The Curious Case of Rand Paul<\/p>\n
Like a little kid constantly demanding attention, Senator Rand Paul whined and squirmed this week, stating he wasn\u2019t going to vote for Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.\u00a0 His reasoning was that as a \u201cRepublican\/Libertarian\u201d he was against American interventionism, and Pompeo might be too willing to enter into the world\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n
And, like a little kid bribed with the right amount of attention, he got several calls from the President and lots of media speculation about whether he would be the decisive vote. Paul switched and voted for Pompeo.<\/p>\n
It’s not that there aren\u2019t lots of questions about Pompeo\u2019s fitness to do the job.\u00a0\u00a0 He has impressive academic credentials, finishing first at West Point and earning Magna Cum Laude at Harvard Law. \u00a0But, he has taken concerning stands: coming out against LGBTQ rights and blaming all of Islam for terrorism.\u00a0 \u00a0These are views that shouldn\u2019t be represented as \u201cAmerican\u201d to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
But those views aren\u2019t Senator Paul\u2019s issue.\u00a0 And clearly Senator Paul\u2019s \u201cRepublican\/Libertarian\u201d foundation is flexible.\u00a0 He abandoned it in this case.\u00a0 This year, time and time again, Paul has grandstanded on his principles, garnered the publicity, and then knuckled under.<\/p>\n
In the continuing budget resolution debate in February, Paul exercised his prerogative as a Senator to \u201cfilibuster,\u201d forcing the government to shutdown temporarily.\u00a0 As the Senate was ultimately able to end debate, the government reopened in the middle of the night, but Paul got the \u201cstage\u201d for his period of time.\u00a0 In the $1.6 trillion budget debate of March, Paul again threatened to hold up the voting, but on the last day merely scolded the Senate for the \u201c\u2026monstrosity of bloated government spending.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Affordable Care Act debate, Paul actually stuck to his views, voting against the repeal (the vote when John McCain put his \u201cthumb down.\u201d)\u00a0 In keeping with his philosophy, his negative vote wasn\u2019t in favor of the Affordable Care Act\u2019s survival, but because the repeal that was offered was not complete enough.<\/p>\n
So the question is:\u00a0is Rand Paul a principled Libertarian, or is he a grandstanding Senator, looking to get fifteen minutes of fame. \u00a0Or, is there a more nuanced way to analyze Paul\u2019s behavior.\u00a0 He wants to get along, especially with President Trump (his fellow Senators have definitely had their fill of him.) \u00a0It\u2019s not so much out of affection for the President, but out of affection for the \u201cTrump Base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s vision of the future may be a collapsing Trump administration, with an open lane for a race to the Presidency in 2020.\u00a0 Whoever can claim \u201cthe base\u201d has a strong starting point for the Republican nomination.\u00a0And if Trump runs again (oh boy!) in 2020, well, Paul is relatively young at fifty-five, he can wait.<\/p>\n
There are several \u201cprincipled\u201d Senators, who follow their established beliefs, on both sides of the aisle.\u00a0 Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jeff Flake of Arizona both have taken different but clearly defined paths about what\u2019s good for America.\u00a0 And there are Senators who, due to politics or their ideological beliefs, stand in the middle.\u00a0 Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Susan Collins of Maine are good examples of that.<\/p>\n
But Paul\u2019s stands are curious, as he follows his own Libertarian bent.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that following a philosophy is wrong whether you agree with it or not, it\u2019s that his views seem to conveniently bend to the needs of his political life.<\/p>\n
Maybe that\u2019s why the neighbor next door decided he\u2019d had enough and attacked Paul in a backyard brawl.\u00a0I\u2019m sure Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump have all wanted to do the same.<\/p>\n
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