost every one of his posts:
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#hominem - In almost every single one of his posts where he argues in favor of pro-defense libertarianism, he accuses the refuter of his arguments to not be libertarian, but to be leftist, or anarchist, or whatever --these are all disingenuous arguments
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#half_truth - Most of Eric's arguments and all of his defenses of Ghouliani
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#selective -Eric's historical arguments
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#false_expert
- Eric claims himself to be the "most libertarian", but he's only been a staffer for a real libertarian, and a paid petitioner who never reads any books. ...Not expert material at all. And other libertarian petitioners make him look like a real slacker, especially Russ Baggett from OK, and Daryl Bonner. THere is a cottage industry full of libertarian petitioners, and some are better than others, but none of them really comprise the intellectual freedom movement of America, and more than any individual who is pro-freedom, and has put in effective time helping to fight big government. From the standpoint of being a volunteer freedom fighter, noone has done more than Scott Bludorn in IL, but Eric doesn't want to make the list too long, so he claims that both he and myself are more libertarian than someone like Bludorn, which is laughable. Eric and I have usually been paid to work for freedom, which is no less admirable than what Bludorn has done, but it is easier. Bludorn is in debt right now, and he went into debt protecting private land from eminent domain confiscation, as a volunteer, and it wasn't even his land! He is more of a soldier for freedom than I am, and he is one more person who supports Ron Paul and despises Ghouliani. In short, there are no libertarian Ghouliani supporters, but there are a few confused people who don't really understand politics who claim to be libertarians who support Ghouliani. This is Eric, and maybe Dennis Miller, and a few others.
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#expert -appears regularly in various forms
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html#authority -appears regularly in various forms
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/creation/authority.html -appears when he tells you how he became a libertarian, because of a quote somebody told him, about libertarians being "pro-choice Republicans" as if that somehow eliminated the need for him having a significant body of knowledge

Wasting time with Dondero is just that: it's letting him win his goal. His entire purpose is to waste libertarians' time --his goal is not honest debate. At first, I thought it was, and that he was just stupid and stubborn.

...Not so. He has dedicated himself to wasting libertarians' time. Possibly for a paycheck, ...but who cares why? (He proved this to me by not addressing any point I had made, after I had completely refuted his bogus arguments. He just repeated himself. Repetition is what 3 year olds do to try to 'win' arguments. Let's face it, Eric is at his computer 24-7 pimping his favorite authoritarian, Ghouliani. If we do the same to respond, then we waste time that could have been spent supporting freedom via the Paul campaign.)

The only proper way to deal with Dondero is to ignore him, let him make his fallacious posts, and link to Ghouliani's track record with a form letter for any noobs who might wander onto the board at a later date (possibly seeking the truth), after Dondero's incessant sheeplike bleating in defense of fascism has driven all true intellectual debate away.
My Blog on Giuliani and Dondero's Anti-Intellectual Pro-Authoritarian, un-American Relationship

End of Argument.