I think it is a mistake for Paul to note his problems with the Civil Rights Act without also acknowledging the misuse of libertarian and states' rights positions in the defense of organized racism. Forthright discussion of this could go a long way in redeeming libertarianism's tarnished legacy. Unfortunately, Paul seems to be going in the opposite direction.
What Rand Paul's position on the Civil Rights Act really reveals is that its owner follows a political philosophy that finds almost nothing compelling enough to invoke government action. It's a fine enough stance for a gadfly, but not particularly suitable for an elected representative. Kentucky, after all, receives $1.5 for every federal tax dollar its residents pay into the kitty.
Bart Motes:
Rand Paul and the Politics of Inaction by Bart Motes via Huffington PostMay 20, 2010
Rand Paul has a similar world view or take on reality as Alex Jones the Guru of Conspiracy Theories Crowd.
Rand Paul as being way out there in conspiracy land - The advertisement on his program is way over the top topping Glenn Beck at times- eventually it is where Beck is headed.
Merchant of Fear Alex Jones Big Fan of Rand Paul
Dr. Rand Paul On Alex Jones Today, Thursday May 21, 12 P.M. EST
and the Crazy World of Rand Paul Connection to BP-He too worships BP
BP and other big corporations are the real Gods that Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, The Tea Party, GOP & Rand Paul pray to. Rand Paul has said this week much of what the GOP and the Tea Party also believe except they hide some of their loony extremist ideology in code words and phrases .
Rand Paul says Rachell Maddow tortured him
Abortion: Rand Paul is anti-abortion in all cases including rape & incest and see the woman and the Zygote as having equal rights
Rand Paul as we see in the case of the BP oil disaster believes the government should have a reduced role & he is especially against regulatory bodies overseeing Big Corporations or any business.
He believes as the GOP & tea Party Movement do in unfettered capitalism
a market place where the rule is caveat emptor -let the buyer beware-
if an airplane crashes it's the pilots fault or an act of God- (that is the God of Commerce?) its never a matter of a flaw in its construction and it wasn't test properly- A car company sells cars with a known safety issue and that's too bad but there is no redress for the customers or the local retailers.
Countdown - Rand Paul on BP, "Sometimes Accidents happen." Jeez?
May 21, 2010 — Rand Paul says BP oil & Massey mines are just unfortunate accidents & continues to advocate business deregulation. JEEZ. From Countdown, MSNBC & msnbc.com.
Cneck out The Young Turks on Ron Paul & his defense of BP & the Problem With All Libertarians
and an excellent article on Rand Paul's extremism & its influence on Libertarians the do nothing party.
Rand Paul and the Politics of Inaction by Bart Motes via Huffington PostMay 20, 2010
It's the genius of Rachel Maddow that in a simple twenty-minute interview with Rand Paul she was able to expose the essential problem with libertarianism. It provides no solutions except the one your mom offered to hitting your sister: "don't do it."
As a political philosophy, libertarianism makes sense only in opposition. The Pauls oppose the war in Iraq not because they view it as an immoral venture, but because it represents yet another government expenditure. The Iraq War and Social Security are both equally bad by libertarian logic because they misallocate your tax dollars. The Civil Rights Act and the war on drugs both restrict our freedom, whether it be to abuse blacks or narcotics. No wonder liberal blogger Atrios referred to Rand Paul's philosophy as "glibertarianism."
Glib or not, libertarianism is, at its base, a religious reaction to an age dominated by large institutions in an interconnected world. Given that we all have one issue or another that we wish the government would leave us the heck alone over, libertarianism's appeal is not hard to understand. Whether you are an income tax protester, opposed to conscription, or to limits on abortion rights or speed limits, libertarianism provides a one size fits all political philosophy that answers all questions. Well, provided there are no follow ups.
Libertarianism appeals to Americans mourning the death of the frontier. It provides the comforting fantasy that we are all rugged individualists who personally pave our roads, man our fire and police departments, build our satellites, B-2 bombers, and Predator drones, staff our own hospitals where we exchange chickens for medical care, and mine our own coal to heat our homes.
In this world, it doesn't matter if the Civil Rights Act never passes, because black Americans will make their own way. Never mind if they can't buy the medicine their children need, or if they are barred from private institutions of higher education (which should be the only ones around, since government shouldn't be in the business of education), or their right to travel is restricted due to fear of violence by extremist racists.
...I certainly doubt he's a racist in the hoary traditional American fashion of foaming at the mouth yelling of racial epithets followed by the ceremonial lynching of a random black man. What's more likely is that Paul suffers from the same historical amnesia with which most Americans find themselves afflicted, in which the lynchings of yesteryear pale in comparison to the indignities of affirmative action today.
I think it is a mistake for Paul to note his problems with the Civil Rights Act without also acknowledging the misuse of libertarian and states' rights positions in the defense of organized racism. Forthright discussion of this could go a long way in redeeming libertarianism's tarnished legacy. Unfortunately, Paul seems to be going in the opposite direction.
What Rand Paul's position on the Civil Rights Act really reveals is that its owner follows a political philosophy that finds almost nothing compelling enough to invoke government action. It's a fine enough stance for a gadfly, but not particularly suitable for an elected representative. Kentucky, after all, receives $1.5 for every federal tax dollar its residents pay into the kitty.
