If the Republican Party wants to regain its prominence among what my mother likes to call “real people” in America they should look no further than Rand Paul. The notion of a reborn Republican Party is a bit of a “Catch-22″ though. These days the establishment Republicans are still clinging to their neo-conservative foreign interventions of offense and their legislation of morality. Rand Paul represents the anti-establishment which seems to becoming more and more what the “real people” want. As we suggested last week it appears Rand Paul will officially announce his run for Senate later today on the Glenn Beck show.
FRANKFORT — Bowling Green eye surgeon Rand Paul is expected to announce his Republican candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday on a national television news show.
Paul, who has been exploring a U.S. Senate bid for several weeks, is to appear on Glenn Beck’s show on the Fox News Channel at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will hold a media conference call at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, said campaign manager David Adams.
Rand Paul’s father was painted with the fringe brush by his fellow Republicans during his 2008 Presidential campaign. All indications at this point are that the Republicans are about to make the same mistake again. The establishment is supporting and funding Rand’s likely opponent Trey Grayson. Could succeeding in raising a million dollars in a single day change all of that?
I must confess. This Ron Paul supporter suffered from a temporary bout of neo-conservatism after viewing that completely horrifying video of the young woman lying in the street bleeding to death in Iran over the weekend. I will not link to it because I don’t want to infect anyone else. My long lost compassionate conservatism gene made a return as I was filled with hatred and sadness. I thought, “Something must be done!. America needs to intervene!” A few hours and a reality check later I found myself back on firm Founding Father-style non-interventionist footing once again.
Some claim taking a non-interventionist approach on the Iran election aftermath is the height of hypocrisy from someone who claims to believe in liberty. Ron Paul is being criticized for his lone “Nay” vote on condemning the Iranian government’s heinous actions on it’s own people. On the surface it appears Obama is taking a similar non-interventionist approach for now, although there are some arguing the opposite may be true. Hopefully, Obama stands his ground (this time) against the interventionist opposition.
Those clamoring for intervention need to answer a few questions, but there is one question that trumps them all.
Kathleen Wells: What are your thoughts on President Obama’s decision to release the torture memos?
Congressman Ron Paul: I think he is purely political. I think he has backed down on what he said. He was elected for change and it is the same old stuff and he is as much of a neo-con now as Bush was with this issue and other issues. The war has been expanded. He continues with not closing down Guantanamo. There is probably, for as most [sic] as we can tell, there is still secret rendition going on. We just moved some of this process overseas. We are not going to be aware of it in detail.
Kathleen Wells: You feel President Obama is a neo-con like Bush? You don’t see a distinction between the two administrations?
Congressman Ron Paul: The tone is different, but the policies don’t change. We are spreading the war. The war is expanding. We are not prosecuting those that committed torture. Guantanamo is not going to be closed down. So, no, I don’t see [a distinction between Bush and Obama].
He [Obama] increased the DOD [Department of Defense] budget. We surely could spend some of that money at home where people are really hurting. But we increased the DOD budget, I think, by 10-percent. I can’t see any significant change in foreign policy. The pretense in leaving Iraq was a mild pretense and I’m predicting that’s not going to happen. There are going to be troops in Iraq throughout this administration, I’m convinced.
That’s right people… It’s taken Barack Obama less than 6 months as President to prove beyond any doubt that the only change he represents is rhetorical. The honeymoon is over.
In many re-branding efforts a new mission statement is derived. My choice for a re-branded GOP: The Free Country Project. The mission could also be worded in this way, “Do the polar opposite of whatever Lindsey Graham suggests.”
I apologize to the wonderful Free State Project for bastardizing their efforts with such a suggestion, but I am quite serious. Instead of putting energy into calling the Obama administration socialists why not abandon the petty, kindergarten-style, partisan bickering and look within? Come up with a new 1994-style “Contract With America” but this time don’t renege on the contract. It should not be called anything similar to “Contract With America” though. Yes, that bad taste is still lingering.
Dubbing it “The Free Country Project” and making more than a half-assed effort to bring libertarianism back into the GOP could be a winning formula. Of course, many will have to tuck their neo-con tails between their legs and embrace Ron Paul and his libertarian friends. I’m not talking about a macho homophobic half-hearted embrace here. I’m talking about a full-on bear hug that will make gawkers worry about dropping the soap in the GOP country club shower.
By now I’m sure you’ve seen the two video clips (here’s the latest) of Lindsey Graham unnecessarily attacking Ron Paul and libertarianism in general. It is odd for Graham to do such a thing unless he feels threatened by Paul. So I take it as a good sign that he is doing so. It is also a good sign that there are people out there, even in Graham’s home state of South Carolina willing to embrace the libertarian label like Mark Sanford as he does when questioned about “libertarianism”.
