The Republican National Committee's plan to pay tribute to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at the Republican National Convention, set to begin Tuesday in Tampa, is a "national disgrace," the National Jewish Democratic Council said in a statement, according to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report published Friday. Russ Schriefer, a top aide to presumptive U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, confirmed on Friday that there would be a prime-time video tribute to Paul, who has been widely criticized for opposing sanctions on Iran. Paying tribute to this man, who disparaged the U.S.-Israel relationship on Iranian television and empathized with Irans nuclear weapons program, on top of the history of his hate-filled newsletters, is a national disgrace, JTA quoted the National Jewish Democratic Council as saying in a statement. Romney and the RNC should cancel the tribute and end this dangerous strategic partnership once and for all. In response, Matt Brooks, director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said the tribute was a "small price to pay" after Paul was denied the opportunity to deliver a convention speech and his delegates would not have a chance to vote for him, things which the Romney campaign apparently won in exchange for the tribute, JTA reported. Brooks also went on the offensive against the NJDC, slamming Democrats for giving a prime-time convention speaking slot to former President Jimmy Carter, who has previously offended Jewish groups by warning that Israel's policies in the West Bank could turn it into an "apartheid state." Paul, who sought the Republican presidential nomination this year, has spoken out against foreign aid, including to Israel, and has been a vocal critic of several U.S. administrations, including that of President Barack Obama. He has come under fire for his involvement in the 1980s and 1990s in the publication of financial advice newsletters that contained racist, anti-homosexual and anti-Semitic content, although he now claims he did not monitor everything in the newsletters and blames past colleagues for the offensive content, JTA reported. Schriefer, Romney's aide, said Pauls strong support during the primaries merited the tribute at the Republican convention. Gov. Romney and Rep. Paul, while they certainly disagree on many issues
theyve always had if you watched part of the debates this year, youve seen theres a lot of mutual respect between the two of them, Schriefer was quoted as saying by the Talking Points Memo. And so Rep. Pauls people came to us and said theyd like to do a short tribute to him, and we said absolutely, it would be a good time to do that, said Schriefer.
