World Affairs Brief, July 31, 2015 Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief (http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com).
This Week’s Analysis:
Backgrounder on Republican Candidates
Jeb Bush
Chris Christie
Marco Rubio
Rick Santorum
John Kasich
George Pataki
Lindsey Graham
Carly Fiorina
Ted Cruz
Rand Paul
Ben Carson
Donald Trump
Scott Walker
Jim Gilmore
Mike Huckabee
Rick Perry
Bobby Jindal
[…]
RAND PAUL
The junior senator from Kentucky is the son of Ron Paul, the most principled of the modern statesman. Sadly, however, the younger Paul seems to think he can get farther ahead than his father by playing up to the establishment and changing the Republican agenda to become more amenable to the growing benefit-corrupted majority. He unwisely endorsed Mitch McConnell over the much more conservative challenger Matt Bevin and got nothing in return.
Still, he does stand up and fight for the right causes on most occasions. Like Ted Cruz, Paul does not shy away from directly challenging the establishment when necessary. Both have filibustered to keep gun restrictions at bay and Paul has done a lot to try and stop the renewal of the Patriot act and block NSA domestic spying.
But of all the true conservative/libertarian candidates on the Right, Paul has some formidable obstacles to a successful campaign. In fact, there is significant evidence that his campaign is in disarray due to staff differences and lack of money. As Politico.com noted,
Senator Paul has raised significantly less than most major candidates, pulling in $6.9 million, including a $1.6 million transfer from his Senate committee. Affiliated super PACs have raised only $5 million. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush’s super PAC has raised $103 million, and Ted Cruz’s got over $37 million. By comparison, in the last two quarters of 2007, Ron Paul, who had literally zero percent name ID in early internal analyses, raised $25.2 million,
Ron Paul achieved that by a grass roots appeal to small donors. Rand could do that too if he’d take a more principled approach and stop compromising. That’s why his father’s followers are so loyal.
Dr. Paul also has some serious distractions with family problems. His wife reportedly is not supportive of his run for the president and much of that is due to a single problem son. As the Wonkette.com wrote,
Rand Paul’s son, Young Master William Hilton Heir of Rand And Ron Paul, has a bit of a problem. He just can’t stop getting drunk when he is not supposed to. Like, when he is underage. Or driving a vehicle… According to the citation, Lexington police found Paul at 11:24 a.m. sitting in the driver’s seat of a maroon 2006 Honda Ridgeline that had collided with a parked vehicle. The report said Paul was “belligerent” and had “a strong odor of alcohol,” bloodshot eyes and slurred speech… Paul was charged at the hospital with DUI and failure to maintain required auto insurance. Why are we being so mean to Rand Paul’s dumb 22-year-old kid? It’s not just because he is majoring in “communications.” No, it’s because this is his THIRD TIME getting in trouble for unlawful boozing — before noon! — and being a jerk.
Inexcusably, Rand Paul failed to respond to an invitation to speak at my brother’s huge Freedom Fest convention in Las Vegas last week. Marco Rubio showed and so did Donald Trump to a packed audience of 2800 people. Every network camera was rolling to film more outlandish statements by Trump so they can have ammunition to bash the conservative position.
These kinds of campaign failures are hurting Sen. Paul in the polls—and the establishment would love to see Paul ousted from the debates. In the latest NBC News/Marist poll, Paul’s support in New Hampshire has declined from 14% to 4%. If that trend continues, he’ll be out of the running soon.
Despite some compromises disappointing to hard line conservatives, Rand Paul is still very much a future force to be reckoned with now that the PTB are pushing liberals like Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are the ones the establishment is out to beat.
On the Issues:
Abortion [Solid]
Life begins at conception. (Jul 2010)
Opposes federal abortion funding. (Aug 2010)
Prohibit federal funding for abortion. (May 2011)
Budget and Economy [Solid]
Reform the tax code; address the national debt. (Apr 2015)
Federal Reserve is insolvent, by private bank standards. (Feb 2015)
Audit the Fed: currently no jurisdiction to do so. (Feb 2015)
Roll back federal spending to 2008 levels. (Jan 2012)
Bank bailout was bad policy & helped no banks in KY. (Oct 2010)
Disapprove of increasing the debt limit. (Jan 2012)
Civil Rights (and false rights) [Solid]
Marriage for heterosexuals; contracts for same-sex couples. (Apr 2015)
I don’t believe in rights based on your behavior. (Mar 2015)
Opposes affirmative action. (Aug 2010)
Supports Amendment to prevent same sex marriage. (Aug 2010)
Crime and Police [Solid]
Stop transferring military equipment to local police forces. (May 2015)
Restore federal right to vote to non-violent felons. (Apr 2015)
Defend the whole Bill of Rights, including speedy trials. (Feb 2015)
Defend the 4th & 5th Amendments against Big Government. (Feb 2015)
Death penalty is a state issue. (Jul 2014)
Many criminal statutes lack requirement of criminal intent. (Sep 2012)
Eliminate the Lacey Act (s a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants)
Drugs [Good libertarian position, but needs to increase penalties for crimes under the influence of drugs]
Jailing people for 10 years for marijuana is ridiculous. (Nov 2014)
Whites & blacks use drugs, but prisons are full of blacks. (Jul 2014)
War on drugs has unintentionally had a racial outcome. (Jun 2014)
Don’t promote marijuana but don’t jail non-violent criminals. (Mar 2013)
Favors legalizing medical marijuana. (May 2010)