It isn't just that Rand Paul disagrees with President Obama on certain issues but he attacks Obama calling him UnAmerican-given the history of this epithet Rand Paul is implying that Obama could be impeached or brought before the new McCarthy style House On UnAmerican Activities to answer for his actions and motivations.
If Obama is UnAmerican then George W. Bush was indeed a Tyrant and the" spawn of the devil " relatively speaking.
Obama inherited many of these problems and in a sense has been dropped in it as it were- but he has consciously and deliberately continued with a number of Bush policies from renditions to assassinations, indefinite detention warrant-less wire taps, Death Squads, Drone Wars & America is still in Iraq yet they have done little to at least rebuild its cities and infrastructure - he gave billions to Greedy do it yourself creative accounting based on magical principles -this must be the case how else to characterize what they have done to America that is their own country yet conservatives still sing their praises -
When it comes to Obama's reaction to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster-he has played by the rules and laws mainly completed during the Bush/Cheney Regime.
And Obama has taken no action against them even though he should if he truly believes that Justice is for everyone whether they are rich or poor setting up a serious criminal investigation with consequences for the guilty.
So why are Uberconservatives so upset
They talk as if Obama put a moratorium on the death penalty or that America executes fewer people than Iran or that most Western Nations have given up their need for blood sacrifices to the Gods of Commerce & Prosperity For The Few.
Are they just not getting a big enough cut of the action-
Or does it all boil down to race because to any true liberal Obama is not bold enough-he should go after BP and put a few executives not just low level staff or oil rig laborers just for show Trials .
Rand Paul running to defend BP: British Petroleum
May 22, 2010 the republican candidate for senate in Kentucky defends criticism of Obama's UnAmerican attitude towards BP.
and Rachel Maddow on Rand Paul 's desire to repeal Civil Rights legislation . Rand Paul argues that privately owned businesses should be permitted to discriminate and so hire and fire whomever they want and it would mean that restaurants, retail stores, theaters etc. can refuse to serve some people just based upon the persons, color, gender, sexual disposition, religion or lack there of .
Rachel Maddow demolishes Rand Paul by Joan Walsh via Salon.com, May 19, 2010
The Tea Party favorite says he'd have marched with Martin Luther King Jr., but he opposes the law that forced businesses to serve him
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
After Canceling Meet The Press, Rand Paul Gives Interview to Local TV
May 24, 2010 by Joe Strupp
Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul, who canceled a planned interview with Meet The Press Sunday, gave an interview to local Kentucky station WHAS on Friday.
After a week in which he won the Republican primary, but also came under scrutiny for controversial views on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he has canceled interviews with national news outlets, but is apparently glad to speak with local news reporters.
The WHAS reporter did not seem to press Paul much on the controversial elements, but instead gave him room to seek to explain some of his more outrageous views.
"I think sometimes we are imperfect people and we don't always say what we mean," Paul said in the interview. "We don't always explain what we mean very well. But I also was never asked the question (of whether he would have voted yes or no on the Civil Rights Act), so I was trying to answer the question, but I think getting too much into a philosophic debate about a moot point."
In April Editors of The Courier-Journal of Kentucky had some strong reservations about the candidacy of Rand Paul because of his extremist views on abortion, civil-rights,the role of government in contemporary America:
Editorial | In Republican Senate race, a dismal choice The Courier-Journal Editorial Board Louisville, Kentucky, April 25, 2010
The trouble with Dr. Paul is that despite his independent thinking, much of what he stands for is repulsive to people in the mainstream. For instance, he holds an unacceptable view of civil rights, saying that while the federal government can enforce integration of government jobs and facilities, private business people should be able to decide whether they want to serve black people, or gays, or any other minority group.
He quickly emphasizes that he personally would not agree with any form of discrimination, but he just doesn't think it should be legislated.
His perspectives ...are repellent to those who believe in a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. Indeed, Dr. Paul wouldn't even permit exceptions in the case of rape or incest. He says the mother and the unborn zygote have equal rights.
...Dr. Paul describes himself not as a Libertarian, but rather a “constitutional conservative.” As such, he favors stripping away a lot of the actions of the federal government in the last eight decades. And he includes both Democrats and Republicans in his criticism of excessive spending and expansion of government. He would favor dismantling several federal departments including Commerce, Education and perhaps Agriculture.
Editor's side-bar:
...Let us hasten to add that this most definitely is not this newspaper's perspective on how our nation's government, and our society, should be structured. The 20th Century changes that expanded government's reach to ensure safer, fairer and healthier lives for all Americans were fruits of a kind of democracy we embrace. And those changes were brought about by both parties, the Republicans under Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and the Democrats under Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton.
The authors write that though Rand Paul appears "
...thoughtful and witty ... Yet his candidacy has been embraced by extremists as Sarah Palin, Dr. Frank Simon and the tea party movement."
as the editors conclude they believe the GOP has lost its way as it becomes obstructionist and extremists
"
...This newspaper cannot recommend either of this year's principal candidates to Republican voters. But we hope that members of the GOP with some degree of perspective will ponder the direction in which their party is moving — and vow to do something to put it back on a constructive course."
and so it goes,
GORD.
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