BILL TO PAUL SUPPORTERS: 'YOU’RE NUTS'
KEENE, NH (MSNBC) - Several Ron Paul supporters shadowed a much larger Clinton entourage as Bill Clinton greeted supporters downtown. The former president later called them "nuts."
During his third stop of the day, the former president posed for pictures and shook hands as he strolled down Main Street on this unseasonably warm Primary Eve day. Across the street, a few Paul supporters shouted his name.
Eventually, Clinton stopped outside a bakery, offered some remarks, and took questions. As he was answering one on Iraq, one of the Paul backers interrupted and shouted that the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job, and that the U.S. didn’t need to be in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When he dropped an F-bomb, the crowd booed. Clinton, who had tried to talk over the man, gave up.
"You wanna know what I think?” Clinton said. “You guys who think 9/11 was an inside job are crazy as hell. My wife was the senator from New York when that happened. I was down at Ground Zero. I saw the victims' families. You're nuts."
During his third stop of the day, the former president posed for pictures and shook hands as he strolled down Main Street on this unseasonably warm Primary Eve day. Across the street, a few Paul supporters shouted his name.
Eventually, Clinton stopped outside a bakery, offered some remarks, and took questions. As he was answering one on Iraq, one of the Paul backers interrupted and shouted that the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job, and that the U.S. didn’t need to be in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When he dropped an F-bomb, the crowd booed. Clinton, who had tried to talk over the man, gave up.
"You wanna know what I think?” Clinton said. “You guys who think 9/11 was an inside job are crazy as hell. My wife was the senator from New York when that happened. I was down at Ground Zero. I saw the victims' families. You're nuts."
posted by BP News Bureau | 10:07 AM
7 Comments:
From National Review Online:
Too true. Many of my friends and neighbors are supporting Ron Paul. He has by far the largest number of lawn signs (or snowbank signs) of any GOP candidate in New Hampshire's three northern counties. And when the votes are all counted he may yet push Giuliani into fifth place. I know some think he's a serious chap who'll return America to minimalist constitutional government, but on the ground you hardly get a word about such stuff either from the candidate or his noisy supporters. You do, however, hear a lot of paranoid drivel from folks who are indistinguishable from the kook left.
Anti-war? Fine. Isolationist? Cool. But "inside job"? Clinton's right. (And good for him for saying it: John Edwards would have nodded thoughtfully and promised to get back to the guy.)
From National Review Online:
Mark: I agree, it's a shame that the Ron Paul camapaign contains a higher than normal proportion of loonies. (Normal, in my experience of political activism, is around 20 percent. Paul's campaign looks to have around 40 percent.)
The fact remains that Paul himself is plainly not nuts. Even if he did have the odd patch of nuttiness, I doubt it would compare with Mitt Romney's apparently devout belief in golden tablets, magic spectacles, etc., etc.; or for that matter, with Mike Huckabee's stated belief that he has been chosen by God.
And Paul remains the only candidate talking about limited constitutional government. The others are all: "I'll make the federal government do this! I'll make the federal government do that!" Paul seems to be the only one who is aware, as millions of ordinary citizens are aware, that the federal government does almost nothing well, and most things excruciatingly badly: and that this is to be expected from a vast and ossified bureaucratic extravaganza. Paul is the only candidate telling us, as a previous president told us, that "self-government means self-support."
When I look at the line-up on a GOP candidate debate, I see one guy in a modest business suit, and a bunch of other guys in Santa Claus outfits. I'll go with the suit.
From National Review Online:
Derb — You are right that too many of the GOP candidates neglect to discuss limited constitutional government, but Ron Paul is hardly the only candidate to make this a theme of his campaign. This is a staple of Fred Thompson's pitch, and he reiterated the need for the federal government to operate within constitutional limitations in the weekend debates.
From National Review Online:
Just so, and I am sorry to have slighted Fred Thompson. His own different campaign style makes it all too easy, while it also bespeaks his very attractive quality of plainly not taking politics too seriously. I ought to know better, as every time I fail to mention Fred I get hurt emails from Fredians. A Thompson-Paul ticket would be almost as satisfactory to small-govt constitutionalists, certainly to this one, as a Paul-Thompson ticket.
From National Review Online:
Apparently you've been watching different debates than I have, Derb. I, for one, saw two adults at Sunday night's debate (or men in suits). And though I won't be joining my LDS friends at temple, I will be offended for them on your magic-glasses comment. All religion requires a leap of faith, and I'm frankly more concerned that a man who has been successful in both the public and business world is willing to protect and defend my right to believe as I choose, than that he attends a mainstream American church that I don’t.
From National Review Online:
Sorry for the offense, Kathryn. I was only making the point, perhaps clumsily, that I don't see anything in Ron Paul outside the normal range of credulity one finds in mentally healthy, socially useful, and politically acceptable persons. Which is wide.
This is a staple of Fred Thompson's pitch, and he reiterated the need for the federal government to operate within constitutional limitations in the weekend debates.
Thompson talks the talk, too bad he doesn't walk the walk.
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