Rand Paul thinks we should deport or imprison people who attend “radical political speeches by religious leaders”
Update: I have only heard the highly out of context clip, so please listen to the entire radio show before reading this article.
I based this article on the clip I heard below, not the entire clip. I think this is a great example of a “sound bite” taken out of context (at least that is the impression I get from our readers). Please give feedback in the comments section so I can write a new article about this in context! I know taking a less than one minute clip out of context can be dangerous so your feedback is appreciated!
[Youtube video removed due to copyright violation. Sorry!]
Senator Rand Paul
By Madison Ruppert
Editor of End the Lie
Before I heard this, I had supported Dr. Rand Paul, the Senator from Kentucky and son of presidential hopeful Congressman Dr. Ron Paul. However, hearing this kind of rhetoric coming from someone who claims to hold the libertarian views that Rand Paul purports to support is nothing short of disturbing.
Rand Paul is, or so I thought, a Constitutionalist. How are we to feel when someone claims to support these important founding documents of our nation while simultaneously showing either a complete ignorance of the documents themselves or outright deception on his part. Is Dr. Paul now taking up the neo-con Republican position?
If this is true, it would be a sad day for many people like myself who have been pleased with the work Rand and Ron have been doing in Washington.
While this is just a sound-bite and very well may have been taken out of context, this is worrisome none-the-less.
I almost find it hard to believe that Dr. Rand Paul would say such a thing as this, which clearly shows his support of the Constitution and the spirit of liberty is conditional.
Those real Constitutionalists out there would be quite dismayed by hearing a supposed lover of liberty say such a thing. You cannot be targeted for religious or political views under the Constitution. You cannot be deported or detained for attending a “radical political speech.” Why? Because every single one of the founding fathers would be condemning themselves and the future of America to tyranny if they did such a thing.
There is so much wrong with this it is hard to know where to start.
1. What is a “radical political speech”? Who determines what is radical and what is not radical? While I think someone advocating replacing the Constitution and our branches of government with Sharia law and a Caliphate would be radical, someone hearing me talk about restoring the Constitution and ending all of our imperialistic occupations might think me a radical. If I talked to a representative of the Anti-Defamation League, they would probably assume that I am some kind of radical just like I would when they talk about illegally settling in Palestine and killing those who get in their way. The fact is, radical speech doesn’t exist except in the perception of the person calling it radical. The only think I think we could all agree to be radical would be someone advocating that every single person on Earth be murdered. That is radical.
2. Why did he say “by religious leaders”? How is a political speech made by a religious leader any different than a political speech made by a politician? Since when are religious scholars banned from commenting on politics? Furthermore, his mention of Islam makes it clear that here he is talking about Islamic religious leaders. Would Senator Paul arrest a bunch of Christians for attending a speech by a Christian leader decrying the taxpayer funded eugenics program called Planned parenthood? Would Senator Paul arrest a bunch of Jews for attending a Zionist rally? Would Senator Paul arrest a bunch of New Agers talking about the “Ascension” or some such thing? All of those could be considered radical and would probably involve speeches by religious leaders. I guess we are no longer allowed to hold views found “radical” by Senator Paul or views that are based upon religious beliefs. If that isn’t an affront to the Constitution and the American way of life, I don’t know what is.
3. If such a practice were put into place, who decides what counts as a radical speech, who qualifies as a religious leader, and what qualifies as a radical political speech vs. a radical speech vs. a political speech vs. a radical religious speech vs. a religious speech vs. a political religious speech, etc.? The list could go on ad infinitum and the qualifications would change with every single person viewing the list. The fact is, the government can never infringe on our speech. Period. Maybe Senator Paul thinks that is a radical political speech and maybe I am a religious leader. I guess you should all be locked up and/or deported now!
Madison Ruppert is a Los Angeles-based independent journalist and researcher as well as the founder, owner, administrator and editor of EndtheLie.com. He has no affiliations with any government agencies, political parties, non-governmental organizations, or economic schools. He is available for freelance writing assignments and appearances or interviews in any format. He can be reached by emailing
http://www.ronpaul2012podcast.com/2011/05/26/sen-rand-paul-on-sean-hannity-show-5262011/
Now listen to the whole audio. Fucking hack.
Twitter: endtheliedotcom
June 1, 2011 at 1:26 AM
Thank you for posting the complete audio. I will post this at the beginning of the article so people know to listen to it before making judgment. Unfortunately it is finals week for me but I will make it absolutely clear that all should listen to the entire thing before coming to ANY conclusion. Thanks for posting this!
Charlie you make a good point but your language and accusation towards the author of this piece lets you down. As you can see M. Ruppert is not a hack and should be applauded for his honesty for not only taking your criticism on board but for including the full audio. When writing articles it is impossible to keep everyone happy and no matter how well meaning our intentions we nearly always upset someone. But unlike some sites we are more than happy to take criticism and even hold our hand up if we make a mistake. We strongly believe every one should be allowed their point of view. We do not make money from the work that we do and only do it because we don’t like what is happening in the world. I hope you can appreciate Mr Rupperts honesty in admitting that he had not heard the full audio of the interview and give him the respect that he deserves for including it.
The difference between me and Mr. Ruppert is I did research, I read the Think Progress hit piece, then I went out and searched for the whole thing. It was fishy from get go. If you are being honest you don’t just play 30 seconds. Anyone that does that is trying to hide the truth. I listened to the entire thing before I started making comments on it. As much as I hate Obama I’ve defended him when GOP hacks have pulled the same shit. Context matters period. I have a background in video production and audio production. I can make it sound or look like you are doing something 180 degrees from what was meant just by editing pieces of video together. That’s why you must always insist on getting the whole thing.
Twitter: endtheliedotcom
June 1, 2011 at 10:30 AM
Charlie, I clearly admitted the article was based purely on the out of context clip and included your full audio clip and made it clear in the article that this is an example of how a sound bite can be used to pervert someone’s actual statement. I appreciate your contribution and thanked you for it, I’m not quite sure where all of your hostility is coming from. I’m clearly not trying to hide the truth, if that were the case I would have deleted your comments and kept the article without the full clip. I think it is clear we care about the truth here and not our own egos. If you would like to write an article about the full sound clip and how it was taken out of context by think progress I would love to post it. Unfortunately these next two weeks (until next Tuesday) are extremely busy for me but if I get time to write another article on this topic I will. Anyways thanks again for your contribution and if you need someone to talk to about all that anger, I’m here for you! Jokes aside, I appreciate your opinion but personal attacks are unwarranted. If you want to write a more accurate article then by all means please do. I will gladly post it on the front page!
damn hack
9-11 was inside job
you are probably a fornicator