Ron Paul Has To Be More Careful About Associating With Shady Racists And Bigots

Holly Clearman (left) and Ron Paul

After L.A. judicial candidate Bill Johnson was exposed as a virulent and obsessed racist this week, his strategy of running a low-key, stealth campaign in a low turn-out election and just counting on Ron Paul meet-ups for his campaigning was dealt a severe blow. Paul himself reiterated that his endorsement of Johnson was a "mistake" and that Johnson had just sort of slipped through the cracks (although Paul did host a sold out $2,000/ticket fundraiser for him at his house in September). He has since withdrawn the endorsement. Still, Ron Paul, Bill Johnson and the crazed Republican Party of Washington state are all campaigning to end birthright citizenship and Paul, Johnson and the Los Angeles Republican Party all share the services of Holly Clearman, a candidate for the Republican L.A. County Central Committee, the state coordinator for the Ron Paul for President campaign, and Bill Johnson's campaign manager. No wonder the Paulistas are confused.

In Colorado it was just Republicans in general who are confused. They just had their state convention and they all love their lunatic fringe Senate candidate, Bob Schaffer, but they still can't seem to pick between John McCain and Ron Paul. One delegate indicated that unless McCain picks an extreme right wing fanatic as a running mate, he'll have trouble with the base: "As far as Colorado Republicans are concerned, we all will support McCain, but he's not our first choice." Another delegate went so far as to admit that McCain's has been an "ignoble legislative career."

Daniel Stone of Newsweek didn't bring up any of Paul's shady relationships with scary racists and neo-fascists in the puffy q&a he did this week. Paul was positive about Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate who is expected to make McCain's chances even slimmer than they already are. And he was less positive about McCain, saying their relationship "pretty much doesn't exist. He has his beliefs and I have mine, and they just don't come together very well."