Posted on 01/15/2015 4:59:05 AM PST by LeoMcNeil
Rand Paul has a lot going for him. He inspires the conservative and libertarian wings of the Republican Party. In many ways he’s a breath of fresh air because he’s different than the rest of the GOP. He’s trying to work with constituencies that the GOP normally ignores. He’s making policy arguments that are different than other Republicans and different from other conservatives or libertarians. Rand Paul is personable, which goes a long way on the presidential campaign trail. Rand Paul can unite the right in the GOP. He has the brashness of Ted Cruz and the values of a Rick Santorum. He only has one problem: His father Ron Paul.
Ron Paul never had any shot at winning the Republican nomination for President in party because he’s a conspiracy lunatic. Ron Paul is his son Rand’s downfall. The Ron Paul Institute, which features numerous articles written by him, posted an article yesterday declaring the Charlie Hebdo attack a “false flag.” In other words, the Ron Paul Institute seems to believe that the attack was really orchestrated by the French government rather than Muslim terrorists. Presumably the French have the same sort of masterminds in government that we have, the writer also believes the 9-11 attacks were orchestrated by our government. The false flag conspiracy theorists believe just about every major news event is orchestrated by the government. This includes the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting and just about every other school shooting. These people seem to believe evil doesn’t exist in the world or that if it does it’s only in the government. Interestingly, a government too incompetent to put together a basic healthcare website is capable of pulling off a “false flag” action with complete secrecy and no bean spilling afterward.
The issue here isn’t really whether the Charlie Hebdo attack was a false flag. No doubt this post will be mocked and roundly attacked by the false flag conspiracy crowd. The issue is whether the Ron Paul Institute and Ron Paul generally will be a problem for Rand Paul. The answer there is yes. We have no idea whether Ron Paul believes the Charlie Hebdo attack was a false flag. However an article promoting the conspiracy theory did appear on the Ron Paul Institute website and as such Ron Paul might as well have penned it. You can bet that every single time the Ron Paul Institute publishes something insane the conservative press will latch onto it and associate it with Rand Paul. If he were to win the nomination then the mainstream liberal press will start digging around. Accusations of false flags are so far out of the mainstream, to say nothing of being utterly baseless, that any association with them will hurt Rand Paul. It’s not like Ron Paul is Rand’s kooky cousin. Ron is his father and political and philosophical mentor.
Is any of this fair? Of course not. Rand Paul has never indicated support for outlandish conspiracy theories. Unfortunately for him, the closeness of his relationship with Ron Paul is going to be held against him. Hillary Clinton has the same problem with Bill. He’s hanging out with a guy who keeps sex slaves on an island. Fair or not, Hillary is suffering the fallout of that information becoming public. Jeb Bush has to deal with the fallout from his brother’s administration. At least in his case he can count on George W. not saying anything bizarre or weird. The former President rarely speaks on politics anymore. Rand Paul cannot count on his father, or his father’s institute, from doing and saying weird things. Unfortunately for Rand, this fact severely hurts his chances of winning the GOP nomination. He’s done his best to be as mainstream as possible. That’s awfully hard to do when your father’s institute is arguing that Charlie Hebdo is a false flag action perpetrated by the French government.
On some level maybe it would be better of Rand Paul didn’t run for President. He’s an excellent Senator and one of the few outspoken conservative-libertarian voices in the Senate. He’s popular in Kentucky, with re-election to the Senate likely in 2016. If he runs for President, he can’t run for Senate again per Kentucky law. The country is arguably better with him in the Senate than out of government altogether. From a conservative standpoint, the fewer conservatives running for President the more likely it will be that a conservative wins. If Paul steps back, he could endorse a conservative candidate and help him win the nomination. By not running, Paul potentially becomes a kingmaker and there’s plenty of power that comes with that. At this point though, Rand Paul has to know that his father will destroy his chances of winning the GOP nomination.
I'm done with Ron Paul, really don't care what he has to say going forward. And yep, that will somewhat affect my view of the son.
Rand Paul’s pandering has proven him to be more liberal than libertarian.
Ron Paul is the least of Rand’s problems.
His problems involve a two year record now of pandering and criticizing other Republicans and cozying up to Mitch McConnell and talking about some absurdly liberal ideas from time to time.
This article misses a lot, misses the point. I agree with the premise, but not Leo’s reasons for it.
AMEN bros....see the post I was writing while you were writing that.....”great minds...”
Maybe it’s just the instant that the camera shutter clicked, but Rand Paul has a crappy look on his face which seems to say he knows he’s being a political whore, sidling up to one of the lowest creatures treading God’s planet.
