The Beatification of Rand Paul

One of the most surprising and quite unnecessary blunders of the Obama administration is to make a modern day folk hero of Rand Paul. Paul, a dyspeptic ophthalmologist from Bowling Green, Kentucky with rather sketchy professional certifications, is now the junior Senator from that great state, a state, by the way, that once tried to legislate the value of Pi to be exactly 3.14. If one wanted to be snarky, one could observe that in Kentucky, there are no circles—only squares.

By trying to be cagey about drone policy and procedures, especially with regard to killing American citizens without due process, Obama managed to create a serious political issue where none existed before. Obama’s initial answers to legitimate questions (“we haven’t killed any Americans on American soil yet”) were unnerving and very Cheney-esque. Surprisingly, there was not much outrage from my fellow lefties.

Rand Paul to the rescue. Seriously.

Paul mounted a 13-hour filibuster of the administration’s nominee for head of the CIA and vowed to keep talking until he (and the rest of us) got a straight answer from the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Finally, he got his answer when the laureate admitted that he did not possess the legal authority to kill Americans on American soil without Constitutional process. I am not sure I feel better.

However, this is not where the story ends. By not being transparent and straight-forward about a serious issue about which every American should be deeply concerned, Obama has managed to transform a back-woods political punch line into a genuine political force—just one small step from sainthood.

Although I am thankful that Paul stepped up and demanded the answers that we deserve, I am deeply disappointed in the leftward-leaning Senators who were asleep at the switch. Especially my representatives in the California delegation. Senators Boxer and Feinstein: did you not think this was important?

But before we elevate the Honorable Mr. Paul to sainthood, let’s recall some things from his record:

• Paul is on record as supporting the idea that people who attend “radical” speeches should be imprisoned (http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/31/232182/rand-paul-criminalize-speech/?mobile=nc). This is not likely to get accolades from the ACLU.
• Paul has some hazy and befuddled opinions of the Civil Rights Act (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/what-did-rand-paul-really-say-on-maddow-last-night.php?ref=fpa).
• He favors property rights over the Americans with Disabilities Act (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/rand-paul-on-npr-disabilities-act-goes-too-far.php).
• Although a champion of private property rights, and local home rule, this Kentuckian opposed the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/rand-paul-muslims-should-give-to-911-victims-fund-instead-of-whining-about-cordoba.php). There is a word for this, and I think the word is…”hypocrite”.
• And lastly, he seems to have a pretty broad streak of misogyny, having voted against the Violence Against Women Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act (http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/117285/rand-paul/68/womens-issues#.UT-muaVuGFI).

Sainthood? Folk hero? His filibuster rendered a valuable national service. But now, we would like the Honorable Mr. Paul to sit down and shut up.