And he is not about to distance himself from a writer who long called himself the “Southern Avenger.” 
 
 Paul insisted that he had only known “vaguely” about Hunter’s work. Asked why he published Hunter — a paid columnist — if he believed him to be a racist, Haire tweeted in response, “To reveal the mindset of the SCGOP and the Neoconfederate fringe.” 
 
 Paul described Hunter’s comments as “absolutely stupid” but defended his “incredibly talented” social media director in an interview with The Huffington Post. “Look and listen to the actual words and not to the headlines, people,” Paul told me. “If I thought he was a white supremacist, he would be fired immediately.” 
 
 Others have defended Hunter as well, saying that while he may have been attracted to peculiarly Southern forms of conservatism and occasionally naive about racial issues, he is not the figure some critics have portrayed. Hunter isn’t denying writing the columns in question, but he does say the coverage doesn’t represent the full body of his writing. Now as he once ditched the mask, he will also discard the Southern Avenger name.
– The Southern Avenger rides alone once more. Jack Hunter has left Rand Paul's employ amidst a firestorm of controversy about his past as a Confederate flag-wearing secessionist shock jock and columnist. Hunter first broke the news to his friend W. James Antle III at the Daily Caller. "I've long been a conservative, and years ago, a much more politically incorrect (and campy) one," Hunter said. "But there's a significant difference between being politically incorrect and racist." He intends to return to punditry. Paul had previously stuck by Hunter. "I think the things he said about John Wilkes Booth are absolutely stupid," he told the Huffington Post two weeks ago. But "if I thought he was a white supremacist, he would be fired immediately." Instead it seems he's been fired slowly. Paul today said he and Hunter had come to a "mutual decision" that he should leave. "I think everybody occasionally has people that work for them who sometimes have a background that damages what you’re trying to do," Paul explained, according to CN|2.