Rand Paul Backs ... Mitt Romney
Rand Paul Backs ... Mitt Romney
A couple months ago, I heard the slightest conspiratorial swirl beneath the murmur and buzz of presidential politics. The idea was that Rep. Ron Paul was attacking other Republican candidates, but giving Mitt Romney a pass. The underlying idea here is that the Texas Congressman wants his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, to be on the ticket as Romney's vice presidential candidate.
The idea never has pushed its way to the surface, but we can expect to hear more about it in coming days.
Libertarians and Pauline evangelists are now reeling in the wake of Rand Paul's endorsement of Mitt Romney. Brad Knickerbocker reports for The Christian Science Monitor:
While Knickerbocker points to the political sensibility of siding with Team Romney, the sense of betrayal still stings like an open wound. In the end, as the Tea Party Revolution discovered, politicians are politicians.
And it is true that one need not read the veepstakes into Sen. Paul's endorsement; Ron Paul has all but officially ended his presidential campaign. But at the same time, given that the veepstakes whispers came to prominence not because of any "liberal media conspiracy", but through Rick Santorum (see Berman), right-wing press (see Berman, Gwyn-Williams), and libertarian-conservative bloggers (see America), it's hard to ignore it completely. True, the earliest mention I've found comes from progressive pundit Brent Budowsky, but a month later, it was Santorum, CNS, National Review, and others on the right-hand side of the aisle carrying the story that eventually reached my ears. Budowsky doesn't seem to have gotten much play insofar as it seems to be Rick Santorum who brought the point to the fore.
And as we run down the veepstakes list—Christie says no; Jeb Bush says no; Mitch Daniels says no and now has election-fraud baggage on his record; Republicans in general are rushing to exclude themselves from the veepstakes—the leading contenders from the news cycle are Gov. Bob McDonnell, of mandatory invasive ultrasound infamy in Virginia, and Rand Paul, whose name keeps coming up in this strange, conspiratorial context. Some are suggesting Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wants the job, though he did say, "I've got the job I want."
It's not going to be McDonnell; the Virginia abortion fight this year makes him a toxic shock to the women's vote. One does wonder if we're going to see more of the 30 Rock "Kenneth" routine Jindal offered in response to Barack Obama's first State of the Union Address.
And then there is Rand Paul.
And one need not see any particular conspiracy. As Budowsky noted:
In that case, the lack of criticism against Romney from Ron Paul makes perfect sense in a non-conspiratorial way. That is, Rand Paul as vice presidential candidate makes sense according to policy, not cabal. However, if the Kentucky senator is throwing his lot in with the "one percent" and the policies which have created so much economic trouble, that hand our government over to inchoate plutocracy, that subordinate liberty to economy, Rand Paul will still disappoint his father's devoted legions.
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Notes:
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Why did Rand Paul forsake his dad Ron Paul for Mitt Romney?" The Christian Science Monitor. June 9, 2012. CSMonitor.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Electi...Paul-forsake-his-dad-Ron-Paul-for-Mitt-Romney
Ward, Jon. "Bobby Jindal Avoids Saying He's Not Being Vetted For Vice President". The Huffington Post. June 8, 2012. HuffingtonPost.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ey-vice-presidential-candidate_n_1582130.html
Rand Paul Backs ... Mitt Romney
A couple months ago, I heard the slightest conspiratorial swirl beneath the murmur and buzz of presidential politics. The idea was that Rep. Ron Paul was attacking other Republican candidates, but giving Mitt Romney a pass. The underlying idea here is that the Texas Congressman wants his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, to be on the ticket as Romney's vice presidential candidate.
The idea never has pushed its way to the surface, but we can expect to hear more about it in coming days.
• Budowsky, Brent. "Hypocrites: Ron Paul's 'alliance' with Mitt Romney, and the right's double standard on Gingrich and adultery". Pundits Blog. January 20, 2012. TheHill.com. June 9, 2012. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-bl...ghts-double-standard-on-gingrich-and-adultery
• America, Mark. "Ron Paul Won't Touch Romney in Debate – Now We Know Why". February 22, 2012. MarkAmerica.com. June 9, 2012. http://markamerica.com/2012/02/22/ron-paul-wont-touch-romney-in-debate-now-we-know-why/
• Berman, Patrick. "Ron Paul, Easy on Romney?" The Corner. February 23, 2012. NationalReview.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/291849/ron-paul-easy-romney-patrick-brennan
• Gwyn-Williams, Gregory. "Rush: 'There Is An Alliance Between Ron Paul And Mitt Romney'". CNS News. February 23, 2012. CNSNews.com. June 9, 2012. http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwy...ere-alliance-between-ron-paul-and-mitt-romney
• America, Mark. "Ron Paul Won't Touch Romney in Debate – Now We Know Why". February 22, 2012. MarkAmerica.com. June 9, 2012. http://markamerica.com/2012/02/22/ron-paul-wont-touch-romney-in-debate-now-we-know-why/
• Berman, Patrick. "Ron Paul, Easy on Romney?" The Corner. February 23, 2012. NationalReview.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/291849/ron-paul-easy-romney-patrick-brennan
• Gwyn-Williams, Gregory. "Rush: 'There Is An Alliance Between Ron Paul And Mitt Romney'". CNS News. February 23, 2012. CNSNews.com. June 9, 2012. http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwy...ere-alliance-between-ron-paul-and-mitt-romney
Libertarians and Pauline evangelists are now reeling in the wake of Rand Paul's endorsement of Mitt Romney. Brad Knickerbocker reports for The Christian Science Monitor:
Why did Rand Paul forsake his dad Ron Paul for Mitt Romney?
