Rand and his ever-changing stands
“I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. We have come to take our country back.”
Sen. Randal Howard “Rand” Paul, Republican candidate for president
Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator wants to “take our country back.”
Republicans are always wanting to wrest the country from the grasp of some unseen force – that’s seized it right out from under us.
When Rand Paul became the second first-term senator to officially announce his run for the presidency, he made it clear that he’s the one candidate that can bring America home to America.
This I gotta see!
He gave a mighty good announcement speech.
Like Sen. Ted Cruz, Paul used a recurring theme.
Cruz sprinkled his announcement with the word “Imagine” about 38 times.
Paul, an eye surgeon, made ample use of the word, “Vision,” (14 times) and the phrase, “I see an America” (three times)
As well-crafted as the speech had been, it took less than a day for political watchers to dissect it, and to question why the Rand Paul on the day of his presidential announcement, was so different from the Rand Paul who’d ridden the wave of Tea Party support a few years earlier.
Paul is shrewd enough to court voters that haven’t been courted by many Republican candidates.
“The message of liberty, opportunity and justice is for all Americans, whether you wear a suit, a uniform or overalls, whether you’re white or black, rich or poor,” he told his excited audience.
But that’s not the Rand Paul who appeared in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010.
Paul had previously claimed he had serious concerns about Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
That provision prevents private businesses from refusing African-Americans services.
Paul, while claiming he’s against any discrimination by public institutions, told Maddow he wasn’t in favor of private businesses being mandated by the government not to discriminate.
Paul’s “vision of America,” I suppose, could lead to a 21st Century resurrection of beatings at whites-only lunch counters.
Paul’s all-over-the-map take on vaccinations, was on full view when there was a recent outbreak of measles.
One day, he told a conservative radio-show host, “I’ve heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.”
But within days, he claimed, “I did not say vaccines caused disorders, just that they were temporally related – I did not allege causation,” he said as if he really believed what he said, he didn’t say.
Yet, Paul’s most astonishing denial of what he’s said, has to do with budget the freshman senator proposed in March of 2011.
He proposed “draw-downs and restructuring of the Department of Defense, the repeal of Obamacare” (of course), “block granting programs such as Medicaid, SCHIP, food stamps and child nutrition programs.”
He also went so far as proposing to “Eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.” (LIHEAP)
But more importantly, his budget would have done away with all foreign aid, in general, and specifically Israel.
“Israel’s ability to conduct foreign policy, regain economic dominance, and support itself without the heavy hand of U.S. interests and policies, will only strengthen the Israeli community,” Paul’s budget said.
On Jan. 26th, 2011, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked him, “So just to be precise, end all foreign aid including foreign aid to Israel. Is that right?”
Paul replied, “Yes.”
Of course, some other Rand Paul, who looks and sounds exactly like the person who wanted to end the practice of sending Israel foreign aid, would later claim, “I’ve never introduced any legislation that targeted Israel in any way.”
It’s hard trying to figure out if Rand Paul has an identical twin, or he just forgets what he said yesterday, but he’s having problems keeping his stories straight.
One political writer, Ian Millhiser, says of him, “Paul lives in a world of theory untouched by the lessons of history and evidence.”
I wish I’d said that!
Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net