Rand Paul takes a leaf out of…
…Obama’s megalomaniacal book: it’s all about ME, and my opponents have evil in their hearts.
I have fairly strong libertarian leanings myself, but I’ve never been a fan of either Paul. These latest comments from Paul the Younger during the NSA negotiations don’t enhance my opinion of his character. They remind me very powerfully of the sort of arguments Obama favors, which is not a recommendation:
People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake. Some of them, I think, secretly want there to be an attack on the United States so they can blame it on me.
It’s not all about you, Rand. It’s not even mostly about you. And if they’re out to get you, that’s politics.
[ADDENDUM: This post by Ace is relevant and well worth reading. Excerpt:
Rand Paul is not just criticizing his named enemies in the Senate, then. He’s criticizing the millions of GOP voters whose instincts tend to be more conventional and interventionist than his own. And when John McCain calls Ted Cruz a “wacko bird,” he is of course telling millions of GOP voters that they themselves are “wacko birds” — worse than that, really, because at least Cruz is his own wacko bird. Cruz’ fans, in McCain’s insult, are merely the crude-minded follower of a wacko bird.
This is not statecraft. It’s conducting a blogwar from the well of the Senate.
This reminds me of why I don’t like capital-L Libertarians. Put to one side the policy differences, which in the main are not a source of actual emotional discord as policy differences can in fact be discussed dispassionately, intellectually, coolly.
I don’t like capital-L Libertarians because they approach conservatives like myself with actual open contempt with a dismissive and demeaning hostility, and I do not think this is just some accident or character defect.
Rather, and this is the important thing, I believe that that open contemptuousness is not merely a defect, but an essential, foundational part of capital-L Libertarianism.
We define ourselves not just by our heroes and devotions, but even more by our enemies and our anathemas. I believe that it is foundational to the capital-L Libertarian creed, whether they realize it or not, that conservatives are enemies on an emotional level and to be treated with contempt and jeering. A large part of capital-L Libertarianism, many have noted, seems to be a sort of performance art of ritualized disdain for the Squares and Stiffs of the right.
Now, when I say this, my point is not to criticize Libertarians, though it certainly sounds that way.
My point is that there is something very basic about human group dynamics. Something very elemental about team-building — and Other-defining.
Much more at the link.]
The paulites are like a stopped clock. While I too lean libertarian, I fear dc overreach far more than foreign enemies. IOW my default position is that our political masters are for the most part corrupt, power mad, and possess limited or no redeeming qualities. The question remains how much liberty from dc we are willing to sacrifice for real or imagined safety? Their actions do not inspire trust.
There are similarities between Obama and Paul. Both grew up fed ideologies. Neither really tested these ideologies against the real world. Both know how to pick bits from them and use them to raise support among a base, and both know how to tone down things when they are trying to win others to their side. Neither is capable of putting forth programs for the world we live in.
Rand Paul is the ONLY presidential candidate I want to vote for, because he is the only want who wants to restrain the Leviathon US government. He gets it exactly right when he says the US should NOT be gathering warrantless data on us all. And the trouble is, most people are OK with letting the government do things like that. So, it appears we are doomed.
Seriously, folks need to listen to Rand Paul’s speeches, and read what he writes, then you’ll see what he’s all about. Of course, if you only know stuff about that from what’s in the media, you know they’re trying to paint him with a bad brush.
Yeah, I don’t agree with everything about Rand, but when ALL of the other candidates want to spy on me, I don’t want to vote for them.
And expat, there is NOTHING similar about Obama and Rand Paul! NOTHING! Rand wants to preserve your individual rights, while Obama wants to take them away. Rand is like a real Republican, most of the other so-called Republicans aren’t even RINOs–they’re more like Democrats-lite.
Rusty
Sorry Rusty, I get creepy vibes from both of the Pauls. I too have some libertarian leanings but have been repelled by the full-on Libertarian platform since I was old enough to vote. I just don’t trust either Paul to have workable ideas and I sense that while they say the right things to get the susceptible base motivated, their words are either empty, or false. That’s strictly IMHO – not like I have any magical powers to see into their souls.
Rusty, AMEN!
So, Rand is “like a real Republican..” ??!!