Lindsey Graham represents the GOP in a death-ward spiral. He is at the point of kicking, screaming, and clawing his way out of the Republican pit of despair. To really illustrate how the Grahams of the GOP operate see the video below. The sad thing is that this kind of behavior is no longer surprising. It is expected. This is the giant wall those that are trying to rebrand the GOP with the same old neo-con leaders are up against. The GOP should take Stephen Gordon’s advice and embrace libertarians of all stripes, otherwise the Grand Old Party may be destined to be the Tired Old Party by 2012.
Much has been discussed in Republican circles of late about what the strategy should be to rebrand the Grand Old Party into the Grand New Party. The problem with this notion is that most red-staters ignore the fact that their party was already rebranded several years ago thanks to neo-conservatives. The trick isn’t so much one of “rebranding” but one of returning to roots.
What is required is a bear hug embrace of the “Old Right”-the fundamental conservatism embodied in the traditional Republican nickname. The Grand Old Party of free markets, individual freedom, and non-intervention must replace today’s Grand Neocon Party of massive spending, legislating morality, and preemptive war. Republicans have the poster boy for such an effort right under their noses, that is if they stop looking down their noses at the only man equipped to be their savior, Ron Paul.
Michael Steele, as the new RNC Chairman, should immediately work on what I call the “Only Ron Paul” strategy for 2012 victory. They should embrace Ron Paul and every single one of his activist supporters. They should make Ron Paul their candidate in 2012. Not one of a few, nor several candidates, but their only candidate, their chosen one. They should be public about it too. Let everyone in America know that Ron Paul is the Republican choice for President in 2012.
Following the recent Obama-sanctioned continued bombing of Pakistan, picking up right where George W. Bush left off, we get some critical words from Ron Paul in his latest video.
There’s no gray area with Ron Paul, you are either an interventionist or a non-interventionist. Barack Obama continues the Bush doctrine of preemptive war. As usual Ron Paul is quick to point out the folly of intervention.
In fact, Ron Paul’s political views can be summed up with the following:
“The federal government should leave us alone, leave private businesses alone, and leave other countries alone.”
Or perhaps better still would be: “Don’t meddle!”
I’m still waiting for the outrage from the Obamacons. I will have to wait for a long time from the looks of it, but the backlash will come. In the meantime we have to put up with gag-inducing videos like this one from some of our favorite actors.
For a much better, down to earth, and honest video watch the one from Ron Paul below.
Ron Paul has an uncanny and effortless way of making neo-conservative Republicans’ heads explode. He merely tells the truth. The modern day Republicans are desperate for an answer to “The Obama Effect” but they dare not climb up Ron Paul’s liberty tree to get there. Instead they dream the impossible dream.
They dream that they can somehow keep one hand in the neo-con cookie jar while the other hand waves over the Constitution. When Dr. Ron Paul comes along and tells them its time to amputate the gangrene neo-conservatism they dart out of the office crying like babies. One would think they would get the hint with their string of losses the past few years. Their latest and ultimate loss came this week when Al “Dog-gone it! People like me!” Franken was declared the winner over Norm Coleman in the hotly contested Minnesota Senate race.
With Barack Obama set to continue to wage the war on terror in a different locale it is important to understand that justification for such actions is no better than Bush’s old justifications for going into Iraq. One of the best arguments against such actions comes from David R. Henderson.
The question arises, “Should Canada’s government remove its military presence from Afghanistan in 2011, remove it earlier, or keep it past 2011?” This question arises for other members of the occupying coalition besides Canada. To answer it, I propose that we step back and consider how good the case was for invading and occupying Afghanistan in the first place.
Henderson continues his argument using hypotheticals that reinforce his overall point quite clearly. This article is a great one to send off to your war on terror loving neo-conservative friends and family.
Perhaps it is unflattering, and potentially offensive, to suggest that Ron Paul’s effort to restore the Constitution as the rule of law in America is a jihad, but a jihad it is. He has devoted his life to this cause. While the majority focus on the violent definition of the word, there is also such a thing as a non-violent jihad.
Ron Paul often speaks with praise for those that practice peaceful civil disobedience. He lists Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi among his heroes. Both men were practitioners of non-violent jihad.
Ron Paul, thanks mostly to the media, has earned the “extreme” label. Indeed some even transformed the word “libertarian”, as applied to Ron Paul, into a snarling invective. American politics has devolved into something akin to professional wrestling: numb skulls blustering into microphones followed by false maneuvers that excite zealots, but leave thinking people incredulous at the lunacy of it all.
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