Bill to Paul supporters: 'You’re nuts'

Posted: Monday, January 07, 2008 4:13 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
KEENE, NH -- Several Ron Paul supporters shadowed a much larger Clinton entourage as Bill Clinton greeted supporters downtown. The former president later called them "nuts."

During his third stop of the day, the former president posed for pictures and shook hands as he strolled down Main Street on this unseasonably warm Primary Eve day. Across the street, a few Paul supporters shouted his name.

Eventually, Clinton stopped outside a bakery, offered some remarks, and took questions. As he was answering one on Iraq, one of the Paul backers interrupted and shouted that the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job, and that the U.S. didn’t need to be in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When he dropped an F-bomb, the crowd booed. Clinton, who had tried to talk over the man, gave up.

"You wanna know what I think?” Clinton said. “You guys who think 9/11 was an inside job are crazy as hell. My wife was the senator from New York when that happened. I was down at Ground Zero. I saw the victims' families. You're nuts."

EMAIL THIS

Comments

Good for Bill! Those Ron Paul freaks are the fringe nutcases of society. What about the "Lezident" cracks?
http://www.lezident.com

It's getting nuts out there. Bill did the right thing

Lea Lesi, Portland, Maine (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:19 PM)

I would have to agree with Bill on that one! (Wow, that doesn't come out of my mouth often!)...I think Ron Paul's supporters who are claiming 'inside job' have been smokin' some of the good stuff...No wonder they want Paul in office!

Kathryn in Bham (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:21 PM)

yes, nuts they are

jane smith, concord, nh (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:21 PM)

He does not represent Ron Paul's views. What a loon. Good job, guy.

TJ (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:22 PM)

WOW! I agree with a Clinton. These "truther" are indeed nuts.

Bob, Kansas Coty, KS (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:24 PM)

Clinton didn't call Ron Paul's supporters nuts. He called a 9/11 truther nuts. I am a Ron Paul supporter and I am not a 9/11 truther. I organize hundreds of volunteers and while there are some among us, they are far from the majority and we do NOT allow them to spew crap like this when campaigning with us, since we do not all agree and it has nothing to do with Ron Paul. So this person or persons were likely out there entirely on their own doing their own thing.

But, hey, if lying helps you manipulate an election, that's all that counts, right?

James A. (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:24 PM)

funny, a good portion if not majority of the victims families don't trust the Government's story...

Fritz, Bakersfield,CA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:24 PM)

Lol I am not a truther but the funny thing is that nothing Bill said disputed that 911 was an inside job according to that quote.
I would love for Bush or Darth Cheney to be under oath and say that it was not just to put the matter to rest.

ThomasJ (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:24 PM)

Probably the most honest words that have ever crossed Clinton's lips.

Cory, San Diego, CA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:25 PM)

Only an absolute moron would think that associating your preferred candidate with 9/11 trutherism will help him get the nomination. They are a very small (and annoying) crowd who know that doing this hurts Ron Paul.

J.P. (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:25 PM)

I agree with Bill Clinton. Anyone who believes 9/11 was an inside job is nuts.

How could GWB have planned 9/11? He was running for President in 2000.

9/11 took years to execute. And the evidence leading up to the attacks were largely ignored, not because of complicity, but because of arrogance.

Osama Bin Laden is on the run because he did it. Wake up people.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:25 PM)

Pecans or almonds?

BarrellCracker, Boondocks (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:26 PM)

I will concede that some of them are nuts, but the majority are intelligent and respectful supporters.

I was a Democrat until I heard about Dr. Paul. Now I've switched my party to a Republican to vote for him.

Sara Hensely (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:26 PM)

Does Clinton deny bin Laden was a CIA operative? Can he explain the great benefits a few people received after the events occurred. Does he deny the strength of the American-Israeli lobby in Washington? Calling 9/11 an "inside job" really doesn't address the issue. A lot of ideas stem from that statement such as the possibility that the American Government planted bombs inside WTC7 which of course, at least seems ludicrous. Could it have happened that way? Sure. But not likely.

