The Ron Paul campaign has denied claims
made by former aide Eric Dondero that Paul is “uncomfortable around
homosexuals.”
In an op-ed published Monday on Right
Wing News, Dondero, who worked for Paul during various campaigns
going back as far as 1987, weighed in on the controversy of whether
Paul knew about racist
and homophobic writings in the newsletters he published in the 1980s
and 90s.
The former aide said Paul is “not all
bigoted towards homosexuals” but added that the Texas
Representative is “personally uncomfortable around homosexuals.”
Paul “supports their rights to do
whatever they please in their private lives.”
Dondero
detailed two incidents to support his claim. In one, Paul
refused to use the bathroom of an openly gay supporter and in the
second he “swatted” away the hand of another.
“Eric Dondero is a disgruntled former
staffer who was fired for performance issues,” Paul spokesman Jesse
Benton told CBS
News in an email. “He has zero credibility and should not be
taken seriously.”
Dondero denied that he had been fired:
“I dispute that vehemently.”
“I'm speaking out about what I saw as
his employee – from my perspective. People are getting a lot of
things wrong on both sides,” he added.