Exclude industrial hemp (Marijuana plant) from definition of marijuana. (Aug 2012)
Education [Good]
Federal student loans are ok, if within spending limits. (Apr 2013)
Allow school choice for everyone, white, brown, or black. (Feb 2013)
No Child Left Behind is federal takeover of schools. (Feb 2012)
Support homeschooling and parental responsibility. (Jul 2010)
Energy [Good, except for Keystone pipeline]
Cut red tape to allow energy freedom & traditional energy. (Apr 2015)
Compete on the free market, including nuclear plants. (Jan 2015)
Develop mineral & energy resources on public lands. (Jan 2015)
Supports Keystone XL, plus domestic oil & gas exploration. (Jan 2015)
Test older gas pipelines for explosion safety. (Sep 2012)
End subsidies to solar companies; they’re donation kickbacks. (Mar 2012)
Unelected EPA should not regulate greenhouse emissions. (Oct 2010)
Environment
EPA regulations cost $15 trillion in 2012. (Sep 2012)
EPA enforcement nullifies due process and judicial review. (Sep 2012)
Land rules made by delusional government interventionists. (Sep 2012)
Navigable waters should mean permanently flowing. (Sep 2012)
Voted NO on protecting ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems. (May 2013)
Foreign Policy [Good at non-intervention, doesn’t see the phony war on terror]
Keep on mind on Iran nukes but don’t trust the ayatollahs. (Apr 2015)
Oppose bombing Assad in Syria because it strengthens ISIS. (Apr 2015)
Create & arm a Kurdish state as support against ISIL. (Apr 2015)
War only when all other measures are exhausted. (Apr 2015)
U.S. intervention in Libya strengthened Islamic State. (Apr 2015)
Stand with Israel Act: no US funds to Palestinian Authority. (Apr 2015)
2011: eliminate all foreign aid & rebuild America instead. (Apr 2015)
50-year embargo with Cuba hasn’t worked; lift it. (Dec 2014)
End US aid to countries that burn our flag. (Mar 2013)
Exit the UN; maintain US sovereignty. (Nov 2010)
Free Trade [Solid]
Participated with Raw Milk Freedom Riders civil disobedience. (Sep 2012)
Health Care [Solid, except for vaccine support]
Health system was over-regulated before ObamaCare. (Apr 2015)
Encourage vaccines, with religious exceptions. (Feb 2015)
Parents own their children, and can choose to not vaccinate. (Feb 2015)
Compassion cannot be delivered in the form of coercion. (Jan 2015)
Supports tort reform & free-market principles. (Jan 2015)
ObamaCare cuts hundreds of choices down to just four. (Nov 2013)
Protect vitamin manufacturers from unreasonable regulations. (Sep 2012)
ObamaCare is still unconstitutional, despite Supreme Court. (Aug 2012)
No mandatory mental health screening in schools. (Nov 2011)
Opposes government-run healthcare. (Aug 2010)
Defund, repeal, & replace federal care with free market. (Jul 2010)
Military and Homeland Security [Good]
Need NSA reform, but not the USA Freedom Act. (Nov 2014)
The Patriot Act is intrusive; it’s what the Founders feared. (Feb 2011)
Allow challenges to NSA in open court, not FISA court. (Nov 2013)
13-hour filibuster against drone strikes targeting Americans. (Mar 2013)
Immigration [Compromising]
Legal status for 11 million illegals after we secure border. (Apr 2015)
National ID card for all citizens protects national security. (Apr 2015)
Status quo is untenable; we must do some sort of reform. (Jun 2014)
Move beyond amnesty, but eventually to path to citizenship. (Jun 2014)
Illegals are not bad people, but we have to control border. (Apr 2014)
Latinos support GOP stances of faith and family values. (Jun 2013)
Legal status, but not citizenship, for illegal immigrants. (Mar 2013)
Taxes and jobs [Solid]
Help the unemployed by lowering taxes dramatically. (Mar 2014)
Unemployment insurance ok if fully paid for & short-term. (Jan 2014)
Extending unemployment benefits does disservice to workers. (Dec 2013)
National Right-to-Work Act: no forced unionization. (Feb 2013)
Welfare [OK except for SS changes—answer is to stop robbing the fund, and to limit benefits to total contributions adjusted for inflation]
Raise retirement age to save program for younger generation. (Apr 2015)
Supports private retirement accounts. (Aug 2010)
Taxes [Mixed—flat tax doesn’t eliminate IRS and distorts the economy, punishing high prices products with reduction in sales]
EZ Tax: $700B tax cut via 17% flat tax. (Apr 2015)
Balanced budget and a simple, fair tax system. (Feb 2015)
Economic growth comes when we lower taxes for everyone. (Jan 2014)
Stand firm and say NO to any MORE tax hikes!. (Feb 2013)
Opposed to increasing taxes during recession. (Feb 2011)
[…]
SUMMARY:
Sadly, there are no uncompromising Ron Paul’s in the lineup this election season. While even the uncontrolled Republican candidates have their weak points (all except Rand Paul indirectly support the globalist policies of intervention), the establishment is sufficiently concerned about Cruz and Paul to pull out all the stops to see they don’t achieve the nomination. Still, it isn’t enough for me to support any of them. I don’t have confidence in any significant change unless a president-elect understands the globalist conspiracy we are up against.
– –
Related:
Rand Paul: Some ‘Christians’ are “Too Eager for War” — “Jesus stood up in a different sort of way … ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ not ‘blessed are the war-makers’”
Rand Paul: Spiritual leaders need to step up and bring in the Third Great Awakening ! To be fully pro-life, war is the last resort!
[ video ] Rand Paul: America Needs a Spiritual Revival — “Don’t look toward your politicians for all the answers. Look to your spiritual leaders. This country needs a revival and a cultural reformation, but it’s not going to come from government or a law”
Steve Quayle: “There are no political solutions to spiritual problems”
(POWERFUL Video) How Ron Paul Was Cheated Out Of Presidency
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