Has Rand Paul raised 2016 prospects with fiery Ferguson response?
Sen. Rand Paul said that police moves in Ferguson 'resemble war' and that anyone who thinks that race, even inadvertently, doesn't 'skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention.'
By Peter Grier
August 15, 2014
Lots of national politicians have issued statements about the events surrounding the shooting of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Mo. Few if any have received as much attention for their words as GOP 2016 hopeful Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Most of the Washington lawmaker responses, from President Obama on down, followed a predictable pattern. They decried violence from protesters, said the police had a right to keep order, and then criticized at least some law enforcement activities as an overreaction on the part of local officials.
While there has been some difference between generic Republican and Democratic statements, it’s been more in emphasis than overall approach. Both sides of the political aisle have been shocked by the harsh tactics of camouflage-clad police, producing “a rare and surprisingly unified response across the ideological spectrum,” writes veteran Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz.
In this context, Senator Paul stood out for the passion of his attack on what he sees as a national trend toward overly militarized police forces and, as a Republican, for explicitly raising the issue of systematized racial bias against blacks.
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