Ron Paul Defrauds the 99%

Paul's populism is baloney, writes Gary Weiss of Salon
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 29, 2011 1:58 PM CST
Ron Paul Defrauds the 99%
Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, gestures while speaking at a town hall meeting in Keene, N.H., Monday, Nov. 21, 2011.   (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

At a rally recently, Ron Paul was interrupted by Occupy Wall Street protesters chanting, “We are the 99%!” Paul quickly stepped in. “I’m very much involved with the 99,” he said. “I’ve been condemning the 1% because they’ve been ripping us off.” Cheers erupted. “It was a masterful performance,” writes Gary Weiss in Salon. “Ron Paul—fraudulent populist, friend of the oligarchy, sworn enemy of every social program since Theodore Roosevelt—had won the day, again.”

“Why shouldn’t he? Frauds win, whether they are in finance or politics,” Weiss continues. Paul’s campaign is based on its appeal to young voters—most of them not affluent, some even left-leaning. But his policy platform “is about as much of a 1%-oriented ideological meat cleaver as you can find anywhere in the annals of politics,” inspired by Ayn Rand's belief that aid to the poor is really immoral theft from the rich. Don't be fooled by Paul's opposition to bailouts; he represents “the very antithesis of the values of Occupy Wall Street.” Full column here. (More Ron Paul stories.)

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