A Paul problem: Ron, Rand, and racism

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Jon Chait, New York: "Racists Love Ron and Rand Paul for Some Reason."

Alex Seitz-Wald, Salon: "Rand Paul’s team has another white supremacist."

Or there are a couple of posts I wrote last year:

-- "The ugly truth about Ron Paul"; and

-- "So is Ron Paul a racist, or what?"

Well, I wouldn't say that the Pauls are overt racists, let alone white supremacists, although Ron's notorious newsletters from way back when certainly suggest otherwise.

But it's interesting how racism keeps popping up all around them, notably these days in the sordid company they keep.

Not that it should come as a surprise. As Chait writes:

The deep connection between the Pauls and the neo-Confederate movement doesn't discredit their ideas, but it’s also not just an indiscretion. It's a reflection of the fact that white supremacy is a much more important historical constituency for anti-government ideas than libertarians like to admit.

Obviously, most of their libertarian supporters are anti-government in more general terms. But there are others among them who want the government out of the way because they want the Confederacy back in some form, including the ideology of racial supremacism that went along with it.

The Pauls can try to run from this association, but it's just too much a part of what they are, whether they and their followers like it or not.

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Rand Paul thinks dog marriage is next

By Frank Moraes 

As you all know, I have major problems with real libertarians -- to a large extent because most of them have a good understanding of the problems of governing and I don't see why they don't recognize their very clear blind spots. But people who claim to be libertarians who don't understand the philosophy and just throw the word around because it sounds cooler than "conservative" are another matter. I hate them.

The most prominent pretend libertarian is Rand Paul. This doesn't mean that I don't agree with him from time to time. Hell, I agree with Rick Santorum now and then. One nice thing about real libertarians is that you can usually predict where they stand on any given issue. But not so with Paul. He is anti-abortion, for example. Now I understand that some libertarians are anti-abortion. But I don't get it. A 16-cell zygote has equal human rights to the mother? Really?!

But there are many more clear examples. He isn't, for example, in favor of drug legalization -- just cannabis. Now, I'm all for legalizing cannabis. But at this point, the argument isn't the libertarian one that people should be allowed to make their own choices. It is the (true) conservative argument that cannabis is no more dangerous than other legal drugs. At least Paul's father, Ron Paul, acts like a true libertarian in this regard.

And now, Rand Paul is making the media rounds to complain about the Supreme Court's overturning the Defense of Marriage Act. He was on Glenn Beck's show (another pretend libertarian) warning that same-sex marriage would lead to polygamy. I actually agree with him that this ought to lead to polygamy. I'm very much a libertarian on this issue: people should be able to enter whatever contracts they want with each other. But Paul brought this up as a note of caution: polygamy is bad.[1] This is clearly not a man who believes that people's lives are their own.


Of course, Paul didn't stop there. He said that soon marriage equality proponents may ask, "Does it have to be humans?" Well, as a matter of fact Dr. Paul, yes, it does have to be humans. This is a settled issue. Humans can't marry dogs for the same reason that they can't marry children. Marriage is a contract. It requires that all parties being legally able to consent. This is Rick Santorum level "man-on-dog" thinking. As low as I've thought of Rand Paul, he's actually reached a new quantum level.
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[1] I am concerned about certain aspects of polygamy -- mostly pushing young girls into marriage before they are old enough to make an informed choice. I could imagine it becoming a form of slavery. But I'm sure these issues could be dealt with.

(Cross-posted at Frankly Curious.)

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