Ron Paul compares Americans who support closing the Mexican border to Nazis
You may remember that during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign Ron Paul came very close to calling Mike Huckabee a fascist, but in case you forgot this little fact here is the video:
Well, while speaking in front of Hispanics in Politics the other day Ron Paul took it a step further when he compared Americans who support closing the Mexican border to the Nazis. We are all fascists now because we don’t understand the cause of the problem!
I believe Hispanics have been used as scapegoats, to say, they’re the problem instead of being a symptom maybe of a problem with the welfare state,” Paul told the group. “In Nazi Germany they had to have scapegoats to blame and they turned on the Jews
But I thought that Ron Paul supported bringing the troops home in order to put them on the border in the interest of national security so where did this position suddenly come from? Ron Paul affirmed his belief in legal immigration but also stated that most people are now antagonistic to all immigrants and compared us to Nazis because we want to scapegoat Hispanics for many of America’s problems instead of looking at the cause of the problem.
At the same time he was castigating Americans for scapegoating Hispanics and claiming he would be tough on illegal immigration he also stated that closing the border was not an answer to the problem:
Paul said he’s not one of those politicians who believes that “barbed-wire fences and guns on our border will solve any of our problems.” That’s not, he said, the American way. And he doesn’t think that a national identification card is the way to go
Was Ron Paul simply pandering to the group he was speaking in front of, or is this his true position on the Mexican border? Considering that Ron Paul is a politician who claims to say what he really feels without pandering to specific groups I would give him the benefit of the doubt and say he wasn’t pandering here–this is how he really feels–but if this is the case than doesn’t that mean he has been pandering to conservatives during the primary when he stated he would bring the troops home and place them on the border?
Would the real Ron Paul please stand up?!
H/T to Rjjrdq’s America.
America's Watchtower 
You have to understand the nuance of the position. He doesn’t find a fence to be the end-all, be-all solution to the problem. In fact, he states the source of the problem to be the benefits that illegal aliens get when they cross the border. Take away the benefits, and they’ll stop coming over.
In general, Ron Paul is not opposed to immigration. If people come over there is no inherent problem to it. The problem is that people come to this nation and become dependent upon it and abuse the benefits that it offers. This is the issue. Take away the benefits and you’ll have good immigration.
So then why does he oppose the border fence? He has mentioned fences that are used to keep people out can be used to keep people in. This is true and has historically happened. He later clarified his position and emphasized capital controls. In essence, he believes that because of poor US economic policy, capital will flee the country to get better returns on investment. We are seeing those capital controls already being used. There’s a big problem in that because the flight of capital would be a great incentive for the US to correct its horrible economic policy.
So the fence is bad, but why the troops? I’d argue that it’s to prevent criminals from crossing the border. A fence, with its environmental issues and permeability (think tunnels, air, sea) would not really do the job. Troops, on the other hand, provide better options to handle this issue.
I hope I cleared it up.
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The fact that Ron Paul compared people who want to follow the laws of the land to Nazis shows how off the rocker this man is. He is using extremist language and should be ashamed of himself. And this man thinks he is the champion of the Constitution? A true constitutionalist would support the closing of our border in order to make sure our immigration policy is enforced. He is just another political opportunist IMO.
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Following the law of the land is not necessarily building a border fence. Following the law of the land definitely is repealing the welfare state and ensuring that the border is well guarded.
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I agree with much of what you have written, and I agree with most of what Ron Paul says. But that does not excuse this type of rhetoric coming from someone that is supposed to be on our side. We have already heard Democrats comparing us to Nazis and terrorists and we have already heard Democrats saying we want to see black people hanging on trees, so the last thing we need is a Republican–much as Newt did in regards to Bain–employing the tactics of the left against us. When Obama win reelection in a year where he should have been defeated the Republicans will have nobody to blame but themselves.
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Well, no one will argue that he says the things that he thinks people want to here. It was rhetoric, to be sure, as it was exaggeration, but the underlying point he was making was a great one. The issue that people have is not with immigration qua immigration. The problem is the negative consequences of the welfare state, and we should lambasting that, rather than directing our anger toward illegal immigration while ignoring the incentives.
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