Hello,
I wanted to get an assessment of what the members of this forum feel about Rand Paul and how he is positioning himself to run for president in 2012.
Let me first state that Ron Paul is one of the greatest statesmen of our time. I have nothing but admiration for him and because of that I worked hard and donated money to both of his previous presidential campaigns. If he runs for ANY political office or asks for donations of any future endeavor, i will gladly do everything I can because I feel he is a fantastic ambassador for the liberty movement, an intellectual and statesmen who can challenge any of the neocons, the Keynesians and authoritarians across the political spectrum.
Rand, on the other hand, has been a tremendous disappointment and that is putting it mildly. I don't even know if I could support him in 2012. He does NOT appear well versed in austrian economics and libertarian theory, but rather resorts to bumper sticker slogans that appeal to conservative partisans.
He seems to truly crave power and influence, even to the detriment of the educational effort. I don't understand how he can pander the way he does.
I have spent a great deal of time reading Austrian literature and studying anarcho capitalist theory, and it seems like Rand does NOT represent the austrian intellectual tradition. He is branding himself as the "tea party Republican" and seems unwilling to really criticize Republicans.
There was the endorsement of Romney, an act that seems entirely indefesible given the horrendous monster that Romney would have been as president. Then there was his trip to Israel, pandering for the support, or at least acceptence, of the powerful Israeli Lobby. There was his support of sanctions on Iran and his efforts to "dumb down" the message to appeal to the Republican base.
These days I can hardly stand to hear him speak on television anymore. To the average viewer, he sounds just like Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin and is actively positioning himself as pandering to their core followers. Perception is hugely important. He seems arrogent and does not seem to care about attracting the support of the libertarians that supported his father.
Not only that, I know of many liberal or left leaning individuals who supported Ron Paul that can't stand Rand and would never volunteer and organize on his behalf. Rand doesn't seem to want to attract the diverse following that his father sought.
Finally, I fear that Rand is actually hurting his fathers legacy. I see the problems with Ron's 2012 campaign as a direct result of the bagage that accompanied Rand's 2010 senate campaign, the association of Jesse Benton being the primary example. Plus the fact that Ron would never turn on his son and openly criticize him leaves him in the awkward position of having to be tarnished by Rand's various compromises.
Do you think he wouldn't endorse his son in the 2016 race? The worst part is that, given my understanding of Austrian economic theory, I want someone with gravitas and intellectual authority to speak to the American people about the evils of fiat money, explain the Austrian theory of the business cycle, and stand firm on the abject horrors of American foreign policy and imperialism. I don't want a compromiser who panders to the dumbed down Republican base.
We need intellectuals who will have a presence in our politics. Ron is certainly an intellectual and a supremely well read and articulate spokesperson for our message.
Rand, on the other hand, seems like a slightly smarter and more sane version of Palin and Beck. It is easy for the left to make fun of him and demonize our movement through him. Ron Paul, even to his detractors, was a man of such obvious intelligence and accomplishment, that they had to give him begrudging respect.
They will have a field day with Rand, however. He is playing into their hands. Even if he accomplishes something politically and gains more power than Ron got, and that is highly possible, I fear that it will greatly hurt our long term movement as the effect will be to neutralize us by trying to bring us into the Republican party.
What is your reaction to this? Am I overreacting?
I think Rand Paul is pretty solid. Has anyone analyzed his voting record?
... just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own - Albert Jay Nock
Rand Paul is a punk ass bitch. His father needs to give him a stern talking to.
I hope that Rand has not gone over the dark side completely but I suspect that he has. Certainly if he wants to become President then he will have to temper his views to be more in line with the Republican Party and in particular all factions except the Freedom Faction.
The sad part of this issue I have is that it won't work. The Republican Party is killing itself trying to please the Old People, Rich People and Defense/Intelligence/Security Complex. Left out are the freedom lovers. And that is Rand's only base nationwide. So what is Rand trying to become other than a more principaled version of Romney who has almost no principals that involve allowing people to be free while respecting the freedom of others.
Just ask Rand how he will answer the question about how he will get the government hands out of Medicare? Or how about doing away with the extremely expensive parts of Obummer Care?
I understand that Rand Paul is not Ron Paul. There's a line beyond he can cross that I will not consider voting for him in 2016. He has not crossed that line yet. I think much of what he says is just so the establishment and mainstream Republicans don't immediately dismiss him offhand like they do with his father. He's still talking about defense cuts. I think that's the key to know if he's still libertariang leaning. If he can win that battle, then he can win any battle relating to spending cuts.
Rand paul needs to be educated by his father.
“Since people are concerned that ‘X’ will not be provided, ‘X’ will naturally be provided by those who are concerned by its absence.""The sweetest of minds can harbor the harshest of men.”
http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.org
@ John James
Based on what I read in those links you provided, the Paul family dinners must be more awkward than anything Larry David could ever come up with.
You would think that, but I get the sense that they get along just fine. They're much more about "family first" than anything else. I doubt they actually spend much time debating politics. I think more than anything Ron probably feels like this guy.
As a conservative senator he is one of the better ones, as a libertarian he is a failure.
Tbh I like Sen. Tom Coburn better.
The Anarch is to the Anarchist what the Monarch is to the Monarchist. -Ernst Jünger
I like Ted Cruz, but I don't think he'll run for president in 2016. He would be a good VP nominee, though.
His Tea Party SOTU rebuttal was good.