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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

Rand is a doosh. Go ahead, play into the demomedia playbook.


41 posted on 02/23/2015 2:19:05 PM PST by x1stcav (Why does Eleanor Clift always look like her private parts are causing her acute pain?)
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To: iowacornman

Will he promise to stop dressing in drag? I don’t ever need to see that again.


42 posted on 02/23/2015 2:41:12 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Brave Sir Robin speaks...

..."Run Away! Run Away!"

43 posted on 02/23/2015 2:45:34 PM PST by RckyRaCoCo (Shall Not Be Infringed)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

[[Rand Paul: “Mistake” to Jab at Obama’s Love of America as Guiliani Did]]

It’s a mistake to tell the blatant truth?


44 posted on 02/23/2015 3:07:59 PM PST by Bob434
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To: Resolute Conservative
The American people did not want to listen to those who denounced Obama's Marxist and Muslim background, and on the other hand, the media covered up Obama’s radical past ridiculing anyone who dared to expose the true Obama.

Paul proves that he is not fit to replace Obama

45 posted on 02/23/2015 3:15:21 PM PST by Dqban22 (Hpo<p> http://i.imgur.com/26RbAPxjpg)
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To: Little Ray

Guiliani just didn’t make the assertion, he backed it up with facts and logic. If he had had a lot more time, he could have talked all night. The Democrats are always making assertions they dream up out of nothing (like the war on women) that are lodged in the national consciousness through media repetition.
If only the Republicans had a set...


46 posted on 02/23/2015 3:39:41 PM PST by odawg
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To: Jane Long; iowacornman; detective

Here is an old thread on Giuliani that covers his flaws, it is kind of long, but it has everything in it.

“Will FR embrace socialism to make way for Rudy Giuliani as a Republican presidential candidate?”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1821435/posts?q=1&;page=1#1


47 posted on 02/23/2015 3:42:24 PM PST by ansel12 (Palin--Mr President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke.)
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To: ansel12

He is redeemed in my estimation. What a wonderful thing to hear and watch. Run Rudy run. Better than Amnesty bush.


48 posted on 02/23/2015 3:44:54 PM PST by iowacornman (No Amnesty-- EVER)
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To: iowacornman

Why would you want to start this nonsense over again?

Do you remember that thread and what his politics are?


49 posted on 02/23/2015 3:47:27 PM PST by ansel12 (Palin--Mr President, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke.)
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To: MrB
So, Rand, you think Obama has American values, or was raised with a love for America and its values?

He's saying it's a distraction. Do you think it isn't? Would you think talking about what Obama loves is important if you had responsibility for winning elections, formulating policy, and getting legislation through Congress?

50 posted on 02/23/2015 3:50:07 PM PST by x
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Hey Rand Paul can you take a hint
Attention Ramd Paul
51 posted on 02/23/2015 9:33:38 PM PST by Ron H.
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To: odawg; Responsibility2nd

Facts do not matter when you get into this fight. It is about “feelings” and the Democrats have this covered along with air support from the MSM.
The Democrats can get away with blatant lies like “The War on Women” because they have “feelings” covered.
And it does not help that this attacks the patriotism of the idiots that voted for Obama by association. Literally, you cannot win this fight.
If it helps, not only do I think that Obama is not patriotic, I think that he an internal enemy who was groomed by America’s enemies for decades then infiltrated into the US government and rose to president by the most incredible intel coup of all time. But even if this was provably true, it would not work as argument against Obama (and Congress STILL would not impeach him).


52 posted on 02/24/2015 8:29:04 AM PST by Little Ray (How did I end up in this hand-basket, and why is it getting so hot?)
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To: Little Ray

Exactly right!!

Stop talking about irrelevant issues such as “obama loves or does not love the country”.

Voters care more about jobs - jobs - jobs!
Talk about how to grow the economy.
Like Kasich has done in Ohio.

Also talk about other issues voters care about...
such as illegals, Obamacare and gun restrictions.

Talking about Obama’s love of the country is moronic and useless.


53 posted on 02/24/2015 10:24:59 AM PST by entropy12 (Real function of economists is to make astrologers look respectable.)
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To: MtnMan101

Love it!


54 posted on 02/24/2015 10:29:27 AM PST by Polyxene (Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.)
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To: MrB; gundog
IDK. Don't think the voters care a whit if Lynch becomes the next AG. This is another useless issue like Rudi's "Obama does not love this country". It sidetracks the winning issues in 2016, which are:

JOBS

OBAMACARE

FOOD & RENT inflation

STAGNANT WAGES

Republicans are lousy campaigners. Which is why democrats win so many election with lousy policies. They know how to exploit the low information voters.

55 posted on 02/24/2015 12:17:28 PM PST by entropy12 (Real function of economists is to make astrologers look respectable.)
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To: entropy12

And talk about Freedom.
Talk about Stingray.
Talk about the FEC.
Talk about the FCC and the attempted take over of the Internet.
Talk about the DHS being more worried about people who want the budget balanced and Constitution respected than they are about Moslem terrorist infiltrators.


56 posted on 02/24/2015 12:17:52 PM PST by Little Ray (How did I end up in this hand-basket, and why is it getting so hot?)
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To: RC one

What has been shown thru this is that Americans will back someone who openly expresses what they are thinking. If Rand Paul doesn’t see that then he must be on the other team and really doesn’t care about what is happening to us.


57 posted on 02/24/2015 12:21:46 PM PST by uncitizen (Obama hates America.)
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To: entropy12

Gotta give the libs credit; the electorate has been thoroughly dumbed down.


58 posted on 02/24/2015 1:25:56 PM PST by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

You are so wrong, Rand Paul. The people are craving truth, not more mealy-mouthed panderers like you.


59 posted on 03/18/2015 2:27:27 AM PDT by stilloftyhenight (Stool sample politics: You have to pass it to find out whats in it.)
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