We’re all Republicans because we think the Republican party is the party of limited government, the party of obeying the Constitution.Robert then used the following chart to demonstrate that both Republican and Democrat administrations have expanded government spending...
...and made the point that Republican presidents have been some of the largest violators of the Constitution.
Point taken. Republicans are as guilty of growing the federal government as Democrats. And Rand did lie. But I'd bet dollars to donuts that he was thinking the following when he spoke:
As I argued in a previous post, Rand is playing nice with the Republican establishment so he can spread libertarianism to the Republican party. As I've also argued previously, the United States was designed to be 2 party system, and right now the only way libertarians can have a presence in Washington is by influencing the Republican Party. Rand understands this, and, as the first libertarian elected to the Senate, he's making friends with the Republican elite in order to make room in the party for other libertarians. Politics is a dirty game, and, unfortunately, Rand has had to sully his ideological purity in order to advance the cause. But fear not, dear readers. He's doing what he's doing--including stretching the truth--for the greater good.We’re all Republicans because we think the Republican party could be the party of limited government, the party of obeying the Constitution.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI don't want to start a flame war, but I think it's not accurate to say Rand Paul lied. I wholly agree that the GOP is a big-spending, big-government party. But that's not how (arbitrary) 90% of its constituents see it, nor themselves, and in that context what Rand Paul said was true. I believe there is an understood subtext, an unstated qualification: "Gross Republican failures to meet that ideal notwithstanding..."
To say someone lied is a charge that should not be hastily made. I know it's become assumed that when politicians are moving their lips, they're lying, and that our culture isn't as scandalized by lying as it used to be; nonetheless, we should be slow to make the accusation.
I understand the Libertarian kvetching over Rand Paul's supposed selling out. But as you point out, someone's gotta be the diplomat, and it doesn't help your/our/his cause to have "Rand Paul lied" floating about the bloggosphere.
I follow you on Twitter and appreciate your work.
Best,
JB
@JoeBancks