Tom Woods: My Memories of Jesse Benton

[itshappening]

Alex Jones mentions him here, says he cleverly married himself into the family:

http://www.infowars.com/obamanoids-c...jones-round-2/

He also takes calls from some Obama voters, including someone claiming to be a TSA agent near the end, it's crazy.

[kathy88]

I just read all 69 pages of this thread.....I had a lot going on today.

If you change your settings it's a mere 18 pages.

[nemt4paul]

If you change your settings it's a mere 18 pages.

lol....thanks Kath.

[dinosaur]

True enough. That is one thing that really surprised me about Tom Woods and Adam Kokesh. Why is it important to direct our hate at Jesse? The status-quo machine is much more powerful than Jesse Benton. Jesse Benton was not standing in the way of our liberty.

I suspect Jesse Benton to be a self-interested individual just like all the rest of us. We all make mistakes from time to time. I certainly don't understand the mass hatred for him as Ron Paul actually became quite popular under his watch. Ron Paul won 6 states at least and there would have been a whole lot more wins simply if the media would have given Ron Paul the same coverage as they gave his opponents. Remember the 89 second debate. Remember the Black-Out Money Bomb. He had virtually zero coverage on radio. In 2008, when the grass roots were in charge, did Ron even win one county? Jesse did pretty good, imo.

I agree with this. I don't doubt Tom's story, but all he is saying is that Jesse seemed to have something against Tom, and that Jesse acted unprofessionally towards Tom. It all seems like a whole lot of personal drama to me. Benton probabaly is self-interested. I wouldn't have taken the job for McConnell (and I don't particularly respect Jesse for doing it) but it doesn't make me think that Jesse is some sort of infiltrator with a secret plan to destroy the campaign. The campaign did amazingly well for what they were up against. And, as much as I am a huge fan of Tom's work, I think his blog entry is a little boorish itself, especially the part about not supporting Rand if Jesse is involved. I'd support Rand even if I did believe that Jesse was either incompetent or an infiltrator.

[New York For Paul]

Tom Woods and Jesse Benton have had their moments.

[helmuth_hubener]

How is it boorish to fail to support a project? What would be less boorish: supporting the project despite believing it will be utterly worthless? Sorry, dinosaur, but we all only live once. Tom Woods believes, based on his first-hand experience, that Jesse Benton is worthless and will poison any project he's involved in. What could be more civilized than refraining to participate with someone who has behaved towards you (and others) as Mr. Benton has behaved?

We should not support, help, and associate with uncivilized people. They should be shunned.

[JohnM]

I don't doubt Tom's story, . . .

And, as much as I am a huge fan of Tom's work, I think his blog entry is a little boorish itself, . . . .

I agree.

I am a huge fan of Tom. And I am sure that what he said was completely true. But some things should just be left unsaid.

When I read that blog post, I felt that he should never have posted it. It reflected poorly on Benton, but who is Jesse Benton, anyway? Unfortunately, it reflected poorly on Tom, which, in my opinion, is of more long term significance.

[Seth]

I agree.

I am a huge fan of Tom. And I am sure that what he said was completely true. But some things should just be left unsaid.

When I read that blog post, I felt that he should never have posted it. It reflected poorly on Benton, but who is Jesse Benton, anyway? Unfortunately, it reflected poorly on Tom, which, in my opinion, is of more long term significance.

It's important to know because Benton will likely be Rand's campaign manager.

[NoOneButPaul]

^I've grown to really like Rand but if he's involved at all $#@! that. I'll be done with him and whatever candidacy he puts forth.

He cannot in his right mind stick with someone so utterly toxic.

[Chester Copperpot]

If you change your settings it's a mere 18 pages.

i finally did this. lol

[Occam's Banana]

It's important to know because Benton will likely be Rand's campaign manager.

I've got no use for Benton, but I could not really care any less whether he manages Rand's campaign or not.

I don't give a damn if Karl Rove & James Carville teamed up to run Rand's campaign - just as long as Rand keeps doing what he's doing in the Senate.

[Sayzak]

Ha. I feel better. Tom always knew the deal. I can't believe it took me so long to figure that little weasel Benton out. Oh well. Better late than never.

Same here. I was even angry at Adam Kokesh for blasting Benton, long before his true colors had been exposed to the rest of us. I feel bad for reacting the way I did then and now have more respect for Adam Kokesh than ever before.

[Anti Federalist]

Annnd bump

[Anti Federalist]

http://www.tomwoods.com/blog/my-memo...f-jesse-bento/

So it does not go down the memory hole:


My Memories of Jesse Benton

13th September 2012 by: Tom Woods

Ron Paul campaign chairman Jesse Benton is going to head up the campaign of Mitch McConnell. Gee, now why did those incorrigible naysayers have so many unkind words for him?

People who said Benton was positioning himself all along for bigger things in the GOP were scoffed at. Why, Jesse has a secret plan to get Ron Paul the nomination at the last minute!

Well, now we know the real secret plan.

