I've sat on this story since 2010, not intending to say anything about it. But now that Benton is officially no longer on our team, I will.
I was a big supporter of John Hostettler for U.S. Senate in Indiana in 2010. I know he was controversial among Ron Paul supporters, and that some had good reasons for not backing him that I always accepted. If Ron Paul had decided to stay out of that race, I wouldn't have blamed him in any way. But as it turned out, he endorsed Hostettler, who was a friend of his and a frequent ally in the House. Early on in the primary season, Jesse Benton privately told members of Hostettler's campaign that for Ron Paul helping Hostettler came second only to helping Rand that year.
At the most crucial point of the primary, that changed, without any explanation. We planned a money bomb, and Benton explicitly assured us that he would send out an email asking Ron Paul's supporters in Indiana to donate to it. After making that promise, he completely stopped returning emails and phone calls. Finally, after countless attempts, he simply said in an email, "We've done all we can." without further explanation and never sent that email. For us, at the time, that was a big deal. Some of you can imagine the level of energy, time, money, and dedication that a campaign can take. We had given this one our all, and those words were like a blow to the gut.
Like I said, I don't think anybody saw any obligation for RP to do anything. But the way Benton led us on dishonestly really bothered all of us. I have never liked or trusted Benton since then. But I kept it to myself until now.
I know this is small potatoes compared to everything else that everyone here already knows about. It's just one more thing that fits into the mix.
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