Tuesday, February 4, 2014

WaPo: Rand Paul Isn’t His Father’s Son When It Comes to Drug Legalization

Wesley Lowery writes at WaPo:

The younger Paul has long distanced himself from his father’s pro-legalization stances. While campaigning for his father, Rand defended the states-rights positions, but he has since made a point to note that he does not personally favor the legalization of drugs such as heroin and cocaine. He spent much of last year assuring conservatives -- who will be crucial in Iowa, New Hampshire and much of the heartland in 2016 -- that, when it came to drugs, he was on their side[...]

While Paul has been one of the most outspoken Republicans in calling for sentencing reform, he has also deliberately charted a much more conservative course in his discussions of drug legalization. In an interview with The Post's Peter Wallsten last May, the senator explained: “To some, ‘libertarian’ scares people. Some of them come up to me and they say, ‘I kind of like you, but I don’t like legalizing heroin.’ And I say, ‘Well, that’s not my position.’ ”[...]

Paul said he believes in freedom and wants a “virtuous society” where people practice “self-restraint.” Yet he believes in laws and limits as well. Instead of advocating for legalized drugs, for example, he pushes for reduced penalties for many drug offenses.“I’m not advocating everyone go out and run around with no clothes on and smoke pot,” he said. “I’m not a libertarian. I’m a libertarian Republican. I’m a constitutional conservative.”

Those stances are sure to upset many former supporters of Paul’s father, as well as other libertarians who argue in favor of drug legalization. For Sen. Paul -- who must hone his conservative credentials without losing his libertarian street cred -- it remains to be seen whether this tightrope walk becomes a 2016 problem.

9 comments:

  1. "For Sen. Paul -- who must hone his conservative credentials without losing his libertarian street cred"

    LOL sorry Lowery he either embraces liberty (libertarianism) or he embraces statism (conservatism) he can't have it both ways. However Rand doesn't have to worry about that most libertarians know that he is a statist at heart.

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    1. I agree. He's already lost his libertarian street cred. You can't play both sides of the fence. He just looks hypocritical trying to do so.

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  2. Rand is smart, you have to learn to walk before you learn to ran. Americans are for legalising marijuana so why turn off supporters and lose them by pushing for legalising heroin and prostitution which the majority of Americans are not ready to support it yet.

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  3. "I’m not a libertarian. I’m a libertarian Republican. I’m a constitutional conservative.”

    Being a "libertarian" Republican means NOTHING if at the same time he is not a libertarian. Ron Paul was a libertarian Republican. Rand Paul isn't.
    As a matter of fact, he is neither a "small government" conservative nor a "constitutional" conservative.

    And the fact that he thinks Reagan was ANY of these things, when it is a fact that Reagan GREW the state, raised taxes overall, and increased spending, shows that Rand is either completely ignorant or expects his listeners to be. Either way, this type of guy is completely unreliable and probably even dangerous for the philosophy of libertarianism, because he will make at least SOME gullible libertarians believe that Rand is their guy EVEN as he gets worse, simply because of his vapid, meaningless rhetoric.

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    1. "I'm a libertarian Republican"

      Could he contradict himself any worse?

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    2. "Could he contradict himself any worse?"

      In all fairness, RON Paul was a libertarian Republican.
      But generally speaking it's indeed a massive contradiction.

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  4. "I’m not advocating everyone go out and run around with no clothes on and smoke pot ..." There are 5" of snow on the ground here. Why in the hell would I want to be naked?

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  5. It's also a nice touch how he equated "running around naked smoking pot" with "being a libertarian"

    I'm sure Lew Rockwell and Walter Block spend their summer months with nary a stitch of clothing on, running around their backyards and smoking a joint as big as a burrito...

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