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No, it was really overplaying the pot card and putting all his eggs in the student basket. Fringe and no money.
Rand lost because of... weed? Haha, nah I don't think that had much to do with it.
No, it was really overplaying the pot card and putting all his eggs in the student basket. Fringe and no money.
Rand lost because of... weed? Haha, nah I don't think that had much to do with it.
That reminds me. An HOA does have the authority to kick people out. This seems like the kind of incident and person an HOA would want to eject.
Rand lost because of... weed? Haha, nah I don't think that had much to do with it.
That reminds me. An HOA does have the authority to kick people out. This seems like the kind of incident and person an HOA would want to eject.
No, it was really overplaying the pot card and putting all his eggs in the student basket. Fringe and no money.
Wouldn't that be spectacular?
In any case, Boucher should have enough sense to know we don't flog people here.
The GOP would make hay with that.Depending on how liberal the HOA is, Rand might get an eviction notice.
Rand Paul Getting Attacked Is What’s Wrong with Libertarianism. Wait, What?
Unprovoked physical assault normally invites sympathy, unless your politics are too weird
Matt Welch
Nov. 8, 2017
The premise, admittedly, sounds like a Will Ferrell comedy: Politically outspoken middle-aged neighbor physician attacks actual politician middle-aged neighbor physician, but not over politics (reportedly)—over a "landscaping dispute." Though even one cracked rib can hurt like hell, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) reportedly has five, sometimes you have to laugh a little:
...
But if you think a seemingly non-political man-fight would escape the relentless Politicization of Everything, you haven't been paying attention. By dint of his unusual ideology, Rand Paul suffers from the Weird Man's Burden, which means sustaining an unprovoked assault is a splendid occasion to call him an asshole.
"Rand Paul is an asshole neighbor," GQ's Jack Moore asserts, for example, in a post titled "Rand Paul Sounds Like the Worst Guy to Have as a Neighbor." Just how short is that ideological skirt?
...
The attack has prompted impressively in-depth reporting on Paul's irritable views toward his local Home Owner Association rules, with asking-for-it newspaper headlines such as, "Rand Paul is not a perfect neighbor, says community developer." But extra credit goes to Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson, who wrings an entire piece out of the question: What kind of politician mows his own lawn? Sample:
[C]ynicism inclines me toward another explanation, which is that Paul is the sort of fellow who wants to be known as a self-mower, and to be seen driving a John Deere around his own yard.
Mowing one's own lawn is a time-honored way for a well-educated politician to establish his "just folks" bona fides. Former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis had a Harvard Law School degree, but preferred to be known as a guy who pushed a hand mower around the yard of his modest Brookline home. (That might have been the image that stuck in voters' minds if Dukakis had not carelessly allowed himself to be photographed in a ridiculous tank helmet.)
Piloting a riding mower around a big yard combines the virile self-reliance of mowing with the aspirational elements of horsepower and real estate acquisition.
...
The history between U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and his accused attacker is filled with years of angst and petty arguments over misplaced lawn trimmings and branches, the neighborhood's developer said.
"I think this is something that has been festering," said Jim Skaggs, the developer of the Rivergreen gated community in Bowling Green, where the two men live. "... I wanted to build a place where everyone could get along, but I guess that's just impossible."
Paul suffered five broken ribs and lacerations on his lungs after his neighbor, 59-year-old retired doctor Rene Boucher, allegedly tackled the politician last week, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Courier Journal.
Kentucky State Police charged Boucher with fourth-degree assault, which is usually reserved for incidents that result in minor injuries. If federal charges are added, Boucher could potentially face 10 years in prison for physically attacking a politician.
An FBI spokesman said Tuesday there was no update in the investigation or on whether additional charges would be filed.
The two men have been neighbors for more than 17 years, said Boucher's lawyer, Matt Baker, in a statement Monday.
While there's no official word on what caused the fight, Skaggs suggested it might have stemmed from Paul allegedly blowing lawn trimmings into his neighbor's yard.
There have been disagreements in the past, Skaggs said, over lawn clippings or who should cut down a tree branch when it stretched over a property line. The two men live on different streets but their lots join and their homes are 269 feet apart, according to Google Maps.
Skaggs described Boucher as a "near-perfect" neighbor, but he said the libertarian politician is a different story.
Paul "was probably the hardest person to encourage to follow the (home owner's association regulations) of anyone out here because he has a strong belief in property rights," said Skaggs, who is the former chairman of the Warren County Republican Party.
Skaggs noted the 13 pages of regulations are extensive. But even from the start of Paul's residence in Rivergreen, Skaggs said Paul has been difficult to work with.
"The major problem was getting the house plans approved," Skaggs said. "He wanted to actually own the property rights and build any kind of house he wanted. He didn't end up doing that, but it was a struggle."
[Note from me: Not sure if this is accurate, but I have read that Rand's house is the original farmhouse that existed on the property before it was made into a gated community and filled with Mcmansions. Wonder if Rand was living there before this developer took it over?]
But Rob Porter, a 20-year friend of the senator said he had never even heard of Boucher before
"When I saw Rand after the incident he even acknowledged that he hadn't talked to Boucher in years," Porter said. "If there was some kind of ongoing rift, i wasn't aware of it and Rand didn't act like he was aware of it."
When asked for comment, a statement from Paul's senior adviser said "It is a pending, serious criminal matter involving state and federal authorities. We won’t have any further comments at this time.”
After being "blindsided" by the attack, it's unclear when the Republican senator from Kentucky will return to work, according to several statements from Paul's aides.
Voter records from March 2017 show Boucher registered as a Democrat, but his lawyer said Monday that politics had nothing to do with the "trivial" dispute between neighbors.
Boucher's lawyer, Baker, said he would not comment on what the argument was over until he conducted more interviews with other neighbors.
Skaggs said he told Boucher he wants the ordeal to be done with.
"We would really like to see this all over and you back in your house and him back in his house and try to be friends with each other, even though you'll never like each other," Skaggs said he told Boucher.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-neighbor-petty-argument-developer/839677001/
Rand lost because he didn't properly address whatever one's pet issue happened to be. It had nothing to do with party machinery, the electoral landscape, or the media-industrial complex.![]()
Where's that He's Right You Know meme? I had it here somewhere.