Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of the Republican surprises in the wave election of 2010, made his national debut just now at the Republican convention with what can only be described as a humdinger. He simply began his speech in the middle. “When I heard about the Supreme Court’s decision upholding Obamacare,” he started, “I thought, ‘But it’s unconstitutional.’” He went on to connect his view with the views of the Federalists about limited government, connected them cleverly to the convention’s “you didn’t build that” theme, and offered a brilliantly succinct explanation of the problem with centralized populist attacks on business: “When you seek to punish Mr. Exxon Mobil, you punish the secretary who owns Exxon Mobil stock.”
Having established his bona fides as a mainstream Republican, he then dipped into his father Ron Paul’s kit bag—calling for defense cuts and offering a libertarian attack on homeland security. These were done with an artful lightness of touch his father has never displayed. “You, the individual, are the engine of America’s greatness,” he concluded.
An undeniable triumph.
Four years ago Commentary obtained a leaked copy of Sarah Palin's dazzling acceptance speech and published it prior to the actual event. Instead of a similar event this year, Commentary is attacking Senator Rand Paul's belief that the America's military spending is unsustainable. Pretty lame, Milhouse. n
BULL. (Actually, to clarify, BULLS….).
You're being too generous. Rand Paul is anything but the hope of the Republican Party.
Yes and everyone has ignored Rand Paul's speech at the Ron Paul rally praising his Dad for talking about "blowback" in the GOP debates. Rand Paul is your worst nightmare he is truly a chip off the old block beware his silver tongue.
My assessment is from the opposite side of the spectrum, the Ron paul wing, but I'd concur. Rand has fused authentic parts of the tea party AND Old Right with, for better or worse, a little accomodationism. The fact is, the GOP needs to expand somewhere and the moves towards various minority groups have been a wasted effort.