But so far Dr. Paul is the only presidential candidate who seems to address CIA blow-back. The unintended consequences of American Empire. 750 military bases on foreign soil. What for? Fifteen new permanent bases in Iraq and the American economy is ready for an early-1900's era depression.

Clinton calling them "nuts" is really not surprising, nor is his response to the heckler since he pushes the status-quo big-government socialism and his wife is running for the presidency.

I supported Mr. Clinton back in the 90's but today I have switched to GOP to support Dr. Paul. He is the champion of the Constitution. Neither Clinton can hold water next to him.

Max, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:27 PM)

Oh good lord. Bill, you really shouldn't put down those "nuts" like that. They make up the majority of the Democratic base. You need those votes.

Ellen Lee, Florida (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:27 PM)

Ron Paul has said on air that the 9/11 attacks were not an inside job. He said such thought was "ludicrous" and "absurd". Not all of Hillary and Obama supporters are sane, much less educated past the eighth grade.

That's NUTS.

Justin, Waco, Texas (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:28 PM)

Terrible jounralism. You could have just said "Bill Clinton calls 9/11 Truther nuts." Instead, you have to imply that all Ron Paul supporters are 9/11 Truthers. As a Ron Paul supporter, I am offended by this implication.

Paige (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:28 PM)

Yes the truthers are nuts. How many neocons calling all muslims terrorists and begging for Hillary to start bombing support her? Or is that rational discourse these days.

Unfortunately, distrusting the government is part of Ron Paul's platform and therefore those that believe the government is evil as opposed to frankly incompetant support Dr. Paul also.

I, and most of his supporters, fall into the latter category. We realize, despite what we are told because we have tons of imperical evidence, that government is rarely a good solution and often is a bad one. And any government to give me what I want has the power to take everything I have just as equally.

Nathan, Scottsdale, AZ (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:28 PM)

It's a shame that his supporters have to be so damn crazy since Ron Paul is one of the only rational and reasonable candidates in the Republican field.

DRinOH (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:29 PM)

9/11 truthers do no represent the average Ron Paul supporter.

MA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:29 PM)

I support Ron Paul, but the Ron Paul supporters who claim 9-11 was an inside job ARE nuts. Not even the candidate (Ron Paul) who they claim to support agrees with them. It would be better for Dr. Paul if supporters like that just stayed home. Dr. Paul's message of freedom and liberty is far too important to ruin with wild conspiracy theories. Here's something I thought I could never say: I agree with President Clinton; they are nuts!

David, Canton, OH (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:30 PM)

Hey Bill speaking of nuts, how's that body count raking up?

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/BODIES.html

Thompson (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:30 PM)

Okay, I will agree with most that displaying such opinion about Sept. 11 is distastful. None the less, Dr. Paul stands and speaks with more integrity than Bill ever had. This forum does a wonderful job of generalizing.

Johnny, Lansing, MI (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:30 PM)

I'll give credit where credit is due. I hate those truthers that are trying to attach their agenda to Ron Paul above all else. Good call Bill. I just hate how quick the media is to portray the whole of Ron Paul's support as being like these morons.

Mike Kaniut, Rochester, Mi (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:30 PM)

The 9/11 Truther in this article does not speak for the Ron Paul Campaign or the vast majority of his campaign supporters, which include conservatives, liberals, libertarians and even anarchists. As a Ron Paul supporter, I'm sorry to hear about this incident. Although Bill Clinton was right to be upset by that rude person's comments, his record as president on foreign policy is nothing to boast about either. It is not nuts to want to be out of Iraq and Afghanistant. The majority of Americans want to bring the troops home. Clinton's record include our unconstitutional adventures in Yugoslavia and Somalia, actions which the anti-war left, including some conservatives, despised as nation-building.

Abe, Hamden, Conn. (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:30 PM)

They truthers are just using Dr. Paul's good name to promote their crazy agenda. Dr. Paul has stated very clearly on TV that he doesn't think the US government had anything to do with 9/11

Vlad (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:31 PM)

I support Ron Paul.

The only people that are nuts are the ones who do not support the US Constitution, which is the *supreme law of the land*.

John, Washington, DC (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:31 PM)

I am going to have to check with the judges on this one, but I think that is the first time Bill Clinton has made an honest statement. This is indeed an amazing election season!

