The Huffington Post headline screams: "Rand Paul: The GOP's New Hope."
I would say, rather: "Rand Paul: The DNC's New Hope."
In two days since he won the Republican senate primary in Kentucky, Rand Paul has managed to become the big news focus with controversial statements that reflect his libertarian views.
Paul is an idealist, and now his sudden fame is exposing him to challenges about the practical consequences of his idealism. His abstract, libertarian principle -- keep government out of our private lives -- does have consequences. And he is being challenged about those consequences, first by Rachel Maddow on civil rights and lunch counters, and now on "Good Morning, America" about regulations that could have prevented the oil spill.
He comes close to the "let them eat cake" mentality. When asked if he would really condone re-segregation of lunch counters here in 2010, he goes off on a tangent about "resegregation happens all the time." I think he means yes, he would. Not that he wants segregation, but the principle of freedom from government control is more important to him. He wants the result (desegregation) but he doesn't want what actually brought it about.
And his answer to what happens when you don't have regulations -- or when they are not followed as in the Gulf oil leak? "Accidents happen," so Obama shouldn't be so hard on BP about the oil spill, he says. Tell that to those affected by the oil spill. I don't think that's going to be popular right now.
"Accidents happen." Remind anyone of Rummy's "Stuff happens"? I think that was about the U.S.'s utter failure to anticipate the devastating effects in Iraq of our overthrowing their government without planning what to do next. That is, "Just do it," and don't worry about the consequences, and ignore those fools who are trying to tell you that, yes, there will be consequences.
Paul may give hope to the GOP in that he can stir up excitement and energize the base. But I think he's an even better hope for the Democrats. The GOP can't win with its base alone. They have to have independents join them. And while he excites the base, it's my belief that he will completely lose the independent and conservative Democrats -- except those few with their own libertarian ideals.
And remember: Rachel the Magnificent is the one who started that ball rolling down hill.
Ralph
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The fallout has begun. A blog for the Washington Monthly magazine posted an article about Paul's opposition to any govt. control of private business. Here are a couple of responses from readers:
ReplyDelete"The Rand Paul position would also allow every employer in the country to post this sign: No Christians need apply.
Reckon how he'll play that once someone points it out?"
"Once we get beyond race, we should ask how he feels about meat inspections at private packing plants, cleanliness requirements at private restaurants, or the very salient question of regulating private oil drilling companies.
By the time he gets through defending his strict libertarian ideology he should be toast."
Maybe these are liberal readers. But how many independents do you think will be willing to forego such regulations to protect health, safety, and civil rights?
This is definitely the way to handle the T-Party crowd: make them answer to the consequences of their demands for freedom from government.
Apparently the GOP quickly realized what a disaster it is to let Rand Paul say what he thinks to a national audience.
ReplyDeleteReportedly, they have told him to stay off national media, and he has canceled his planned appearance on Meet the Press for this weekend. MtP says that, in its 32 year history, only two people have previously canceled this close to the scheduled interview.
Correction: it's 62 years of Meet the Press history.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm . . . those other two who cancelled on Meet the Press in its 62 year history were Louis Farrakhan and a Saudi prince -- both Muslims.
ReplyDeleteAre you happy with being in that cohort, Rand, old boy? Not that it matters, but it's exactly the kind of the thing that Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh would make a big deal of if it were a Democrat.
Rand Paul enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame as the darling of the Tea Party crowd. Let's see whether the can repair the damage and whether the news media (led by Rachel the Magnificent) will continue it as a referendum on Libertarianism.