The look on Paul’s face reminds me of the joke about Baptists not recognizing one another in the liquor store.
Listen, if Rand Paul’s dad is a potential problem for him, then you can be certain beyond all doubt that Ted Cruz’s dad will be hung on him by the libs like the corpse of Mussolini on a lamp post.
The fact is that like it or not the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons - at least in the minds of many. Sad to say.
I hope that for those of us fortunate enough to have good conservative values will judge the man and not the libtards’ caricature.
He’s a bozo and a loon. The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Rand Paul has a lot going for him. He inspires the conservative and libertarian wings of the Republican Party.No he doesn't, and no he doesn't.
Rand Paul On Shutdown: "Even Though It Appeared I Was Participating In It, It Was A Dumb Idea"I said throughout the whole battle that shutting down the government was a dumb idea. Even though it did appear as if I was participating in it, I said it was a dumb idea. And the reason I voted for it, though, is that it's a conundrum. Here's the conundrum. We have a $17 trillion debt and people at home tell me you can't give the president a blank check. We just can't keep raising the debt ceiling without conditions. So unconditionally raising the debt ceiling, nobody at home wants me to vote for that and I can't vote for that. But the conundrum is if I don't we do approach these deadlines. So there is an impasse. In 2011, though, we had this impasse and the president did negotiate. We got the sequester. If we were to extend the sequester from discretionary spending to all the entitlements we would actually fix our problem within a few years.[Posted on 11/19/2013 12:16:51 PM by Third Person]
Rand Paul: Time for GOP to soften war stance...by softening its edge on some volatile social issues and altering its image as the party always seemingly "eager to go to war... We do need to expand the party and grow the party and that does mean that we don't always all agree on every issue" ... the party needs to become more welcoming to individuals who disagree with basic Republican doctrine on emotional social issues such as gay marriage... "We're going to have to be a little hands off on some of these issues ... and get people into the party," Paul said.[Posted on 01/31/2013 5:08:50 PM PST by xzins]
Rand Paul's immigration speech...The Republican Party must embrace more legal immigration.[Posted on 03/19/2013 7:04:07 AM PDT by Perdogg]
Unfortunately, like many of the major debates in Washington, immigration has become a stalemate-where both sides are imprisoned by their own rhetoric or attachment to sacred cows that prevent the possibility of a balanced solution.
Immigration Reform will not occur until Conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. I am here today to begin that conversation.
Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants.
If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you...
This is where prudence, compassion and thrift all point us toward the same goal: bringing these workers out of the shadows and into being taxpaying members of society.
Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers.12 million more people assimilating into society. 12 million more people being productive contributors.
Rand Paul calls on conservatives to embrace immigration reformLatinos, should be a natural constituency for the party, Paul argued, but "Republicans have pushed them away with harsh rhetoric over immigration." ...he would create a bipartisan panel to determine how many visas should be granted for workers already in the United States and those who might follow... [and the buried lead] "Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers...[Posted on 04/21/2013 1:52:42 PM PDT by SoConPubbie]
[but he's not in favor of amnesty, snicker, definition of is is]
Rand Slams Congress for Funding Egypt's Generals: 'How Does Your Conscience Feel Now?'Sen. Rand Paul is hammering his fellow senators for keeping billions in financial aid flowing to Egypt's military -- even as Cairo's security forces massacre anti-government activists. [by "anti-government activists" is meant church-burning Christian-murdering jihadists][Posted on 08/15/2013 5:44:10 PM PDT by Hoodat]
He has no chance because he exists outside of the Crowned Heads of the Republican Party.
I laugh everytime I see that pic!
Do only psychopaths, thieves and narcissists go into politics?
Damn straight! A little of the 'best hits' of Randy over the year or so .....
RAND PAUL: IT'S AMERICA'S FAULT
Rand Paul: Let’s face it, it’s going to be difficult to repeal ObamaCare at this point
Rand Paul Touts GOP Unity, Endorses Susan Collins 'Wholeheartedly' in Maine
Rand Paul Wants Bigger GOP: ‘You Go to a Republican Event and It’s All White People’
Rand Paul: Amnesty Legislation Could Pass This Year
He has no chance because he is a libertarian. Libertarians are not conservatives.
Candidate of last resort, so far but that may change if he says anymore stupid stuff. If not Ted, or Scott, then maybe Rand but probably not, he hasn’t been very good lately.
No shot on target because he is a loose canon ?
3 of 4; missed lowlife dirtbags.
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