L H, San Antonio, Texas (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:32 PM)

As a Republican I used to not like Clinton. But after hearing all of the candidates except Ron Paul I find myself agreeing with stances on the issues that are the same as Bill Clinton.

I used to think nation building was a nutty Democrat/Bill Clinton thing, but after listening to Rudy, Mitt, John and the others I now know that this is the correct path for the US military.

William D Berg (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:34 PM)

That supporter does not represent my views. I am a Ron Paul supporter, and I am disgusted at the smear campaign against him. Since you can't directly attack him, you choose to show a small fraction of what his supporters are. Typical...

Lorenz, Queens, NY (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:35 PM)

Anyone who believe the government story about 911 is nuts. Anyone who does there own research into 911 will see that the govt. story just doesn't add up. Do I know what happened? Do I believe that the govt. could have had a hand in it? It looks more plausible than the official story. Do your own research.

Mal, New York (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:35 PM)

Bill, you better worry about YOUR WIFE'S SUPPORTERS....
They're evaporating

From Salon.com:

'...Poll: Clinton's national lead "collapsed"
Hillary Clinton's national lead over Barack Obama in a Rasmussen Daily Tracking poll released the morning of the Iowa caucuses: 17 percentage points.

Clinton's lead over Obama in the same poll today: 4 percentage points.

The poll has a four-point margin of error, meaning, in Rasmussen's words, that Clinton's lead over Obama among Democrats nationwide appears to have "collapsed."....'

SUPRISE !!
The 'NUTS' are the ones who STILL FAVOR Hillary !!

Bye, bye Hillary !!

Sierra, SF (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:35 PM)

If anyone can tell me why the government didnt even mention WTC Tower 7 in the 9-11 Commission report and then tell me there wasn't a cover-up then I will forever end my opinion that 9-11 wasn't strictly Bin Laden. Tower 7 fell in the afternoon and was nowhere near the Twin Towers. Someone explain that.

Nicholas Quade, New Brighton MN (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:36 PM)

Bill do not set off these RON PAUL NUT CASES....Watch this blog, it about to reach hundred comments.

RON PAUL NUT CASES (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:36 PM)

Ugh. I am a huge supporter of Ron Paul and this stuff frustrates me to no end. I do not believe 9/11 was an 'inside job'. Ron Paul does not believe 9/11 was an 'inside job'. Please do not base any of your opinions about Ron Paul on what one of his supporters claim. Just research him yourself, please.

Justin, Atlanta, GA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:39 PM)

Please, don't let the handful of 9/11 truther nuts set the pace for Paul's entire army of supporters. In my meetup group every single person is a disgruntled Contract With America Republican. I don't know where these truthers came from, but they're the bad apple, and I refuse to let them spoil the bunch.

Bill Walker (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:39 PM)

Anyone who saw the NH debate on Saturday knows exactly how insane Paul is and clearly his supporters are nuts as well. So gas prices have quadrupled since 1998 because of inflation. Funny! Groceries have not, so why gas? Clothing has not, so why gas? The government is probably paying food and clothing producers to keep prices below inflation rates so that they can claim it is only gas prices rising. I knew it all along. Thanks Dr. Paul for enlightening those of us who took Econ 101 in college.

My favorite moment was when Paul was talking and McCain gave him a "what the hell is wrong with you" look. Classic! I am a Democrat but that look was enough for me to want to vote for McCain.

Beth, Atlanta, GA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:40 PM)

I have to say that Bill calling them nuts is sad when he provides no insight as to why they are nuts. Just because you were at ground zero doesn't give you clair'voyance on the matter. There are alot of fishy things about 9/11 that would indicate that the government had a hand in it, or at least let it happen to further the agenda for a war with Iraq. False flag terrorism has happened in the past, but the people of the United States have become willfully ignorant. The Gulf of Tonkin incident? Do you remember Iraq had no WMD's or al qaeda presence pre 9/11? Now the country is swarming with al qaeda! They don't attack us because we're free, they attack us because we have bases setup in their backyard and they object to it, just like we would if they did it here!

