Ron Paul Patriots Taking it to the Ghouliani

Ron Paul Supporters Taunt Rudy on Ferry

Blake Dvorak

At a Ron Paul rally in Chicago on Saturday, campaign manager Lou Moore regaled the crowd with a story about Paul supporters heckling Rudy Giuliani on a ferry boat ride to Mackinac Island, Mich. The story was, as told by Moore, that Giuliani, suddenly confronted by enthusiastic Paul supporters chanting their guy's name, had to take refuge inside the ferry's pilothouse.

The Chicago crowd, needless to say, went wild. An unscientific sample of applause noise told me that if there was a candidate more loathed by the Ron Paul folks than Hillary Clinton, it was Rudy. In any case, I filed the story away, not sure what to make of it, until the Detroit Free Press reported on it:

Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul does not believe that 9/11 was an "inside job" and his campaign distanced itself from a raucous pro-Paul demonstration on a Mackinac Island ferry Friday night, a Paul spokesman said Monday.

In the incident, Paul's supporters taunted former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for alleged complicity in the attacks.

Spokesman Jesse Benton said the campaign was aware of Internet reports about the demonstration, which occurred late Friday when Giuliani boarded a ferry loaded with Paul supporters leaving a Michigan GOP conference. No Paul campaign officials were involved, Benton said.

According to one eyewitness, Giuliani was beset by dozens of Paul enthusiasts as he was leaving the island, some of whom shouted taunts about 9/11, including: "9/11 was an inside job" and "Rudy, Rudy, what did you do with the gold?" -- an apparent reference to rumors about $200 million in gold alleged to have disappeared in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

Ed Wyszynski, a longtime party activist from Eagle, said the Paul supporters threatened to throw Giuliani overboard and harrassed him as he took shelter in the ferry's pilothouse for the 15-minute journey back to Mackinaw City.

"It was awful," said Wyszynski, who supports Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination.

"I was embarrassed to be a Republican. Never, ever, have I seen such a disgraceful performance."

Of course Moore never mentioned the 9/11 chants in his quick story to the Chicago rally. Moore presented the story as a show of Paul's growing, enthusiastic support, which the crowd loved. But in the crowd there were several 9/11 "Truthers," as they're called, handing out fliers and preaching their screed to otherwise normal Paul fans. When asked if Paul supported the idea that 9/11 was an inside job, one "Truther" told me that the most Paul has said is that he would support another investigation into the attacks. I took that as an acknowledgment that Paul isn't on board with the "Truthers." But at the same time these type of people should have no place in any campaign. You don't see them at a Hillary rally, you don't see them at a Rudy rally.

Now imagine you're a libertarian-leaning Republican (or Democrat -- there were several at the Chicago rally) who's interested in hearing from Paul. You go to a rally and are immediately confronted by the "Truthers" who cheer wildly at this candidate you're thinking of supporting. What would you do? The Paul campaign obviously can't be responsible for everyone of its supporters, but it can do a lot in distancing itself from some of the more unsavory elements. If Paul has any hope of influencing more Republican voters with his message, he would be wise to disassociate himself from these nutjobs. That means more than a simple press release or statement from a spokesman. It means saying it out loud.



Original article posted here.