So you know how four years ago the Ron Paul campaign was ensnared in controversy over its refusal to repudiate (or refudiate) the ringing endorsement of neo-nazi group Stormfront (uneducated backwoods skinny or fat white guys who feared the black guy would take away their ak-47s, kick over their mountain dew, and force them to read books not found in Walmart)? Well, it seems the Ron Paul campaign–bubbling with excitement over its recent surging in the polls–is proudly touting the support of a rabid right-wing Literalist preacher who once said that homosexuals should be executed.
Paul’s Iowa chair, Drew Ivers, recently touted the endorsement of Rev. Phillip G. Kayser, a pastor at the Dominion Covenant Church in Nebraska who also draws members from Iowa, putting out a press release praising “the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul’s approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs.”
Paul, a paleolibertarian who wears the constitution on his sleeve and adamantly calls for the removal of government meddling in ourn personal lives, ostensibly must support Christian beliefs, which essentially want to control the female fetus and what tax-paying and law-abiding homosexuals do in the privacy of their fabulous homes. That is an inconsistency that not even Mitt Romney is capable of creating. But while most religious fanatics either want to throw gays in Jesus Camp or point at them in the grocery store line, Kayser’s views on homosexuality go way beyond the bounds of typical anti-gay evangelical politics and into the violent fringe.
For example, he recently authored a paper arguing for criminalizing homosexuality and even advocated imposing the death penalty against offenders based on his reading of Biblical law.
From TPM:
“Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just,” wrote Kayser in a recent pamphlet. “But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative.” Kayser added that homosexuals could be prosecuted only after the law was enacted.
Looks like somebody is so deep in the closet he’s finding christmas presents and having conversations with the ghost of Roy Cohn.
Ron Paul has gotten some flak over the virulently anti-gay rhetoric found in his newsletters, though openly gay (and an adorable dick about it) sex columnist Dan Savage really isn’t phased by the anti-gay rantings in Paul’s newsletters. Moreover, Savage realizes that while Ron Paul probably wont be going into a restroom during Gay Pride week, he at least recognizes the civil rights of homosexuals.
According to Slate.com:
“Ron may not like gay people, and may not want to hang out with us or use our toilets, but he’s content to leave us the fuck alone and recognizes that gay citizens are entitled to the same rights as all other citizens. Santorum, on the other hand, believes that his bigotry must be given the force of law. That’s an important difference.”
But it seems Ron Paul (or at least his campaign) has flouted that libertarian belief by embracing Kayser, who wants to replace the constitution with the Old Testament–an anathema to true libertarians, After all, it was Thomas Jefferson, Ron Paul’s hero, who believed in a “wall” between church and state and affirmed that belief in his letter to the Danbury Baptists .
One other glaring hypocrisy to Dr. Paul’s strident libertarian philosophy is the fact that he is anti-choice. Sure, he was previously a obstetrican and perhaps this is a sensitive issue for him. However, Paul has always eschew emotion and moralizing in government and, by being anti-choice, he is breaking the very basic foundation of libertarians thought: letting government meddle into the personal lives of citizens. So perhaps it’s not especially surprising to see the Ron Paul campaign embrace this deranged idiot of a pastor, but perhaps–and worse yet–the Paul campaign is engaging in the very vile cynicism that it derides about politics: compromising principles in exchange for popular support. But I’m sure some of Dr. Paul’s more rabid supporters will spin it as Kayser supporting the campaign because he believes Paul’s federalist take on the Constitution would allow states more latitude to implement fundamentalist law. Blah, blah, more batshit, blah, blah, end the fed, blah, blah, Ron Paul Revolution, blah, blah.
Michael is a comedian/VO artist/Columnist extraordinaire, who co-wrote an award-nominated comedy, wrote for NY Times Laugh Lines, guest-blogged for Joe Biden, and writes a column for MSNBC.com affiliated Cagle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Seriously, follow him or he’ll send you a photo of Rush Limbaugh bending over in a thong.
Ron Paul has nothing against gay people, he just wouldn’t want a gay man to marry his brother.