Ask yourself this: how much money would you have to be paid to work for an enemy of the things you’re supposed to stand for?

Maybe now people will understand why Jesse would fly into a tirade after some of Ron’s most heroic moments, when the rest of us were cheering.

I could go through a lengthy catalogue of problems with Benton. The grassroots folks already know a lot of them, so there’s probably no need. What’s done is done.

Not that the world revolves around me, but just a word about how I was treated. Early on in the campaign I posted a note that under the circumstances I thought was astonishingly restrained. I said that if the fundraising success of 2008 was to be surpassed, the grassroots would have to be persuaded that professionals would be brought on this time, that debate coaching would take place as it does in all other campaigns, etc. Nothing could have been more obvious than that. And this was obviously the note of a friend, not an enemy.

Now here’s how a professional would have handled a situation like this, in which a longtime supporter is unhappy but obviously still on the team in the broad sense. “X, we understand your sentiments, which are shared by practically everyone, and we’ll be ensuring that these changes are made. Your input is always welcome,” etc.

Jesse, on the other hand, denounced me in a series of emails, and made perfectly clear that I was to be cut off from everything — the campaign, Campaign for Liberty, etc. He referred to my “boorish behavior” (you know me — always the boor), and told me from now on to leave him and his family alone. Nice touch, that last part, implying that I was likely to stalk his wife.

Naively, I assumed another top person, whom I will not name, would be as appalled at Jesse’s behavior toward a longtime supporter as I was. So I (gleefully) forwarded the correspondence to him, only to be told that Jesse’s conduct was not unprofessional at all [!]. But I would not technically be banned from C4L, I was told.

So I just went ahead and made a whole bunch of videos, viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, and wrote a whole bunch of articles (here’s my favorite), on my own during the campaign in defense of Ron against his critics. I was not earning a five-figure monthly salary for this.

I then went ahead and signed on with Revolution PAC. (I resigned from it in March of this year, because I had said from the beginning that I would be on board only through Super Tuesday. Also, it was a very busy time in my life, and I felt I couldn’t contribute enough.) The excuse for my absolute exclusion from everything, put forth by the official yes-men, is that my involvement in the PAC erected a legal obstacle to any involvement in the campaign.

This particular lie has the sequence of events reversed. I joined the PAC only after I had been blacklisted. But I kept my mouth shut during the campaign every time I saw people say, “Woods isn’t allowed to work with the campaign because of the PAC.” I never corrected anyone. I kept the real story a secret for Ron’s sake. No one on earth can fail to understand why I might want to tell it now, to set the record straight.

And no, I wasn’t looking to be hired so I could get that five-figure monthly salary. I was prepared to work for free.

Another potential excuse would be that as a radical libertarian, I wouldn’t know how to pitch Ron to a GOP audience. This is as wrong as wrong can be, and I have the converts to prove it. As a former mainstream GOPer myself, I know exactly how to frame the argument to win them over.

For months and months, the top two people spun everything I did in the most negative light possible, in order to poison my reputation with people I respect. They don’t know I know this. But I’m happy to say I have friends everywhere, and they are loyal.

Again, I kept my mouth shut. And again, no one on earth can seriously expect me to continue doing so.

Of the various lies Jesse told about me, the least damaging was the claim that I had called him a — well, it’s a word I would never say. The actual story was this: in 2010 I was having drinks with Iowa Ron Paul GOP people, and Jesse was there. I mentioned the name of an old college friend of mine I thought Jesse might know, and Jesse shouted out, with an important Christian Right Ron Paul guy right there, “X [my college friend] is a —-sucker!” Classy. I reminded Jesse of this incident when he complained of my allegedly boorish behavior. At that moment, the story began to spread that I had called Jesse a you-know-what.

This particular lie I made no special effort to refute. I joked with people that if the grassroots heard that I had called Jesse that name, I’d be a hero.

So Benton is gone, but is Bentonism alive and well? Bentonism is the playing down of Ron Paul’s most popular and important ideas, the impatience with and purging of people who champion those ideas, and an obsessive eye to GOP respectability. Is that what the “liberty movement” is? Then count me out.

Finally, please note that I stand to gain nothing by clearing the air like this. Nothing but grief and more burned bridges. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do, regardless of the consequences for yourself. It’s quite possible that this person will make his way back into our circles at some point, and I want to urge people not even to consider donating to anything with his name on it.

Incidentally, if Rand Paul intends to run in 2016, the single most effective way he could convey to the public that he is not really serious, and that people should withhold their donations, would be to hire Jesse Benton.

[muzzled dogg]

Lol I had forgotten about this. Good bump

[Working Poor]

Something that I have never seen addressed in this forum is that Ron would have probably been killed if he won the election. I think he knew that even if the rest of you don't. TPTB would have never let Ron do what he wanted he knew that. He was just spreading ideas folks...

[Danke]

Having briefly dealt with Benton in 2008, all I can say is... he is a dick.

[torchbearer]

Former delegates of Louisiana are not surprised.

[Badger Paul]

He sold you all out. He sold the whole campaign out with that "deal" to basically take Paul's name out of nomination.

