Kelly Clarkson, a registered Republican who supported Barack Obama in 2008 and inaugural American Idol winner, has caught a lot of controversy for endorsing homophobic, racist, and fringe right whacko Presidential Candidate Ron Paul in the Rethuglican Party primary, a Congressman who currently represents the 14th District in Texas.
TPM:
Pop singer and former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson announced on Thursday that she was endorsing Ron Paul for president. But after an immediate wave of criticism on Twitter, she quickly clarified that she wants nothing to do with the more extreme elements of his candidacy.
“I love Ron Paul,” Clarkson posted. “I liked him a lot during the last republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t.”
“I am really sorry if I have offended anyone,” she wrote. “Obviously that was not my intent. I do not support racism. I support gay rights, straight rights, women’s rights, men’s rights, white/black/purple/orange rights. I like Ron Paul because he believes in less government and letting the people (all of us) make the decisions and mold our country. That is all. Out of all of the Republican nominees, he’s my favorite.”
Clarkson’s conundrum highlights a recurring issue for Paul — his libertarian message has appeal to both the left (civil rights, gay rights, anti-war), right (slashing social programs, neo-Confederate view of states rights), and beyond (assorted conspiracy theories).
Ugh, and I happen to like Clarkson's music too. Shame on her.
Here's what Ron Paul REALLY endorses:
Huffington Post:
With Rep. Ron Paul's rise in the Iowa polls, reporters are once again scrutinizing the congressman's old racist and homophobic newsletters.
At various times over the years, Paul has claimed that the newsletters were the product of ghostwriters and hazy oversight, and that some of the writings on race were based on a study by a criminal justice think tank (that no one has heard of). At other times, he offered a spirited defense of the newsletters. Last week, Paul stormed out of a CNN interview after being questioned about the offensive essays.
Paul is lucky that that the most offensive newsletters were published in the pre-Internet era -- from the '70s through the early '90s -- when newsletters existed as a productive and lucrative way for politicians to share their ideas. While these newsletters have resurfaced on the web as photocopied PDFs, they have yet to go viral like Rick Perry's Strong ad or become a Internet meme like the pepper-spraying cop.
Addicting Info's Matthew Desmond:
Another thing I see constantly is people falsely conflating the terms “liberal” with “libertarian”, and “libertarian” with “Ron Paul”. Anyone who has researched the libertarian platform beyond what Ron Paul preaches knows that a large portion of what Ron Paul advocates for is not in-line with libertarian doctrine.
In order to help inform people of the difference between the terms “liberal”, “libertarian”, and “Ron Paul”, I’ve made a list of 5 key issues showing the difference between what liberals, libertarians, and Ron Paul believe.
1. Women’s Rights:
Liberals believe: Women should have the right to choose what to do with their own body, and it is up to the Government to make sure women are granted this right.
Libertarians believe: Abortion is a personal choice, that shouldn’t be regulated by the Government.
Ron Paul believes: States should have the right to choose whether or not women can legally have an abortion. Ron Paul has sponsored legislation that would deny a woman the right to choose.
2. Drug Laws
Liberals believe: The Government should reexamine its drug policies, to make them more relevant to the 21st Century.
Libertarians believe: Drug use is a personal choice, and shouldn’t be regulated by the Government.
Ron Paul believes: The government should legalize all drugs.
3. Marriage Equality
Liberals believe: Marriage equality means that everyone should have the right to marry the legally consenting adult they love, and that the Government should guarantee that equality for everyone.
Libertarians believe: Marriage is a personal choice, and shouldn’t be restricted by the Government.
Ron Paul believes: State governments should have the right to decide whether they legalize same-sex marriage or not.
5. Discrimination
Liberals believe: Discriminating against anyone for any reason is unconstitutional, and the Government’s job is to protect the minorities from bigotry from the majority.
Libertarians believe: People are entitled to their own beliefs as long as they’re not hurting anyone else.
Ron Paul believes: Businesses should have the right to discriminate against anyone for any reason, and that it’s unconstitutional for the Government to tell businesses they can’t discriminate against people. Ron Paul has said repeatedly that he would vote against the portion of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits businesses from discriminating and segregating their customers.
There are a few stances that me and Paul agree on, such as marijuana legalization, getting out of Afghanistan and Iraq and avoiding further war, and being against NDAA, but it still don't change the fact that he's a bigoted homophobic, racist, looney, and nativist far-right crank. And I WON'T vote for him, even if it was a dogcatcher in Madison County.