Ebony, the venerable lifestyle magazine aimed at black readers, republished an entire email sent out by the Democratic National Committee Tuesday slamming newly-announced Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul.
The email was posted to Ebony’s website shortly after Paul, the junior senator from Kentucky, announced his White House ambitions with an event that showcased Paul’s efforts to build a more diverse GOP coalition.
“Although Paul (who’s expected to enter the presidential race) claims to be a ‘different type” of Republican,’ the [Democratic National Committee] has complied a list of reasons why Paul shouldn’t be supported,” read Ebony’s post above the full Committee email.
The committee’s email levels six accusations against Paul, claiming among other things that he favors legal discrimination and opposes rights for gays. The email also includes past quotes by Paul that supposedly substantiate the accusations.
Although the headline “What You Need To Know About Rand Paul” suggested the article was a work of journalism, the content is simply a word-for-word publication of Democratic Party talking points.
Ebony did not return a request for comment.
Paul announced Tuesday he would seek the GOP nomination for president. He is one of few Republicans in elected office who has made aggressive efforts to court young and minority voters.
In 2013, Paul delivered a speech at Howard University, an historically black university, on civil rights and the history of blacks within the Republican Party.
Ebony, which was founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, was for decades considered the premier publication for African American readers, though it has struggled in the post-print age. Although its print edition still had 1.2 million readers in 2014, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, Alexa’s rankings put Ebony.com at 26,020 among U.S. web sites — well behind many general-interest magazines as well as other prominent publications aimed at black readers.