[jjdoyle]

He sold you all out. He sold the whole campaign out with that "deal" to basically take Paul's name out of nomination.

Because Rand was getting the speech at the RNC. It had to all go smoothly for King Romney.

[LibertyEagle]

Ron had the long view. He knew he had lost the battle, but planned on winning the war. To do that, he wanted to further the movement he fostered and he did just that. It was never about Ron Paul and he told us that from the very beginning.

[Galileo Galilei]

No charges will be filed against Jesse Benton. Sorry, I know the haters will be disappointed.

[kylejack]

No charges will be filed against Jesse Benton. Sorry, I know the haters will be disappointed.

We'll see about that. Sorenson is recorded saying that Benton knew about the payment. There are two sealed documents that we haven't read.

[Brian4Liberty]

Ron had the long view. He knew he had lost the battle, but planned on winning the war. To do that, he wanted to further the movement he fostered and he did just that. It was never about Ron Paul and he told us that from the very beginning.

I agree, that was probably Ron Paul's perspective on it. He knew it wasn't going to happen, so they used their political capital the best they could. That is one issue. There are several separate issues being brought up now that confuse matters.

Another issue is the fund raising letters and e-mails. Of course those are going to be positive until the end. That is how marketing and fund-raising works. Take it with a grain of salt, always. It's up to each individual if and when they are going to donate. Yes, people raised warning flags, and supposedly those people were the first to stop donating. Good for them.

Another issue is that Benton may not be the most pleasant or honest person in the world. Many people have attested to that. Seems pretty likely at this point.

And the most relevant issue now is the bribery investigation pending. It remains to be seen how this will all fall out. Sorenson certainly has been found guilty at this point. Hopefully it doesn't go much further than the person who paid him. We'll have to wait and see. And not to defend illegal payoffs, but this is common in politics. Standard quid pro quo and the massive lobbying industry are evidence enough of that. Finally, there is little doubt that this is selective enforcement, meant to damage Rand's presidential aspirations. That doesn't excuse anything, but any political campaign could be targeted by the state, especially campaigns that seek to shrink the state. "Three felonies a day"...

[phill4paul]

No charges will be filed against Jesse Benton. Sorry, I know the haters will be disappointed.

Don't care if he is charged. Hater? I just won't support a campaign that has him on a pay roll. Team Rand, whoever it will be, can take that to the bank.

[Galileo Galilei]

We'll see about that. Sorenson is recorded saying that Benton knew about the payment. There are two sealed documents that we haven't read.

Sorenson already plead guilty to a charge of causing someone else to file an incorrect FEC report. That takes Benton off the hook. And the payment itself was not illegal, it is not illegal to hire people for your campaign.

[mosquitobite]

No charges will be filed against Jesse Benton. Sorry, I know the haters will be disappointed.

Don't care if he is charged. Hater? I just won't support a campaign that has him on a pay roll. Team Rand, whoever it will be, can take that to the bank.

I agree. Charges or not - I will not donate to Rand Paul 2016 if Benton is on board. I've already made THAT promise to my husband who wasn't always happy with my donations to Ron. So, I have accountability when I say - any campaign with Benton attached will.not.get.a.penny from this house.

[jjdoyle]

Sorenson already plead guilty to a charge of causing someone else to file an incorrect FEC report. That takes Benton off the hook. And the payment itself was not illegal, it is not illegal to hire people for your campaign.

The payment was illegal in Iowa, which is why both campaigns (Bachmann and Paul) are being investigated. The campaign never technically hired Sorenson that I'm aware of, because he never got payments from the campaign. Though campaign funds were used to pay him, through the shell company.

[kylejack]

Sorenson already plead guilty to a charge of causing someone else to file an incorrect FEC report. That takes Benton off the hook. And the payment itself was not illegal, it is not illegal to hire people for your campaign.

No, it doesn't take Benton off the hook. Just because he pleaded guilty to something doesn't mean he is solely responsible. They don't pass out immunity to all other charges for free. It seems clear that he's going to be used against someone else. That could be just Kesari or it could be others as well, such as treasurer Lori Pyeatt or chairman Jesse Benton (who seems to think things have gotten serious enough for him that he needed to resign McConnell's campaign).

They weren't merely hiring someone for the campaign. They laundered money through an intermediary to buy an endorsement. If they just wanted to hire him they should have put him on the payroll, and under his own name, not ITC whatever.

Also, you keep claiming the payment itself was not illegal. According to several media sources, it is illegal under Iowa law. The last time I pointed this out you said yeah, but this is a federal investigation (which is a deflection, not a refutation). Now you come back again with this false statement that the payment was not illegal.

[Galileo Galilei]

The payment was illegal in Iowa, which is why both campaigns (Bachmann and Paul) are being investigated. The campaign never technically hired Sorenson that I'm aware of, because he never got payments from the campaign. Though campaign funds were used to pay him, through the shell company.

This is a federal investigation and the Iowa law you cite is unconstitutional.