The Great White Hopeless? Christian Science Monitor tosses "limited, naive" Rand Paul under the bus.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Rand Paul and the limits of the 'tea party' revolution

Rand Paul, Republican candidate for US Senate from Kentucky, is perhaps the closest thing there is to a 'tea party' candidate. In that light, his recent controversial comments are telling.

Republican US Senate candidate Rand Paul, a 'tea party' favorite, arrives at his campaign headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky., Wednesday after winning his party's primary election.

Ed Reinke/AP

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0523/Rand-Paul-and-the-limits-of-the-tea-party-revolution



Republican US Senate candidate Rand Paul, a 'tea party' favorite, arrives at his campaign headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky., Wednesday after winning his party's primary election. Ed Reinke/AP

By Mark Sappenfield, Staff writer / May 23, 2010

On Tuesday, Rand Paul showed the possibilities before the “tea party” movement with his landslide win in Kentucky’s Republican primary for US Senate.

Since then, he has showed the tea party’s limitations.

In the past five days, Mr. Paul has made several elementary political errors.

He has equivocated on whether the Civil Rights Act was right to force private business to comply.

He has called the Obama administration “un-American” for saying its job was to keep its “the boot on the neck of BP" in the Gulf oil spill.

And he has said that the search for blame in the West Virginia mine accident might be fruitless. Sometimes “accidents happen,” he said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that rookie candidates sometimes “stumble.”

The comments do suggest political naivete. But to cast them off as merely the product of political inexperience is perhaps to gloss over one of the greatest challenges facing the tea party movement as it seeks to influence politics.

[gratuitous]

1. A leopard can't change its spots

And Paul's fealty to the philosophy of Libertarianism will not brook any apostasy. Make Paul look foolish? Piece of cake. Make him look like a coherent human being with the least understanding of how things work outside of an Ayn Rand novel? You're gonna have trouble.

[Bluzmann57]

2. Mr. Paul chose to run

And the tea party chose to support him. So screw 'em. If he can't handle pressure, he shouldn't be in a political race, especially for the U.S. Senate. And the teahadists should either be more careful about who they want, or just go away. The latter choice is preferable.

[rocktivity]

5. Mr. Paul chose to run as a faux Republican, and the tea party chose to support him.

Now he's in danger of BOTH parties throwing him under the bus.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[rpannier]

3. Before people write off his chances

He's got 5 months to 'fix' this
Many people who seemed doomed in June recover and win in November
It would be nice if the Democrats won this seat
But, I'm still skeptical.

[Codeine]

4. Sadly, I see this as a like 'bagger victory.

Overestimating the voting public is never wise.

[opihimoimoi]

6. not even a week and he is UNNER DE BUS ALREADY....Dats fasss