Tag Archives: Election/Politicians

That didn’t take long. Left and Right attack Rand Paul.

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I was pleased and surprised to see a very thoughtful defense of Rand Paul in the Wall Street Journal:
Taken at face value, the question itself–How would you have voted if you had been in the Senate as an infant?–is silly. It is a reasonable question only if it is understood more broadly, as an inquiry into Paul’s political philosophy. The question within the question is: How uncompromising are you in your adherence to small-government principles?

Paul gave his answer: Pretty darn uncompromising–uncompromising enough to take a position that is not only politically embarrassing but morally dubious by his own lights, as evidenced by this transcript from the Courier-Journal interview, provided by the left-wing site ThinkProgress.org:

Interviewer: But under your philosophy, it would be OK for Dr. King not to be served at the counter at Woolworths?

Paul: I would not go to that Woolworths, and I would stand up in my community and say that it is abhorrent, um, but, the hard part–and this is the hard part about believing in freedom–is, if you believe in the First Amendment, for example–you have too, for example, most good defenders of the First Amendment will believe in abhorrent groups standing up and saying awful things. . . . It’s the same way with other behaviors. In a free society, we will tolerate boorish people, who have abhorrent behavior.

Again, Paul could have given a “straight” answer to the question–a flat “no”–that made clear his personal disapproval of discrimination while evading what was really a question about his political philosophy. Far from being evasive, Paul has shown himself to be both candid and principled to a fault.

We do mean to a fault.

Tea party wins victory in Utah as incumbent GOP senator loses bid for nomination

The national “tea party” movement toppled its first incumbent Saturday as long-serving Sen. Robert F. Bennett was defeated at the Utah Republican Party’s nominating convention, the most powerful demonstration yet of the anti-Washington tide that is altering the nation’s political landscape.

Bennett, seeking a fourth term after 18 years in office, became the first sitting senator to fall in the ideological battle being waged in his party. Although he has long been viewed as a reliable conservative with deep Mormon roots, Republicans rallied behind two other candidates — neither of whom has held political office — who will compete for the nomination at a June primary.

National tea party organizers embraced the victory as a major first step toward returning the Republican Party to its conservative foundations of limited government and low taxes. (Read more from washingtonpost.com)

Kentucky US Senate Poll: Paul 49% Grayson 33%

The Rand Paul phenomenon in Kentucky shows no signs of ebbing tonight – as the Bowling Green opthamologist’s double digit lead continues over Secretary of State Trey Grayson. He says his message is behind his 16 point lead.

Paul 49%
Grayson 33%
Stephenson 3%
Martin 3%
Scribner 1%
Undecided 11%

“I come from the Tea Party movement,” Paul said Wednesday, “and the tea party movement really feels like government is out of control, that we’re being consumed by this debt.”

As Trey Grayson campaigned in Louisville this morning, some may suggest the dark clouds that hung over him were a metaphor for the poll numbers..

“We’re seeing a very close race,” Grayson insisted. (Read more from whas11.com)

Who will question our wars?

A couple weeks ago, I attended my first Republican district convention. I missed 2008’s, having been deployed to Afghanistan’s Kunar Province on my third combat tour with the Army.

I’d hoped to speak in favor of a friend’s amendment to the party platform, which would have tempered its implicit support for American militarism.

Neither Iraq, nor Afghanistan, are mentioned in the platform. Instead, there is support for “the proliferation of democratic principles around the world,” and praise for military technology and our troops. As is usually the case, the misguided motives of empire hide behind a fawning over its servants.

Sadly, the opportunity to speak was denied when two-thirds of delegates (exactly enough, we were told) voted to suspend the rules and adopt the existing platform without discussion. I suspect they were motivated by exhaustion rather than censorship. Hours of slogans about limited government, the philosophy of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution had taken their toll. So I make my point here: (Read more from desmoinesregister.com)

NOTE: This column no longer seems to appear on the Des Moines Register’s website, but you can read it here.

Ron Paul 41% Obama 42%

Ron Paul is a long-shot for the Republican nomination for president by any standard, but a Rasmussen poll finds him in a statistical tie with President Barack Obama.

The survey, released Wednesday by the conservative-leaning organization, finds Obama edging out Paul by 42 points to 41 in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. Eleven percent said they would prefer a different candidate, while 6 percent were undecided. (Read more from rawstory.com)