The Tea Party's new hero has decided to emulate the 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate and avoid being grilled by annoying reporters (pace Rachel Maddow) by ducking his Meet the Press interview tomorrow.
Pity, for unlike Sarah Palin, Rand Paul's problem is not that he is clueless about issues but quite the opposite--he clearly has strong views on every subject. His recent mots about the 1964 Civil Rights Act infringing the rights of restaurants and the Obama White House picking on poor BP could be only the tip of an iceberg of Libertarian outcries over government suppression of freedom.
Americans, and particularly Paul's Tea Party followers, would benefit from elucidation of views inherited from his father who named him in homage to Ayn Rand, who inspired not only the Texas Congressman and former Presidential candidate but the architect of the 21st century economic meltdown, Alan Greenspan.
For clues to what the younger Paul might now be sparing voters in Kentucky and elsewhere, it might be instructive to look at Rand's novel and movie, "The Fountainhead," in which the architect hero, Howard Roark, blows up a public housing project because the sponsors made changes to his plans.
"My ideas are my property," he tells a jury at his trial. "My building was disfigured at the whim of others who took all the benefits of my work and gave me nothing in return.
"I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy, nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim. It had to be said. The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing. I came here to be heard. In the name of every man of independence still left in the world. I wanted to state my terms. I do not care to work or live on any others. My terms are a man's right to exist for his own sake."
In Ayn Rand's universe, instead of being sent to a loony bin, the hero is set free to impose his vision on the world to universal acclaim.
Kentucky voters may want to take a look at that old movie as Rand Paul goes into hiding from journalists and promises to set them free from today's "orgy of self-sacrificing," letting people and corporations exist entirely for their own sakes.
Even Bush's "Axis of Evil" speechwriter Michael Gerson is a bit nervous, complaining that "Paul and other libertarians are not merely advocates of limited government; they are anti-government. Their objective is not the correction of error but the cultivation of contempt for government itself."
If Paul gets into the Senate and disagrees with what's going on, they may have to start checking him for explosives at the door.
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8 comments:
Checking Rand Paul for explosives? Are you kidding? I think you must be thinking of BO's buddy (the one who is actually a terrorist) Bill Ayers.
I stopped by today in part to see if you had anything to say about how the brutal beheading of Daniel Pearl "captured the world's imagination." While I suspect you think, like our insane president, that he was beheaded because he was a journalist, I'm curious about your take nonetheless. Was Pearl's head sawed off by a blunt knife because he was an American and a Jew or because he worked for the Wall Street Journal? And if the latter, why didn't his captors and killer force him to say that rather than:
"My name is Daniel Pearl. I am a Jewish American from Encino, California USA. I come from, uh, on my father's side the family is Zionist. My father's Jewish, my mother's Jewish, I'm Jewish. My family follows Judaism. We've made numerous family visits to Israel. Back in the town of Bnei Brak there is a street named after my great grandfather Chaim Pearl who is one of the founders of the town."
The only imaginations captured by this brutal deed were those of other terrorists who then beheaded several more Americans, while shouting Allah Akbar. If you haven't done so, perhaps you should Google some of the beheadings and watch the videos. Radical Islam is a serious threat to Americans, Jews, and all non-Muslim people throughout the world. Sure, they oppose freedom of the press (as does BO), but that's the least of their objections to our way of life and freedom of religion.
Although his proper name is Randal Howard Paul, it seems like many folks either claim that he is named after, not only Ayn Rand, but also in homage to the gold bullion coins from South Africa, the Krugerrand.
It very well may be so, but if not, it is still quite entertaining, at least within the realm of the tragic comedy of the absurd that is the American political scene of today.
(Who knows: Perhaps he received his middle name in honor of the 3 Howard brothers of yore: Moe, Curly, & Shemp!)
I wish that Rand Paul were frank about his beliefs. It is clear that he believes that property is sacred, like his philosophical ancestor, Ayn Rand. That sanctity trumps all other rights.
Like so many people in the baby boom generation, I found Fountainead and Atlas Shrugged quite powerful - when I was 18. It didn't take long for me to get over that fascination.
Ayn Rand was convinced that property was sacred and that altruism is contrary to human nature. I have never understood the "sanctity" of property. Recent research in neuroscience has demonstrated, quite definitively, that altruism is hardwired into us.
As for "Fuzzy Slippers": You manifest the lack of both a sense of humor and a sense of irony. This is a strong characteristic of the Beck/Palin community. Daniel Pearl was murdered because he was both a Jew and a journalist and an American. And, because his murderers were crazy right wing Islamicists. Nothing President Obama or Mr. Stein said seems to indicate anything but horror at the murder.
I can just see Glenn Beck saying that Robert Stein accused Rand Paul of blowing things up.
Extreme right wingers tend to jump to ridiculous conclusions based on minimal or non-existent evidence. It is hard to forget the Bush Administration's contention that their opponents were "in what we call the reality-based community". What community are Bush and his supporters in?
The Pauls, father and son, are quite smart and historically savvy. Unfortunately, their political beliefs are neither.
Well, lets see, Rand Paul wasn't named after Ayn Rand. Let's call that strike 1. The author believes that if you think that no one has a right to your property you should be institutionalized, let's call that strike 2. Grenspan walked away from Objectivism years before he had any effect on anything, let's call that strike 3. The author clearly is opposed to any facts, just like the current, and prior administration. Ayn rand was no fan of the Libertarian movement, that'd be strike 4 if we needed more, I could sit here and poke holes in this materpiece of disinformation, but my time is more valuable than that. Do your homework folks, read a book or two, and think twice about relying on internet tripe for your information.
Rand's an interesting candidate, but will probably lose. He's against the Patriot Act, against the war in Iraq, and against abortion, without exceptions. He's for legalizing marijuana.
Let's see, that's soft on terrorism, wreckless with respect to national security, unappreciative of the troops, more concerned with embryos than grown women, and pro-drugs.
Under Rand Paul's rules, a woman would have to bear the child of her rapist, or take her chances with an illegal abortion, or leave the U.S. He'll lose with women voters, he'll lose with fathers who have daughters. He'll lose.
As Paul's Democratic opponent Jack Conway said, "No matter how he tries to spin to the contrary, the fact is that Paul's ideology has dangerous consequences for working families, veterans, students, the disabled, and those without a voice in the halls of power."
Good grief! What the hell was that crazed fuzzy slippers stuff all about? Lordy!
Good post Robert. It will be interesting to see if Rand Paul hides out with the fox media types now. I hope not.
Mr. Stein - I read and re-read your post and for the life of me I could not understand where Fuzzy Slippers rant was coming from, talk about off topic, after four readings I arrived at the decision that Ms Slippers was commenting on a post from somewhere else, another universe maybe.
Hi,
I agree w/ a couple of your points and would like to add that a Libertanian is just a philosopher: like Communism it sounds good on paper but can't survive in the real world.
However, I'm deeply shocked and disturbed that you quote Harry Truman ... I assume you admire him just as you admire many Democratic Presidents but c'mon the guy dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki AND he wasted 40,000 American boys lives for NOTHING in Korea. So, in the end, I read your comment with some major salt in my mouth. Oh, and Maddow is NOT a journalist.
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