Joe Conason: What Rand Really Believes

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from truthdig:



What Rand Really Believes

Posted on May 27, 2010
By Joe Conason


Rand Paul, tea party flavor of the month, is said to be avoiding “overexposure.” Senior Republican Party operatives, worried by the Kentucky Senate nominee’s all-too-revealing remarks after his primary victory, have urged him not to grant any interviews for a while. So he flip-flopped on his criticism of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, flaked out on a “Meet the Press” appearance and has scarcely been heard from since.

But hiding out and keeping quiet scarcely befits the leader of a movement of would-be revolutionaries—which means that, sooner or later, Dr. Paul will have to speak up again. Even if he has settled the civil rights controversy for the moment, he still has some explaining to do.

As a lifelong libertarian who seems stuck on a strict standard of ideological purity, he may or may not espouse that creed’s most extreme positions, like his father, Rep. Ron Paul. If he does, then even many Republicans may think twice or three times before they vote for him. If he doesn’t, then he may find himself in a quarrel with many of his old comrades, his father and his own past statements. More than once, Rand has said that he generally agrees with Ron.

So considering Paul’s background, extremism is a reasonable concern—and the only way to find out what he really believes is for him to start answering a lot of questions.

What do libertarians believe? On some issues, such as abortion, they are divided. But on gun control, for instance, the libertarian platform indicates that they believe in no restrictions whatsoever on gun ownership, no registrations or background checks—in short, no statutory or regulatory effort to prevent convicted criminals, registered sex offenders, suspected terrorists, illegal immigrants or anyone else from getting their hands on firearms, including anything from a 9mm to a missile launcher. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/what_rand_really_believes_20100527/