‘Southern Avenger’ Scandal Puts Paul Family Racial Track Record Back in Spotlight

As Senator Rand Paul considers a potential 2016 presidential run, his past and present record on racism has come under scrutiny. His director of new media, Jack Hunter, has been subject to criticism for his neo-Confederate sympathies and his affiliation with the League of the South, a hate group designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hunter, who co-authored the book The Tea Party Goes to Washington with Paul, has no background in foreign policy, yet is one of the senator’s key advisors on the subject. The League of the South is a secessionist organization that believes whites are naturally superior and seeks the independence of the Southern states from the United States.

Links to the ‘Southern Avenger’ not surprising

Senator Rand Paul has been associated with controversial radio personality Hunter, who is known by his alter-ego the “Southern Avenger” and wears a Confederate flag mask. Hunter has praised John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Lincoln, and has expressed an antipathy towards diversity. Paul has defended the Republican Party’s stance on civil rights and believes in equal protection under the law, but has come under fire for appearing to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Senator Rand Paul has been linked to the controversial radio personality Hunter, otherwise known as the “Southern Avenger”. Hunter has expressed admiration for John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Lincoln, and has been vocal in his antipathy towards diversity. Paul has defended the Republican Party’s stance on civil rights, but his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been met with criticism. In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Paul argued that young people of all races are interested in justice, and that the government has a history of not treating people fairly. He further suggested that the free market should be allowed to address discrimination. Paul’s position on civil rights has been informed by his belief that it is ultimately about property rights, not race relations.

Like father, like son on race

In 2010, Paul’s U.S. Senate campaign was marred by controversy when his spokesman Christopher Hightower was dismissed for posting a note to his MySpace page on Martin Luther King Day that read “HAPPY NI**ER DAY!!!” next to an image of a lynching. This was not the first time the Paul family had faced negative racial attention. During his father’s 2008 presidential campaign, Ron Paul received donations from the white supremacist website Stormfront.org and was endorsed by the site. In addition, other white supremacists and white power groups, including Skinheads and the Ku Klux Klan, had campaigned for Ron Paul. 

Furthermore, newsletters published under the former congressman’s name contained blatantly racist messages. One article referred to the King holiday as “Hate Whitey Day” and suggested “Welfaria,” “Zooville,” “Rapetown,” “Dirtburg,” and “Lazyopolis” as candidates for a city named for Dr. King. Another article said of the Los Angeles, “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks.” Of Washington, DC, it said “I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.” 

Rand Paul has denied his father wrote the newsletters and has tried to distance himself from the neo-Confederate movement. “One of my heroes is Martin Luther King [Jr.] because he practiced the libertarian principle of peaceful resistance and peaceful civil disobedience,” he said. However, as Paul seeks acceptance as an establishment candidate, the Republican party’s overtures to blacks and others may be undermined by the racial track record of the Pauls and others. “Sometimes conservatives get tagged as being against all government,” Paul said at the Reagan Library in California. “To win in California and other bluish states, Republicans will have to change current perceptions,” he added.

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