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Rand Paul: "Mistake" to Jab at Obama's Love of America as Guiliani Did
Reason Magazine's Hit & Run Blog ^ | February 21, 2015 | Brian Doherty, senior editor

Posted on 02/23/2015 12:06:57 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

One of the least interesting news manias of the week has been former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani discussing his opinion that President Obama doesn't really love America (or you, or me, or him).

Obama has been the very living embodiment of American government power for the past 7 years, and not too reluctant to use it against enemies, and just random citizens, both foreign and domestic—whether it comes to foreign policy, spending, taxing, regulating, and arresting. Thus, I doubt any alleged lack of love for the U.S. of A matters in any way that Giuliani or the people delighted to hear him say it might think.

If this supposed lack of love for America merely means an occasional intelligent ability to question the probity and morality of certain of the U.S. government's actions in the past or present, it could be about the best thing about our president.

That being said, and what Giuliani said being said, it's a pretty silly thing to dominate the commentary cycle as it has. People on either side jumped on this sentence spoken by a former mayor like the prize horse that was going to take them across some political finish line, gleeful that supposedly vitally important hidden truths widely believed by America's talk-radio listening right populists were coming from someone of the apparent serious heft of Giuliani.

Or, alternately, gleeful as the supposed dark racism and other-ism and sheer mindless Obamahate that motivates the right is exposed.

Caring that much either way seems a waste of time, but Americans do like a chance to revisit the vitally important topic of how just awful their political opponents are, those America-hating or patriotism-questioning bastards surrounding us.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants to win over not-traditionally-Republican votes in his hoped-for run for president in the general election in 2016. It's interesting to watch him gingerly stake out territory distinct from what the average intelligent independent voter leery of the GOP might think of as the grosser aspects of Republicanism, the sort of questions of tone, spirit, and tactic that can turn people off more than some specifics of policy.

So Paul told a Kentucky news station, as Mediaite reports, that:

“I think it’s a mistake to question people’s motives. It’s one thing to disagree on policy.”

Paul said he’s not interested in questioning whether Obama’s a “good American or a bad American,” because while he may blame the president’s foreign policy for making the U.S. less safe, he’s not going to question whether Obama’s “well-intentioned.”

Like Guiliani's Obama, Rand Paul might not love you and he might not love me. And whether this sort of reasonableness will do Paul any good with voters generally skeptical about the GOP who might find it hard to see past, for example, his stands on issues such as abortion, taxing the rich, and cutting spending remains to be seen. But right now it's nice to see Paul not taking the silly road when taking that silly road might make things easier with his own Party's core voters.

Back in 2009 I questioned Obama's self-appointed role as "President of Everything," an article that was anthologized in Best American Political Writing 2009.


TOPICS: Kentucky; Campaign News; Issues; Parties; U.S. Senate
KEYWORDS: 2016; giuliani; gop; kentucky; lping; obama; paulestinians; paultardnoisemachine; randpaul; randsconcerntrolls; republicans
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Oye Vey...

Seriously he is not ready for prime time and "Dead Heads" are not POTUS material IMHO...

Please see my tagline....

21 posted on 02/23/2015 12:24:42 PM PST by taildragger (It's Cruz, Pence, or Walker. Anything else is a Yugo with Racing Stripes....)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

The dude is so over... how 2007 can you get?


22 posted on 02/23/2015 12:26:41 PM PST by OKSooner ("Remember Fort Hood, Boston, and Moore, Oklahoma.")
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To: MtnMan101
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
23 posted on 02/23/2015 12:26:47 PM PST by MtnMan101
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

No, Rand, truth is never a mistake.

Electing you and everyone like you certainly was a mistake, however.


24 posted on 02/23/2015 12:27:05 PM PST by chris37 (heartless)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Rudy Guiliani is accomplished. He reduced crime in NYC at a time when the so called experts said it could not be done. He showed leadership and resolve after 9/11 when the so called intellectuals were blaming America, being negative and attacking our leaders.

He took on organized crime and other powerful interests in NYC.

And Rudy is not afraid to tell the truth about Obama.

Rand Paul follows the so called libertarianism of his father. He has accomplished nothing in government. He has been afraid to stand up to anyone. He attacks conservative Republicans to try to gain favor with the media.

Though he is not perfect,I'll take Rudy.

25 posted on 02/23/2015 12:29:32 PM PST by detective
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Another RINO right on cue.


26 posted on 02/23/2015 12:38:04 PM PST by headstamp 2
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ex White Mayors are not allowed an opinion?


27 posted on 02/23/2015 12:43:07 PM PST by longfellow (Bill Maher, the 21st hijacker.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Mistake Hell! Its way past time, maybe too far past time.


28 posted on 02/23/2015 12:43:54 PM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Another good example of how the overarching “mindset” of the whole Rand-and-Ron Paul/Reason folks/hippie-libertarian crowd is just as distant and noxiously off-putting to me as that of the far-left loons.


29 posted on 02/23/2015 12:43:57 PM PST by greene66
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

It was a mistake when I used to like Rand.

I wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher.


30 posted on 02/23/2015 12:48:21 PM PST by boycott
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Rand Paul is a curious mix of Libertarianism when it makes no sense, Liberalism when it makes no sense, and Conservatism when it makes no sense.

See a common thread there?

31 posted on 02/23/2015 12:57:04 PM PST by Lazamataz (With friends like Boehner, we don't need Democrats. -- Laz A. Mataz, 2015)
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To: Little Ray

What Rudy did is akin to what Rove did last year when he threw out the possibility that Hillary might have brain damage.

Rudy and Rove are two senior GOP statesmen with no political futures. They can throw out red meat statements like this and piss off the leftists in a mighty way making great talking points for the Repubs (like Walker) in the field who could not possibly say this. But they think it and agree with it.

Sarah Palin also comes to mind as another GOPer who taunts the libs.


32 posted on 02/23/2015 12:58:20 PM PST by Responsibility2nd (Obama used to be against people who cling to guns and religion.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

So, Rand, you think Obama has American values, or was raised with a love for America and its values?


33 posted on 02/23/2015 12:58:29 PM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Paultards being Paultards.


34 posted on 02/23/2015 1:03:54 PM PST by VRWC For Truth (Roberts has perverted the Constitution)
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To: greene66

They are looney tunes.


35 posted on 02/23/2015 1:05:07 PM PST by Lumper20 ( clown in Chief has own Gov employees Gestapo)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

yeah Obamas as well Intentioned as was Shickelgruber aka ADOLPH HITLER

if ones intentions are evil...yet they seem reasonable to one...who’s to argue...


36 posted on 02/23/2015 1:19:18 PM PST by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><>)
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To: MtnMan101
ONE CANT GET THIER SPINE TO WORK IF THIER STONED!


37 posted on 02/23/2015 1:35:31 PM PST by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><>)
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To: Lazamataz

Yes, and in addition to that, Rand Paul & Debbie Wasserman Schultz share the same brand of mayonnaise.

He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere, all over the map.


38 posted on 02/23/2015 2:05:14 PM PST by elcid1970 ("I: am a radicalized infidel.")
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To: RC one

All truths need not be spoken.


39 posted on 02/23/2015 2:08:38 PM PST by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

How about we find out if he’s an American, period.


40 posted on 02/23/2015 2:18:15 PM PST by bgill (CDC site, "we still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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