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May 24, 2010
I'm feeling Rand-y
Rand Paul, originally uploaded by Gage Skidmore.
The big to-do over the weekend concerned Rand Paul, son of perennial Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul. The younger Paul, you will recall, won the Kentucky Republican primary and will now face off against the Democrats for the Senate seat held by the retiring Jim Bunning.
Mr. Paul is a small-government proponent, meaning the Tea Party movement loves this guy. However, he *really* doesn't like government getting all up in your business, to the point where he admitted he didn't think the part of the Civil Rights Act that said businesses couldn't discriminate based on race was a bad idea. He also said he thought the federal government is being too hard on BP for not cleaning up the oil spill fast enough. D'oh!
Now, I'm not going to say I think Rand Paul is a racist, or a bigot, or anything else one might call a person who is against civil rights legislation. If anything, I'd say he's terribly, terribly misguided.
Despite what some hardcore Tea Partiers think, I do not believe most Americans want the federal government to disappear. That's what Rand Paul seems to want.
It's an interesting philosophical debate. The Ron and Rand Paul camp thinks everything will be sorted out through the free market. In response to questions about the Civil Rights Act, Mr. Paul said the proper way to punish a business that won't serve blacks is to organize boycotts. I am not sure how he thinks BP will get its comeuppance for the oil spill.
However, I tend to think everything should not be left to the free market. Especially not today. A million people could decide they are never going to buy BP gas again, and it would have nary and effect on its bottom line. Meanwhile, they'd be free to run amok because there is nobody there to stop them. Likewise, I don't think a racist business would suffer terribly through the free market.
Simply put, some government intervention is required for certain things. Without Civil Rights legislation, I truly do not think the steps to a truly equal society - and this is the most equal America has ever been - would exist. Libertarians, Tea Partiers, what have you, are living in a fantasy world. Most voters, I think, will see through the absurdity come November. Democrats or moderate Republicans are not always right. But I also know Rand Paul is wrong.
entry no. 1461
Posted at May 24, 2010 02:48 PM