Rand Paul may not be a racist, but he is an extremist

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/05/rand_paul_may_not_be_a_racist.html



Will someone please ask how Rand Paul would solve environmental problems? The issue of environmental regulation is where Libertarianism falls completely off its wheels. The notion of private space just doesn't work in a world where we breathe the same air, drink the same water.
Posted by: Vaughan1 May 20, 2010 11:12 AM

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After watching this interview it was clear Rand Paul refused to answer the main question Maddow was asking, "Do you believe private business should be able to discriminate and refuse service to anyone they choose for whatever reason". He simply would not answer this question.
His non answer speaks volumes
Posted by: jill16 May 20, 2010 11:14 AM


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He certainly had a racist Campaign Spokesman, Chris Hightower, earlier this year who was forced to resign when Wonkette published his facebook page that said "Happy ___ Day" with a picture of a black man hanging from a tree dead, in honor of Martin Luther King. So live in your white world there Ezra and I'll live in the REAL world. Ron Paul had that racist newsletter that The New Republic did a story on & "the liberal media" ignored. That is common in families to believe what your taught. I won't even go into Stormfront fundraisers. Whatever!
Posted by: carolerae48 May 20, 2010 11:18 AM

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It's not racism or extremism, Ezra. It's the Libertarian's Dilemma. The theory of non-governing government sounds ideal, until segregation or slavery or World War II comes up. Then the limitations of a one-size-fits-all approach becomes apparent. Or, Libertarianism is essentially idealized anarchism. And anarchy only really sounds fun to 16 year old boys.
It's not extremism. The reality is, Paul's remedy is one we apply to private institutions and associations every day. We have single-sex schools, and you know what? They're is nothing wrong with that. But some people don't like it. And that's fine.
But the reality is that there are special cases, and private businesses segregated solely on the basis of ethnicity in a country that once had ethnocentric slavery and Jim Crow laws . . . that was a special case in our country. There was a deep moral injustice involved in separate-but-equal that isn't involved in a charter school that focuses on having single-sex classrooms or a golf-club that requires that you graduated from an Ivy league college.
There was a pervasive culture that would make it difficult or impossible, even if potentially profitable, for lunch counters to go bi-racial and to get ride of separate facilities for whites and blacks. There was a whole set of cultural issues that would make if difficult for private businesses to run their establishments as they saw fit, if the way they saw fit was to have a mixed-race establishment. And on and on. The argument that segregation was the result of private businesses making private decisions in a vacuum, and thus should have been left alone, ends up being fallacious, anyway.
That Rand Paul's answer wasn't an immediate: "What kind of question is that? Frankly, I reject the absurd premise that my beliefs logically lead to . . . " Rand lost that argument the minute he decided to accept the premise of the question. Trying to answer it in a way that would seem to justify segregation is just icing on the cake.
There are some places where even liberals aren't very open to nuance. ;)
Posted by: Kevin_Willis May 20, 2010 11:23 AM


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i want to thank rachel maddow for having that interview last night.somehow, with amazing grace, she was able to give him ample space to express himself.that a man like rand paul, could possible be elected to public office in this country, is a terror.he is against institutional racism, but will not advocate laws to protect against it. that interview gave me the chills.and he chose to have his victory celebration was held at a country club? what symbolism, after his interview with rachel maddow.this man can keep a whole nation up at night, worrying.
Posted by: jkaren May 20, 2010 11:33 AM


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What cracks me up about Rand Paul is he is an eye surgeon specializing in corneal transplants and glaucoma treatments, along w. lasik. Guess who pays for 90% of those transplants and glaucoma treatments? MEDICARE AND MEDICAID. I wonder if his libertarian principles lead him to reject the evil federal government dollars (or does he insist on being paid in gold?). I'm a rock-ribbed republican, this guy is an embarrassment.
Posted by: sgaliger May 20, 2010 11:44 AM

Not bending is the very definition of a Libertarian. Once they bend, they become conservatives or liberals.
During the 2008 Presidential campaign, one of my kids had a high school assignment to pick a Presidential candidate, read a book the candidate had written, and then evaluate their political beliefs. My son picked Ron Paul, because he was somewhat captivated by his themes of individual freedom. When the assignment was complete, I asked him how he felt about Ron Paul.
He told me that he had taken Ron Paul's book out from the library, and it occurred to him that if Ron Paul had his way, there would be no public library run by the government using taxes. My son really likes taking things out from the library, and so that simple epiphany was enough by itself for him to realize that he did not want to live in Ron Paul's alternate world.
That's how it will always be with Libertarians. Everyone agrees with much of what they have to say (just different parts), but virtually no one can swallow the whole package. And that's a good thing.
Posted by: Patrick_M May 20, 2010 2:15 PM


thank you, ezra.
journalists cannot let up on this for a second.do not let decades of legislation supporting human decency and equal rights be jeopardized by even one dangerous extremist in the government who thinks like this.keep fighting the good fight.the fight against ignorance and evil just never ends.we must hold on to our ideals and our hope for a better world.keep exposing the truth of this man's beliefs.dont let evil gain any more of a foothold than it already has.
Posted by: jkaren May 20, 2010 2:28 PM