Rand Paul: Splitting the Difference
In this excerpt from the great Scott Horton Show, Horton explains why he believes Rand Paul is such a disappointment to many that believe strongly in the ideals of liberty. Many made the presumption that Rand Paul would be just another version of his father, Ron Paul, who led an intellectual revolution with his 2008 and 2012 campaigns. And he seemed to very much be exactly that when he first emerged onto the political scene stumping for his father. However, as 2016 and a run at the Presidency that is looking increasingly inevitable looms, the younger Paul has seemed to parse his words more and more, tip-toeing the line between libertarian positions and a more hawkish tone.Here's Horton excellent take:http://youtu.be/7EfK3fyMoVEh/t Robert Wenzel at Economic Policy Journal for the video.Scott Horton makes an excellent observation when he points out that Rand always seems to be trying to "split the difference" when attempting to satisfy both the hardcore, antiwar libertarian base and the more hawkish, neocon-ish types that can often be found in the Republican Party. Undoubtedly Rand will have to please many power brokers in the Republican Party to prevent the kind of chicanery that locked his father out of many important caucuses.We have done our fair share of criticizing of Rand's politics here. These criticisms - which I am confident in saying are always done in a thoughtful manner, focusing on the issues at hand - are often met with a fury from other libertarians who are firmly behind Rand's political career. This fury often comes in the form of proclamations such as:"But he is the best chance we've got of saving the country.""Sure, ideas are great, but if you can't get elected, what does it matter?"For a rebuttal to this, I will turn to a comment from a fiery thread over at the Daily Paul, in which our own John Odermatt bluntly stated:
I would still be fast asleep as a neocon if Ron Paul played politics. I wouldn't be spending significant amounts of my free time writing and trying to advance liberty like I am today. Ron Paul woke me from my neoconservative coma. Who exactly is Rand "playing politics" Paul going to wake up? He might get more votes than his dad, but he won't advance the cause of liberty in the hearts and minds of individuals.
The fact is that this "country" and this "world" are still far, far away from having a population that largely understands and respects individual rights. Any positive moves towards a libertarian society that takes place before that happens will be isolated, and prone to easy reversal if the population does not understand the ideas behind them.Yes, Rand's "splitting the difference" method will likely get him more votes, more "respect" with the GOP power brokers, more face time in the mainstream media, and all sorts of things that will be beneficial to his political career. But a movement should not hinge on any one man's political career, particularly when that one man cannot even fully embrace or articulate the ideology upon which that movement is supposedly based.As always, the Rand policy should be: Praise him when he is right, and rake his feet over the coals when he is wrong.And check out our Lions of Liberty roundtable discussion on Rand Paul.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
