Despite tons of press, the real philosophy of Libertarianism--and the underlying outlook of the vast majority of "Tea Party" participants (other than those that Dick Armey buses in) have been grossly misunderstoond and underestimated by both progressives and conservatives.
In an effort to understand and ultimately defeat candidates like Rand Paul, it's important to understand where they come from. And in order to do that, you have to look at his father's writings...before he tried to get a national office.
To trace the roots of Rand Paul's philosophy, one only has to read his father's newsletters from the 1990s. Here's a quote cited by CNN:
The controversial newsletters include rants against the Israeli lobby, gays, AIDS victims and Martin Luther King Jr. -- described as a "pro-Communist philanderer." One newsletter, from June 1992, right after the LA riots, says "order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
To be fair, Paul claims he was only the editor of the cited newsletter, not the author and that
"Libertarians are incapable of being a racist, because racism is a collectivist idea."
But the record of admission and denial is spotty:
Paul has previously admitted to writing the newsletters and defended the statements in 1996, then blamed them on an unnamed ghostwriter in 2001 and then denied any knowledge of them in 2008. He has given no explanation, for how the racism entered his newsletter.
And to an extent, he's right because as Libertarian he espouses such a small government presence that the government couldn't possibly foster "racist policies." Of course, it couldn't stop anyone who wanted to be racist, either, and that's why he is so popular with some of the Tea Party folks.
If there's still any question about the appeal of the Pauls to the Tea Party crowd, this cogent analyses of their psychology by Boyce Watkins may make it plain:
What is most interesting, however, is that Paul's newsletter brings an ironic and almost refreshing sense of honesty into our conversation about race in America. Paul's statements are not as scary as the fact that there are millions of Americans who agree with him. Many whites have equally "interesting" beliefs about African Americans, which lead to a serious disrespect of our humanity.
No, I don't believe Ron or Rand Paul are racists. They are men who believe racists deserve both respect and a role in governing; and that's sad. As a result of the "little government as possible" philosophy, Rand Paul believes that:
Decisions concerning private property and associations should in a free society be unhindered. As a consequence, some associations will discriminate.
...even though the implications are truly terrible. The men who built the Washington monument couldn't find a public bathroom they could use during their long work days. The blacks who traveled across country in the 1950s couldn't find motels or restaurants for hundreds of miles. But private owners "had that right"...according to the Pauls.
Will the people of Kentucky see through libertarianism? Can you imagine Kentucky with LESS government supervision of mines? With LESS government support for the aged, the sick, the unemployed? LOWER subsidies on coal and steel?
Rand Paul also a man who has such an ego that he goes on the show of a Rhodes scholar just to show he can debate her "brain to brain," then complains when he loses. He's not interested in governing at all, just in debating government.