MCockerill08
Member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2007
- Messages
- 206
Rand Paul impresses me in many ways. Like his father, he comes across as a thoughtful, gentle, and authentic person. It's almost impossible to listen to this guy or read his biography without thinking: wow, this is a man I can trust.
That being said, I have some major concerns with him. His father seems to be much more on the anti-war side, even going so far to repudiate his own military service in the great 'universal soldier' speech. The peace issue is very important to me, and it seems that Rand is wishy-washy about it; I am dissapointed by his support for a "declaration of war" with Afghanistan. While I believe that some force was justified, I agree with Dr. Paul's position that it should've been VERY LIMITED AND MEASURED. (like a police operation... just killing the terrorists... marque and reprisal)
As a libertarian that believes in individual rights, I cannot reconcile "war" (i.e., mass killing/maiming of innocents) against the evil but uninvolved in 9/11 Taliban government and especially all the "collateral damage" in terms of innocent Afghan civilians. I have no problem with blowing the heads off the murderers that helped drive planes into the Twin Towers, but modern weaponry ensures that, in war, the bulk of the death will be innocent men women and children. (which of course far exceeds the 9/11 deaths) I also don't see Rand's understanding of "blowback" to be as deep as his father's.
http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/05/17/rand-paul/ (Rand Paul's positions)
YouTube - Universal Soldier (Ron Paul universal soldier)
Even worse, he opposes prosecuting Bush for torture (again, unlike his father) and (terrifyingly) cited Richard Nixon receiving a pardon by Gerald Ford as something we should look to emulate. I'm going to get knocked for saying this, but his positions sometimes sound more like Obama and Hillary's disingeous, pandering "centrism" rather than his father's principled radicalism.
Should we root for Rand Paul to win the seat in KY? Absolutely. He's much better than mainstream politicos on the issues, has actually worked hard and held a real job, and is a decent human being with his father's integrity and values. But don't be surprised if he ends up being more of a Sanford than a Papa Paul or Peter Schiff.
And in the mean time, I would humbly suggest that R3volutionaries throughly vet ALL OF OUR prospective candidates. Not only do we have to make sure they have the integrity and intellectual wherewithal to represent our movement, but that they are philosophically sound as well. The only way that we can win this fight is by being right on the issues, because that is the source of the passion that gives us purpose. If we start to equivocate on CENTRAL ISSUES like peace and liberty, don't be surprised if this has turned into the "glenn beck movement" in a few years.
That being said, I have some major concerns with him. His father seems to be much more on the anti-war side, even going so far to repudiate his own military service in the great 'universal soldier' speech. The peace issue is very important to me, and it seems that Rand is wishy-washy about it; I am dissapointed by his support for a "declaration of war" with Afghanistan. While I believe that some force was justified, I agree with Dr. Paul's position that it should've been VERY LIMITED AND MEASURED. (like a police operation... just killing the terrorists... marque and reprisal)
As a libertarian that believes in individual rights, I cannot reconcile "war" (i.e., mass killing/maiming of innocents) against the evil but uninvolved in 9/11 Taliban government and especially all the "collateral damage" in terms of innocent Afghan civilians. I have no problem with blowing the heads off the murderers that helped drive planes into the Twin Towers, but modern weaponry ensures that, in war, the bulk of the death will be innocent men women and children. (which of course far exceeds the 9/11 deaths) I also don't see Rand's understanding of "blowback" to be as deep as his father's.
http://antiwar.com/radio/2009/05/17/rand-paul/ (Rand Paul's positions)
YouTube - Universal Soldier (Ron Paul universal soldier)
Even worse, he opposes prosecuting Bush for torture (again, unlike his father) and (terrifyingly) cited Richard Nixon receiving a pardon by Gerald Ford as something we should look to emulate. I'm going to get knocked for saying this, but his positions sometimes sound more like Obama and Hillary's disingeous, pandering "centrism" rather than his father's principled radicalism.
Should we root for Rand Paul to win the seat in KY? Absolutely. He's much better than mainstream politicos on the issues, has actually worked hard and held a real job, and is a decent human being with his father's integrity and values. But don't be surprised if he ends up being more of a Sanford than a Papa Paul or Peter Schiff.
And in the mean time, I would humbly suggest that R3volutionaries throughly vet ALL OF OUR prospective candidates. Not only do we have to make sure they have the integrity and intellectual wherewithal to represent our movement, but that they are philosophically sound as well. The only way that we can win this fight is by being right on the issues, because that is the source of the passion that gives us purpose. If we start to equivocate on CENTRAL ISSUES like peace and liberty, don't be surprised if this has turned into the "glenn beck movement" in a few years.
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