Sunday, June 24, 2012

Rand Paul: "I am not a libertarian"

Wow, he said it right from the start, in Time magazine, when he was first running for the U.S. Senate.

But, no one was paying close attention to him then. And who reads Time magazine anymore?

But it was there all along.

In the March 17, 2010 issue of Time, the magazine published an interview with Rand, where he said:
They thought all along that they could call me a libertarian and hang that label around my neck like an albatross, but I'm not a libertarian.

(ht Doctor Liberty)

15 comments:

  1. Seems like the apple that fell from the tree was a rotten one.

    Way to go Rand! You'll go down in the record books as just another smarmy opportunist, whereas your dad's legacy will live on forever. I hope it was worth it trying to distance yourself from him to be your own man, your own uninspiring, flip flopping, unprincipled goat.

    If Ron Paul was ashamed of you, I would fully understand.

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    1. I agree 100% rand attempted to back pedal but it is a neocon destroyer!

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  2. Yes...and this is why it's been so annoying to hear everyone freaking out that he's not acting like one. :-)

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    1. We've been freaking out because Rand used the Campaign for Liberty and his father's support to lie to all of us and beg for donations. Apparently, Rand was talking out both sides of his mouth from the beginning. Now that he's in office, he doesn't need us anymore (no doubt the donations from the MIC and Banking industry will be flowing soon). Unfortunately, those like me didn't think Ron Paul would stoop to nepotism and use his legacy and goodwill to stump for his lying, statist son.

      I've lost respect for both of them.

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    2. And that is why you NEVER give money to any politician, including Ron Paul.

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  3. I don't think he qualifies as libertarian, though he said "I was born a libertarian" last month at a CATO event w/ Doherty on the new Ron Paul book: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/ron-pauls-revolution-man-movement-he-inspired-1

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  4. Although I don't agree with Rand's approach and Romney endorsement, He has stated he is a Constitutional conservative and his bills and statements mostly do confirm this. He is not his dad but a Ron Paul only comes around every century or so and Rand is not Ron. It's time to quit beating up on Rand, he is not his dad and stated as such, you can see he wants to win more than educate and he is following that path. I have withdrawn my support for Campaign for Liberty and Revolution Pac (mostly because they never sent me my RP action figures :) ) until I see a clear minarchist path for both. On the other hand I so see a "great game" being played and enjoy being a spectator and rooting for a libertarian outcome.

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  5. We need to show when "conservatives" or "liberals" are in the wrong and Rand, the self appointed heir to the Paul dynasty, has not been following the libertarian path. He should be raked over the coals just like Romney or Obama [and maybe even more so since he is the son of such an important libertarian figure].

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  6. RW seems to be on a campaign to write Rand out of the liberty movement, and the latest is digging up this quote from two years ago in Time magazine.

    I don't see that quote as particularly telling. Every politician in the Republican party brands their politics as being "conservative". Romney, who represents the establishment's interests in the party and whose political history is clearly in the moderate to liberal wing of the party, has been referred to as an "economic conservative"--or more famously in his own words as "severely conservative." This is all marketing.

    Then there is the case of his father's campaign for the last two election cycles. I don't in any way question the legitimacy of Ron Paul's libertarian credentials, but in his campaigns for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008 and 2012 he labeled himself a "conservative" (though in the Old Right tradition) and more recently as a "constitutional conservative". RP has also specifically disputed the the "libertarian" label. I don't remember any of Ron Paul's supporters, including the ones now criticizing Rand, mentioning anything about this at the time. I think the reason why is that everyone has a good sense of Ron Paul's beliefs, and the issues he champions. In this context, what he wants to call himself doesn't matter much. We all know Ron Paul.

    Now with Rand, we have no where close to the same clarity. This is mostly because he only joined the political scene in a prominent way 2 years ago with his victory in the KY Senate race. Yet, we do have some of the picture as the only real difference in the voting records of Ron and Rand so far is the issue of applying new US sanctions upon Iran. Now, that is not a small issue, but I don't see it necessarily as grounds to excommunicate Rand from the Liberty movement (especially when he probably actually opposes a US military attack on Iran). Btw, I have recently heard Rand refer to himself as a "libertarian conservative" which at the very least indicates sympathy to the libertarian viewpoint on many issues.

    Again, as I and others (including Lew Rockwell) have said elsewhere, don't expect Rand to be his father. He isn't. There is only one Ron Paul. Rather judge Rand in relation to the rest of Congress, and how in his own way he advances the cause of liberty. Perhaps he isn't suitable to be the leader of the libertarian movement in the way that his father was, but I think it is still pretty early to be trying to write the man out of the movement simply because he endorsed Romney.

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    1. Let me just ask you one thing.

      Exactly what would Rand have to say or do for YOU to realize he is not part of the liberty movement?

      I think most people here have a pretty clear understanding for themselves of where to draw the line. You may disagree with where that line is. But i'm interested in knowing where the line is for those libertarians who are currently still coming to his defense.

      I certainly hope it wouldn't be anything along the lines of: "Well, as long as he is not as bad as the rest of congress."

      You have a fairly good idea of where some of us draw the line.
      So tell me: where do YOU draw the line?

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    2. Well, as my post suggests, I think the bottom line should be Rand's actual policy positions, not whether he endorsed Romney or that he published an article in National Review. Even RW I think would admit, that, with the exception of his father, Rand is probably the most libertarian member of Congress. If Rand's voting record resembled say Jim Demint instead of his father, I would reassess my view.

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  7. Patrick Hatten said something very important "the self appointed heir to the Paul dynasty"..

    First, years ago Ron Paul left the libertarian party, and moved to the GOP. Now he is retiring and his son is being seen as taking his place. But his son is already part of the GOP, and less libertarian than his Father.

    Meanwhile, the LP candidate, Gary Johnson, is a closet statist who couldn't tell you the difference between Murray Rothbard or Von Mises.

    This is all part of the plan, by slowly manipulating us into standing for things we wouldn't have years ago.

    As Tony said, we need to have a line drawn in the sand. Personally, anyone with a R besides their name is beyond that line for me. We need to be rigid in our beliefs and stick up for the principles of Liberty that Ron Paul has taught us.

    As a last note, I do believe that Ron Paul is genuine, but Rand is at best a sell-out, at worst he is really a RINO.

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    1. I readily understand why hardcore, Rothbard-influenced libertarians would much prefer the anti-establishment political style of Ron Paul to the team player, insider approach of Rand. But isn't it a little overdone to dismiss Gary Johnson as a "closet statist" when, among other things, he is talking about a 43% cut in spending? And aren't you a little too harsh on Rand. The poor guy is "at best a sell-out, at worst he is really a RINO."

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  8. All quotes are true once published on the Internet. - Abe Lincoln

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