Ron Paul's non-anti-semitism

"Not to belabor the debate," Jamie Kirchick writes in his fourth or fifth blog post about Ron Paul. My take: Would it be politically wise of Ron Paul to return the pittance he received from neo-Nazis? Probably, yes. Given his poll numbers, will it make a difference in the long run? No. Does Ron Paul have a moral responsibility to return the money? Sort of unclear.

Ron Paul obviously has a moral responsibility not to be an anti-Semite, and he has a moral responsibility not to be influenced by anti-Semites. But, because he's an Internet-funded grass roots guy (and, frankly, because he's an extremely odd figure), he's destined to be handed small donations by sometimes unsavory people. He can either vet all of those people, ban the lunatics, and stamp out his already dim prospects, or he can have an open bank policy.

Now that this particular incident has been revealed, it might be wise of him to just return the gift. But I, for one, am content to sit back and laugh at the odd specter of Jamie Kirchick demanding that Ron Paul give money to an anti-Semite.