He’s Left of Obama on much of his foreign policy/defense views. Idiocy. With much of the world aflame and other parts getting near that, let’s just stick our heads in that wet-sandy hole and not face the menacing, horrifying realities.
Get some sleep, Rusty, and step away from those ‘shrooooms, Dude.
Relevant and well worth reading, from Ace.
Jonathan Tobin at Commentary says Rand Paul is “just a housetrained version of his more extreme father”. Perfect.
Libertarians have long been used by the Left as their stalking horses. They will endless claim that they are independent to me, but my standards of independence far exceed their pathetic personal standards.
I think the dynamic Ace is talking about is the basis of hipsterism:
The idea that you are an early adopter, and therefore BETTER than everyone else. As soon as “it” goes mainstream, it’s lame.
There must be an out-group with which to compare your own group.
Per Rusty’s post,
Rand is similar to Obama in the effects of his foreign policy.
I think Rand’s motivations are that America is either doing harm or cannot guarantee a positive outcome by intervening in international affairs.
The effect is identical to the Blame America First crowd, who think America’s motivations are impure. They would both withdraw from the world, which is unrealistic.
Obama has been withdrawing, and we see what the effects of creating a vacuum are. It won’t get better, either.
Paul isn’t the only one to suggest others want to see an attack on the US for some nefarious purpose.
Obama has been withdrawing, and we see what the effects of creating a vacuum are.
Before or after he bombed Bush’s ally Libya?
I don’t think people like Paul are playing with a full deck. They say they criticize the war mongers, but does the Left even allow Paul there to criticize Hussein Obola?
During an election cycle?
The Leftist alliance and the Libertarians seem to share too many commonalities and shared resources, for collusion and collaboration to be a coincidence. After all, it was the Libertarian Moral Righteous argument the Left used to explain why we had to accede to homo marriage and various other bullsh. Then look what happened, did the Libertarians defend the liberty of the Gaystapo targets?
It’s threads like this that make me no longer interested in discussing politics.
We have two statist political parties, and the overwhelming majority of voters are statists. They’re perfectly willing to bend and twist the Constitution, or tear it up altogether, in service to their pet cause.
In today’s political landscape, the Founding Fathers would be closest to the Libertarians. They would not recognize Democrats and Republicans, and would find them both repugnant.
And they would be derided as fringe kooks by the “mainstream”.
The Libertarians are the vanguard of the Leftist alliance in the mainstream. They were never designed as fringe kooks, that’s the role of Christians atm.
Capital L’s are hip. They are reasonable. They are very modest in their demands upon us. All they require in order to refrain from accusing us of wanting to see the country devasted by terrorist attacks just to prove them wrong is that, on every issue of moment, we hold the one completely proper opinion, as do they.
I agree with Neo. Up until now I’ve admired Rand Paul, but now I have serious reservations about whether he is Presidential material. He hasn’t earned my vote.
Who is doing Obama’s bidding on NSA domestic spying (that is what it is) and Obamatrade and immigration? Libertarians or the GOP establishment? Guess who is condescending to the views of the public? Not libertarians.
And when the time comes to vote no “Republican” to voted for the NSA to spy without cause or warrant on all America will be eligible for my vote.
Libertarians think their foolish behavior of diverting attention to the two parties in DC makes them pure of soul? It proves the opposite. The power of the Left is such that everyone in DC becomes corrupted. Including the pure hearted so called Libertarians. When they accuse Republicans of being collaborators with Democrats, what proof can the Libertarians offer that they are immune to the Leftist corruption?
None whatsoever. They have voting records and talk, but then again so do the Republicans. That doesn’t last as long as people think under the Leftist regime.
Ymarsakar…”..before or after he bombed Bush’s ally Libya..?” Answer: Either.
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I’ll always smile at the recollection of how quickly after the Evil Jorge Booosh brought down Sadam Hussein’s mass murdering buther regime in Iraq, Mr.Gaddafi opened his doors to inspections and volunteered to hand over any nuke progress there. BaaDaaBing. Like Dat.
After Obama’s pseudo actions in Libya with No Follow Thru, we got….Benghazi…Shame on that video maker!! BHO: VTC* (*VAST Testicular Concavity)