Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence
by Tim Swanson Two decades ago, Carl Sagan popularized the title of this essay; and yet it remains as germane today as it did when he first coined it. (Though, sociologist Marcello Truzzi is said to have actually invented the original version of the quote.) From Little Italy, With Love During the GOP debate on the evening of May 15th, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani suggested that the Blowback theory, as extolled by Congressman Ron Paul, was an extraordinary claim. However, to the dismay of Giuliani, Paul's statements come straight out of the official 9/11 commission report. For instance, Chapter 2 holds many of the details that Paul tried to discuss at the debate, and later articulated during the CNN follow-up by Wolf Blitzer. It gives the historical background of bin Laden, his motivations, and details the fatwa of grievances against America. Among other notable assertions, bin Laden stated in the second fatwa (1998),
The 9/11 commission notes this kind of reasoning as one of many prior motivating factors on that tragic day, and Ron Paul merely reiterated the fact. So if you get a chance between PTA meetings, soccer tournaments, and $9600/plate fundraisers, give it a look-see – it is a surprising page-turner (seriously). Ballot stuffing In both the post-debate interview with Hannity & Colmes, as well as analysis from the likes of Michelle Malkin, one accusation (among others) is that Ron Paul's supporters are stuffing the ballot box; that he is not a legitimate candidate. Seeing as Fox hosted the interviews, post-debate commentary, the debate, and the poll itself, the easiest way to prove this assertion is to open up the ballot box. Surely this could be done without a subpoena. And curiously, none of the accusers have gone on record calling for this to take place. Show us the chads. Either way, why isn’t the same assertion being leveled at Mitt Romney, a mere one-term governor of Massachusetts, who also consistently scores high in online polls? Paul can at least claim to have enclaves of support from both the Libertarian Party itself (having run for president in 1988) as well as many libertarian and conservative grassroots organizations around the country. In addition to serving ten terms, he has also written numerous books and hundreds of articles and position papers discussing economics, foreign policy, monetary theory, and domestic issues. Is his large readership base now disenfranchised? And need I mention he has delivered several thousand babies – can those families not be fans of his? Maybe not, but does Fox, or anyone, have an accurate measure of Paul’s support base? Conspiracies Schmiracies As far as his "fringe rhetoric," if you have read anything recently written by Ron Paul, or heard his speeches at Congressional hearings or bill debates, none of what he said at the debate was a new revelation. Nor is he the only educated man publishing this viewpoint, as Chalmers Johnson, Jim Bovard, and Andrew Cockburn have each discussed this issue at length. And it was apparent that all of the other candidates also seem to have ignored the dozens of essays and speeches written and delivered by Paul over the past 10 years, many of which lambaste the shortsighted foreign policies executed and promoted by the administration and Congress. In fact, in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Paul notes that as early as 1998 he was vocally opposed to the invasion of Iraq vis-ŕ-vis the Iraq Liberation Act – as he saw nothing but animosity stemming from its execution. And as recent as this past February he asserted many of the same points that he would later reiterate on stage in South Carolina. Yet despite errant claims to the contrary, Paul has gone on the record stating that he does not blame the American populace for terrorist attacks, rather he blames poor, historically myopic foreign policies that motivated and inspired retribution at a terrible magnitude. An Inconvenient Truth Perhaps a subtler reason for the visible negativity Fox and others have towards Paul's supporters is that Paulites operate outside their smug purview, their gates, and ultimately their control. And no better is this best illustrated than talk-show host, Rush Limbaugh – who recently boasted on the air that he has the authority and power to anoint the next GOP candidate. Influence is one thing, self-righteous grandiloquence is quite another.
May 21, 2007 Tim Swanson [send him mail] is a graduate of Texas A&M University and has never met Ron Paul. Visit his blog. Copyright © 2007 LewRockwell.com |
Before
leveling anymore claims against a principled contrarian, bellicose
pundits and their sycophants should do their due diligence and find
extraordinary evidence. Or maybe just evidence in general.