Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.
It is no secret that the Mad Doctor with the twisty curls Rand Paul wants to be President. It is also no secret that the now disgraced tea-bagger movement would love nothing more than to elect a radical zealot from their ranks to the White House to continue the destruction of our country wrought by the Corporate Republicans of the last Administration. However, what they really want to keep secret is just what their vision for this country will really be. That is why they are sugar-coating what a "libertarian-Republican" administration would really mean.
Rand Paul is on T.V. telling America how they should be ready for his particular brand of zealousy in 2016. However, he seems to be leaving out the radical zealous part:
Yes, all this sounds so warm and fuzzy:
"I would absolutely not run unless it were to win," the Kentucky Republican said on "Fox News Sunday." "Points have been made, and we we will continue to make points. But I think the country is really ready for the narrative coming — the Libertarian Republican narrative."
In order to expand the party's reach, Paul believes the GOP should embrace candidates who are willing to push a less aggressive foreign policy, comprehensive immigration reform and less punitive measures on first offenders of nonviolent drug possession.
In the interim, he said, he'll continue to make his points in the Senate, including over immigration. On the same program, Paul said he'll offer an amendment to the forthcoming bipartisan immigration bill that would require the Government Accountability Office to report annually whether the border is secure and force Congress to vote on those reports. That would occur before the 11 million illegal immigrants can achieve permanent residency, under Paul's plan.
http://www.politico.com/...
Indeed those are the warm and fuzzy parts. They almost make this right-wing radical sound reasonable. However, what Rand Paul does not want America to know is the more radical, zealous agenda he and his fellow tea-baggers would pursue or that he replaced his youthful worship of "Aqua-Buddha" with the God we are used to the Republican Party worshiping. Mammon.
You see, Rand Paul thinks that making the wealthy and Corporations pay their fair share to the country that made their profits possible is "punishing" them:
Punishing the rich means the poor lose their jobs. (Aug 2012)
Repeal tax hikes in capital gains and death taxes. (Jul 2010)
http://www.ontheissues.org/...
He believes that business should be able to run roughshod over their workers and our environment and can simply be trusted to "regulate themselves":
Unelected EPA should not regulate greenhouse emissions. (Oct 2010)
Energy crisis stems from too much government intervention. (Jul 2010)
Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Apr 2011)
Worse yet, how about the fact that Rand Paul and his "libertarian Republicans" are looking to steal tens of thousands of dollars in earned benefits from anyone under the age of 55 despite the fact that Social Security has never added on penny to the national deficit?:
Raise the retirement age to deal with Baby Boomers. (Feb 2011)
Raise retirement age gradually; allow opting out. (Feb 2011)
Raise the retirement age for people under age 55. (Oct 2010)
Indeed, Rand Paul is hoping to give your Social Security over to the Robber Barons on Wall St. so that the next time they implode our economy with their ungodly greed your retirement security can be flushed down the toilet:
Paul supports the CC survey question on private retirement accounts
The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.
The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security tax in private retirement accounts"
http://www.ontheissues.org/...
And of course like other Republicans in his caucus Rand Paul supports slashing the budget to punish the most vulnerable among us, but when it comes to his own pocket has no problem slopping at the government trough:
Facts on Paul: Called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and Medicare "socialism," but opposes cuts to the medicare reimbursement he receives as a physician.
Source: DSCC "Meet the Republicans" opposition research , Aug 21, 2010
http://www.ontheissues.org/...
In fact, Rand Paul's whole solution to our economic woes is the simple fact that he thinks we should all just get used to working for less and keep our mouths shut about it:
Yes, to protect his real masters in Corporate America Rand Paul is willing to accept one thing. That "accidents happen" and that some worker death is acceptable to save profit:
Which brings about a simple question. Is Rand Paul really a "different breed" of Republican? Is he really a "libertarian" or just a plain hypocrite like all other Republican leaders?
However, as a Progressive that realizes the only hope for our country to fully recover is a return to Progressive ideals and policies I sincerely hope that Rand Paul runs and receives the Republican nomination for President in 2016. The reason is simple.
Rand Paul and his "new brand" of Republican Party will find out one thing. America as a whole is not Kentucky. In Kentucky you can put a steaming pile of dog feces in a bag and mark it "Republican" and folks will vote for it. They care not how idiotic, selfish or radical they are. As long as they rail against government, liberals and promise not to steal your guns they are fine and dandy.
When America as a whole finds out what Rand Paul believes and what his vision of America actually would be they would do to him what they have done to his whole tea-bagger movement. Shun it en masse.
