Posted on 03/26/2025 8:59:52 PM PDT by RandFan
Senate Republicans had gathered for one of their regular private lunches last Wednesday when Rand Paul commanded their attention.
As Senators sipped diet sodas and grazed on sandwiches, the Kentucky lawmaker went through a slide deck with charts and statistics in service of a bold proposal: come out against President Trump’s tariffs.
The arguments in Paul's presentation, which has not been previously reported, were not a surprise to his audience.
One of the most prominent libertarians on Capitol Hill, he’s a fierce proponent of free trade. But his attempt to corral colleagues against the Trump trade agenda was seen as a provocation to the President’s close allies. “The public feels like free trade has sold us out,” Paul said, according to two Senators who were present, “but Americans are richer because of it.” Claiming that free trade agreements have spurred upward social mobility, one of his slides asserted that the middle class has shrunk in recent years only because more people had moved into the upper class.
“Basically, he was saying that everyone was getting richer during Joe Biden’s presidency,” one Senator tells TIME.
For some in the room, Paul’s rebellion reflected their deep unease over Trump’s protectionism, which has rattled stock markets, shaken consumer confidence, and strained America’s relationships with its allies. Economists now fear the U.S. is heading into a recession. But for many others, it was heresy. Tariffs are not only a Trumpian fixation, they were one of his core campaign pledges and a bedrock of his plan to reshore manufacturing jobs back to the United States. To that end, Paul was asking them to undermine the President, a political suicide mission given Trump's grip over the GOP base. .
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
If what Canada buys breaks the Kentucky Bourbon industry they need to rethink their business model.
For Americans, anyone buying the crap Canadian Mist at 125% it’s value should buy Kentucky Bourbon.
Really? Is he serious?
As far as the article goes in general, I believe in free trade, too, but what do you do when one trading partner tariffs your dairy products an average of 270 percent and another tariffs your automobiles at 25 percent, etc.?
I sure do. He is once again putting his “principles” ahead of the country. His position isn’t to make America better. It is just to help his constituents and America be damned. Which coincidentally is also good for Rands reelection. He should be retired. He is not even a useful idiot anymore.
I am fine with the concept of “Free Trade”, but the reality is, we don’t currently have, and have not in my lifetime had “Free Trade”.
The difference is, in the past, we were wealthy enough as a nation to sweep unfair trade practices under the carpet in order to focus on other things.
We are broke as a nation, and can no longer afford to do that.
HOORAY President Trump!
Can’t have free trade until ALL countries stop tariffs - until then, we have to “reciprocate”....
Rand Paul is of the same mindset as the globalists when it comes to free trade, tariffs on US goods and the US has allowed this to happen and it’s destroyed the middle class that both parties claim to care about when in reality they don’t
There have been issues where he has spoken out on a subject, and I was glad to hear someone speaking out, but...then he takes stances like this.
And the stances like this are more common than his speaking out.
I have determined I am not much of a fan of his. And I never really cared for his father. It isn’t to say he and his father aren’t right on this or that, but it begins to approach the concept of a stopped clock that is right twice a day.
I fully approve of using Tariffs to level the playing field and influence the behavior of countries like Mexico, China, and yes, Canada too. Even if there are negative side effects, we have to take the long view.
Rand is selling out the American worker.
Heh.
“I wouldnt call him an enemy of MAGA he’s solid on other issues and is taking a big risk opposing the tariffs”
He’s attacking deportations too, saying the invaders have a right to individual court hearings while they flood in by the millions.
And he’s also imposing Impoundment and lying that it is unconstitutional when the founders used Impoundment and it is the law purporting to outlaw it that is unconstitutional.
He has sold out.
Sob traitor is what he is.
There is no tariff for countries which play fair. If the E.U. doesn’t play fair, then they brought it upon themselves.
~~~~~
So all countries which manufacture cars are unfair?
I pretty much agree with you, the other issue I have with Rand Paul and other politicians in Washington is they offer no alternative approach, he’s against tariffs and supports free trade, I disagree with his stance but what alternative is he offering other than no tariffs
His state of Kentucky has been decimated by free trade and the climate change agenda and I hear nothing from him to combat either issue
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