In a lengthy hit-piece-lite article about Presidential candidate
Ron Paul, the New York Times Magazine for July 22 mentions
the John Birch Society (JBS) several times in an effort to belittle
the constitutionalist congressman and Presidential candidate.
Here is the relevant exchange between Times reporter Christopher
Caldwell and Representative Ron Paul:
In his office one afternoon in June, I asked about his connections
to the John Birch Society. "Oh, my goodness, the John Birch
Society!" he said in mock horror. "Is that bad? I have
a lot of friends in the John Birch Society. They're generally
well educated, and they understand the Constitution. I don't
know how many positions they would have that I don't agree with.
Because they're real strict constitutionalists, they don't
like the war, they're hard-money people...."
Paul's ideological easygoingness is like a black hole that
attracts the whole universe of individuals and groups who don't
recognize themselves in the politics they see on TV.
The overall objective of the article was signaled by the subtitle
that accompanied the print version: "The most radical congressman
in America is a Republican from Texas. And He’s running for president."
Much of the article amounts to Caldwell making his case for Paul's
radicalism.
We are not amused that the author of the piece attempts to do that,
in part, by associating Paul with the John Birch Society and counting
on unwarranted, negative stereotypes of the Society to have their
intended effect on the readers of the article. In trying to create
doubts about Ron Paul by associating him with the JBS, Mr. Caldwell
is laboring under the quaint pre-Internet notion that his readers
do not have immediate access to information about the Society. A quick
visit to JBS.org, the official website
of the JBS, reveals that common misconceptions about the Society are
unfounded. The primary purpose of the Society is to preserve and restore
our constitutionally-protected freedoms and our national independence.
The purposes of our current campaign, the JBS
Freedom Campaign, are: (1) secure our borders, stop illegal immigration,
and prevent amnesty; (2) block the
North American Union (NAU); and (3) repeal the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
As a recent article in Foreign
Affairs magazine conceded, American public opinion has swung
against open borders, free trade agreements, and globalization because
the majority of Americans are suffering from wage stagnation and job
losses. This means the JBS position on these bread-and-butter issues
is right in line with the mainstream American position.
Now more than ever, Americans who have been harmed by the internationalist
policies prevalent among the nation's political elite are beginning
to insist on a return to constitutional principles of government.
This, perhaps, accounts for Ron Paul's growing popularity. A quick
visit to our recently published "Freedom
Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution"
reveals that Ron Paul is the only representative in the House that
received a perfect 10 out of 10 for a 100 percent score. A glance
at previous indexes will show that Paul has received a score of 100
percent more often than not. However, this agreement on constitutional
principle does not translate into political endorsement. The JBS is
a non-partisan education and action organization that never endorses
political parties or candidates.
Actually, we are amused … because the reporter, Caldwell,
has belittled himself.
