We are not even remotely close to being a libertarian nation. I’d have been far more comfortable with Rand as a libertarian leaning conservative were it not for the fact that his father is Ron Paul who is a certified nutcase.
It is just far too likely that Rand believes pretty much the same sorts of things his Dad does whether he admits it or not. There are going to be all manner of skeletons pouring out of this closet, and were liable to find out Rand associated with Truthers, anti-war moonbats, etc, etc.
Republicans should run conservative Republican candidates, not libertarians and certainly no one from the Paul family.
And yes, of course I’d vote for Rand over the Democrat. My point is this just wasn’t one of the better candidates we could have put forward. An unconventional candidate is fine, but a Paul?
Agreed -- except I'd say that a lot of those skeletons are ALREADY out of the closet. See this anti-Paul piece from the David Horowitz organization:
http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/05/11/nine-out-of-ten-ayatollahs-agree-vote-paul/
The money quote from the article, AFAIC:
Rand and his father represent nothing less than a rejection of the Right’s commitment to engaging and assessing the world as it really is, rather than as we would like it to be, and an embrace of the Left’s belief in appeasement and anti-Americanism.