Well, perhaps "forsake" is too strong a word. We're not talking about political patricide here, nothing remotely Oedipal. They're both still on the libertarian fringe of the Republican Party, like-minded on the issues their brand of conservatism cares about.
But Rand Paul, the freshman US Senator from Kentucky, did endorse presumptive GOP presidential nominee Romney over his father, the US Congressman (and party gadfly) from Texas. And it's caused quite a stir within the Libertarian Party, which laments the younger Paul's "betrayal" of his father's principles.
"No true libertarian, no true friend of liberty, and no true blue Tea Partier could possibly even consider, much less actually endorse or approve of, the Father of Obamacare, Big Government tax and spender, Republican Mitt Romney," the Libertarian Party exclaimed on its website Friday.
What really gripes Libertarians is that when he ran for the US Senate, "many of his fund-raising appeals were sent to the donors and supporters of his father…. designed to convince Ron's supporters that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That Rand was, like his legendary father, a steadfast champion of liberty."
Well, perhaps "forsake" is too strong a word. We're not talking about political patricide here, nothing remotely Oedipal. They're both still on the libertarian fringe of the Republican Party, like-minded on the issues their brand of conservatism cares about.
But Rand Paul, the freshman US Senator from Kentucky, did endorse presumptive GOP presidential nominee Romney over his father, the US Congressman (and party gadfly) from Texas. And it's caused quite a stir within the Libertarian Party, which laments the younger Paul's "betrayal" of his father's principles.
"No true libertarian, no true friend of liberty, and no true blue Tea Partier could possibly even consider, much less actually endorse or approve of, the Father of Obamacare, Big Government tax and spender, Republican Mitt Romney," the Libertarian Party exclaimed on its website Friday.
What really gripes Libertarians is that when he ran for the US Senate, "many of his fund-raising appeals were sent to the donors and supporters of his father…. designed to convince Ron's supporters that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That Rand was, like his legendary father, a steadfast champion of liberty."
While Knickerbocker points to the political sensibility of siding with Team Romney, the sense of betrayal still stings like an open wound. In the end, as the Tea Party Revolution discovered, politicians are politicians.
And it is true that one need not read the veepstakes into Sen. Paul's endorsement; Ron Paul has all but officially ended his presidential campaign. But at the same time, given that the veepstakes whispers came to prominence not because of any "liberal media conspiracy", but through Rick Santorum (see Berman), right-wing press (see Berman, Gwyn-Williams), and libertarian-conservative bloggers (see America), it's hard to ignore it completely. True, the earliest mention I've found comes from progressive pundit Brent Budowsky, but a month later, it was Santorum, CNS, National Review, and others on the right-hand side of the aisle carrying the story that eventually reached my ears. Budowsky doesn't seem to have gotten much play insofar as it seems to be Rick Santorum who brought the point to the fore.
And as we run down the veepstakes list—Christie says no; Jeb Bush says no; Mitch Daniels says no and now has election-fraud baggage on his record; Republicans in general are rushing to exclude themselves from the veepstakes—the leading contenders from the news cycle are Gov. Bob McDonnell, of mandatory invasive ultrasound infamy in Virginia, and Rand Paul, whose name keeps coming up in this strange, conspiratorial context. Some are suggesting Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wants the job, though he did say, "I've got the job I want."
It's not going to be McDonnell; the Virginia abortion fight this year makes him a toxic shock to the women's vote. One does wonder if we're going to see more of the 30 Rock "Kenneth" routine Jindal offered in response to Barack Obama's first State of the Union Address.
And then there is Rand Paul.
And one need not see any particular conspiracy. As Budowsky noted:
[Ron] Paul increasingly [disappoints]. He criticizes greed but advocates policies that reward greed. He practices a brand of libertarianism that falls short on personal responsibility. His words ring true, but his policies often contradict his words. He fails to challenge special interests by advocating policies that let special interests buy our democracy.
Could it be that the version of capitalism practiced by Romney is the embodiment of the version of libertarianism practiced by Paul? How sad. In the great battle for true reform on behalf of the 99 percent, Paul has become a voice for the policies that benefit the 1 percent. Even regarding his many newsletters that included repulsive content, the Texas Republican had to be dragged kicking and screaming into taking any personal responsibility.
Could it be that the version of capitalism practiced by Romney is the embodiment of the version of libertarianism practiced by Paul? How sad. In the great battle for true reform on behalf of the 99 percent, Paul has become a voice for the policies that benefit the 1 percent. Even regarding his many newsletters that included repulsive content, the Texas Republican had to be dragged kicking and screaming into taking any personal responsibility.
In that case, the lack of criticism against Romney from Ron Paul makes perfect sense in a non-conspiratorial way. That is, Rand Paul as vice presidential candidate makes sense according to policy, not cabal. However, if the Kentucky senator is throwing his lot in with the "one percent" and the policies which have created so much economic trouble, that hand our government over to inchoate plutocracy, that subordinate liberty to economy, Rand Paul will still disappoint his father's devoted legions.
____________________
Notes:
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Why did Rand Paul forsake his dad Ron Paul for Mitt Romney?" The Christian Science Monitor. June 9, 2012. CSMonitor.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Electi...Paul-forsake-his-dad-Ron-Paul-for-Mitt-Romney
Ward, Jon. "Bobby Jindal Avoids Saying He's Not Being Vetted For Vice President". The Huffington Post. June 8, 2012. HuffingtonPost.com. June 9, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ey-vice-presidential-candidate_n_1582130.html