Americans do NOT rule the world, get your heads out of the sand.

Skyler, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:41 PM)

Have you seen the Huckabee people who think 9-11 was an inside job? Those are the real fruit cakes.

Jared (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:41 PM)

You know what? Ron Paul thinks those people who believe 9/11 was an inside job are nuts too!

As a Ron Paul supporter who hasn't hurled the F word at anybody in 40 years, I apologize for the stupid heckler. I know about 200 Ron Paul supporters from the meetup groups, but I do not know even one like that. But it's inevitable that Ron Paul will attract some loonies, because every other candidate on either side is some flavor of the status quo.

Jive Dadson (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:42 PM)

9/11 truthers in Ron Paul supporters clothing piss me the hell off. I HATE IT when the mix the two, because Paul believes this is indeed nuts.

There is no way some crazy ass supporter did that though, there is a guy who runs some blog who hates Paul and said he will be doing things like this. I think its called like, I forget, starts with a W. Possibly saboteurs.

But ya, I don't think RP supporters would put up with that type of shiz.

Brent Burk, Schertz, Texas (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:43 PM)

You people are all nuts. There are a lot of 9-11 victims families that are being demonized because they still have questions that are not answered.
How sick are all of you. If it were your family you would want EVERY stone turned over and every question answered.

Steve (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:43 PM)

Something just occurred to me. (It can happen.) The Truthers are on notice that not only does Ron Paul not believe their theories, but also that associating themselves with him hurts his campaign. I have seen very little of the Truther crowd since the Ron Paul mainstream started telling them to can it. False flag operation?

Jive Dadson (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:46 PM)

"Hey guys, we need dirt on Ron Paul!"
"We don't have anything. He's pretty much got a consistent record."
"Shit. What do we do now?"
"I have an idea! Let's just associate him with a very small fringe of supporters who don't even represent his beliefs about 9/11."
"Perfect!"
"Aren't we going to talk about McCain keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years?"
"No. Shutup. We have our story."

Paul Melnyk, Olympia, WA (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:46 PM)

Love Ron Paul/ Hate the 911 truthers who are jumping on the bandwagon, if I ever catch one of them at a Ron Paul meeting...we are going to have fisticuffs.

Dic (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:48 PM)

I'm a big Ron Paul supporter, and I would be very happy if the conspiracy theory nut jobs (Clinton was right) would shut up. Dr. Paul does not support those theories, and it does not help his campaign by voicing them.

Robert, Fargo, ND (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:48 PM)

Come on! The only people that should be labeled "nuts" are Hilary supporters. We need 8 more years of lies and BS!!! GO HILARY! CHANGE!

eric (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:49 PM)

Remember, the Truthers are all former Democrats.
THEY are nuts,

The Ron Paul supporters who want to get our economy out of shambles by cutting our out of control spending, and lowering taxes are simply *Real* conservatives.

If the big spender Clintons and Bushes really hate Ron Paul, I know we're doing something right.

Eddie, Des Moines (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:51 PM)

Too many of Paul's supporters are 9/11 nuts. Paul would do himself a great deal of good by denouncing it rather than saying it should be questioned, but I'm afraid(and I think he knows)he would lose half his support.

So much for RP's straight talk.

tr88 (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:53 PM)

Despite the best efforts of high-profile hacks in both the MSM and the blogosphere to depict us as kooks, idiots (see also "Paultards"), or even racists, the majority of us Paul supporters are rational and agree with Pres. Clinton on this one.

The eminently sensible brass tacks of Paul's platform (stop using America's blood & money on other countries; stop--no, really, stop--spending money we don't have; stop giving more responsibility to a government that drops the ball over and over again) have been absent from the political mainstream for so long that even a semi-credible candidate who champions them is going to attract a hugely diverse following. As in any diverse population, a few of the people will be nutcases wearing tin-foil hats.

We're happy to share the tent with them, because we have no idea when our platform will next find a political voice. Paul may not be the most presidential bloke on the planet, but he's the only one carrying our banner, and as long as he does, we'll rally to him.

David, Royersford, Pennsylvania (Sent Monday, January 07, 2008 4:54 PM)

Next >>

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=556622