I am getting the impression that many commenters (as well as people writing about this topic in the Blogosphere and in the mass media) have not actually looked at any of the Ron Paul newsletters, but are instead basing their opinions on vague impressions or third/fourth hand accounts.
Here is a specific, actual example:
Political Report October 1992
Note: it is written in the first person and from Ron Paul’s perspective (“my little town of Lake Jackson, Texas”).
In this passage we have clear attempts at inciting racial tensions (is there any doubt what “the hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth” is supposed to mean?) as well as a suggestion about illegal action (buy a black market gun that cannot be traced to you so that when you are forced to shoot and kill one of these “hip hop…urban youth” you can wipe your prints off the gun and dispose of it so you can, well, get away with murder).
Even if Paul did not write these words, he bears substantial responsibility for allowing them to be published under his name and from his point of view.
Noting that it was roughly twenty years ago, or that Paul has made statements of disavowal without actually dealing with these (and other) words is not a sufficient explanation/defense.
Source for PDF: TNR.
