Thread: Is Rand Paul right for America on immigration and economics?

Is Rand Paul right for America on immigration and economics?

By Joseph Cotto, Communities Digital News
4 hours ago

Rand Paul/ wikipedia

OCALA, Fla., March 12, 2014 — Rand Paul is a major fixture in America’s political circuit.

The first-term U.S. Senator from Kentucky isn’t famous so much for his legislative accomplishments as he is a libertarian icon. A voice for rigid constitutionalism which does not scare the masses, Paul is an oddity among movement activists. He is also the son of small government godfather Ron Paul, who represented an East Texas-based congressional district until early last year.

Simply put, Rand is the first heir to a libertarian political machine with national teeth.

This comes at an opportune time. Many political forecasters are saying that the future of the American center-right belongs to libertarians; specifically those of the Ron Paul variety. Is this the case? Regardless, would the U.S. economy fare well under strong libertarian influence?

“Libertarians are a noisy minority in the Republican party but not even close to numerous enough to take it over,” Ian Fletcher, senior economist at the Coalition for a Prosperous America, explained to this journalist in 2012.

Fletcher is a stalwart opponent of free trade, something that is verboten in mainstream libertarian politics.

“Love of liberty is very much in the American grain, but libertarianism is something else: a philosophical cult that is superficially attractive on first glance but ends up disappointing most people when they realize all its weird implications, from crank economics to sexual libertinism to this odd ‘we’re not racists but people should be free to discriminate’ position that Ron Paul has come under fire for,” Fletcher continued.

“Libertarianism is like socialism: it attracts precocious teenagers but most people grow out of it as they get experience in real politics and see that you can’t reduce it all to one thing, not even freedom.”

Fletcher is far from alone in his skepticism.

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, spoke with this journalist about the subject nearly two years ago. While Krikorian mentioned that the CIS “has no involvement in electoral politics”, he added that “personally, I think libertarianism is an infantile disorder, an ‘ideology’ in the worst, anti-Burkean sense of the word. That is not to say that many Americans who call themselves ‘libertarians’ share that disorder — I think the appeal of the label comes from the Republican Party’s pathetic big-government record over the past couple of decades.

“Despite the many patriotic Americans who call themselves “libertarians” as a kind of protest, the ideology of libertarianISM is a post-American creed that rejects national borders and nationhood itself. Obviously, this has immigration consequences, namely that libertarianISM is inseparable from open borders.”

Jan C. Ting teaches law at Temple University, but his career has followed a path which few academics choose to tread. A former Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Delaware and a senior fellow at CIS, he served as Assistant Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service under George H.W. Bush.

In 2013, Ting told this journalist that “Rand Paul….made a clear statement of libertarian policy on March 19 before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce when he said, ‘If you want to come to the U.S. to live and work, we will find a place for you.’

“While I don’t support that view, I do believe it is an intellectually coherent and defensible position, much preferable to President Obama’s ‘third way’ of keeping immigration limits on the books, but not enforcing them, and then giving amnesty to all the immigration violators whenever they reach critical mass, while still paying for immigration enforcement.

Libertarian immigration policy would be an experiment in which I don’t think we should participate. We should not bet the republic that the results will be good. I suspect the results would be a disaster and the end of the American experiment.”

http://www.commdiginews.com/politics...454sV0FhoXz.99

While I tend to agree with Paul on some issues he is IMO a open borders guy and that alone makes him a poor candidate.

Rand Paul's support for mass amnesty for illegal aliens takes him off our candidate list for sure!

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Rand Paul's support for mass amnesty for illegal aliens takes him off our candidate list for sure!

W

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I agree, but what would happen if it came down to him, Hillary, or Rahm?

To get the nomination, Ron Paul will have to tow the Chamber of Commerce line.

That means he (or any other GOP candidate) CANNOT/WILL NOT focus on illegal immigration - PERIOD.

He will be mainly focusing on OBAMACRE and 'Big Government."

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The ObamaCare roll out has been nothing short of a DISASTER.And experts agree it will get much worse - more expensivehealthcare premiums and medical services, lower-quality healthcare, higher taxes, and fewer doctors.Turns out, if you liked your healthcare plan, you couldn't keepit. You may soon find you can't keep your doctor either.

That's why, for the sake of our kids and grandkids, our smallbusinesses and the country we love so dearly, you and I MUSTfight to repeal ObamaCare.Recently, I tried to enroll my 20-year old son in ObamaCare andpay the bill for his health insurance. Neither of us could do it. Instead, he had to go to a localwelfare office to "prove his existence." And two days later, hereceived a Medicaid card that he hadn't even applied for!You and I can only guess how many millions of Americans are nowexperiencing ObamaCare's madness - many of whom are not healthy20-year olds, but elderly, sick or disabled.The only good news is the more the American people learn aboutObamaCare, the more they agree it stinks.

Democrats in Congress are feeling the American people's outragelike never before, and they're beginning to cave in. So pleasestand with me to keep up the pressure to REPEAL OBAMACARE!You see, it won't happen without your support.So please take a moment to fill out your "Stand With Rand toRepeal ObamaCare" petition IMMEDIATELY.

It's absolutely critical that you do so.I know you and I have had to fight like never before these pastfew years as the Obama Administration has careened from onedisaster and mistake to another.But this might be our most important fight yet. After all, Iknow you've heard about all the madness surrounding ObamaCare'simplementation, including:***The ObamaCare website's "glitches."

In fact, it's takenPresident Obama's administration longer to create a workingwebsite than it took the U.S. military to defeat the Nazis inWorld War II; ***2.6 TRILLION in taxpayer dollars we don't have that will doabsolutely NOTHING to improve American healthcare. Instead, thismassive government takeover is making things dramatically worse;***Lost jobs and cut back hours as employers are forced to lookfor ways to keep their doors open while facing ObamaCare's taxand regulatory nightmare;***Lost health insurance policies and skyrocketing premiums forhardworking families just trying to make ends meet.Not only that, but I recently learned health insurance companiesaren't worried young people are rejecting ObamaCare's bad deal indroves - even though they're the supposed "linchpin" that willmake the whole boondoggle work - because ObamaCare includesspecial provisions that forces the American taxpayers to pony upfor yet another bailout!It's $20 BILLION to start.

From there, the sky's the limit.The ugly truth is, the tax-and-spenders knew this would happen -just like President Obama knew he was lying.That's why President Obama held off on ObamaCare implementationuntil after his 2012 reelection campaign! Only now - more thanfour years after its passage - are the American people trulybeginning to see ObamaCare's disastrous results.And it's all about to get worse. Much worse, in fact. Click to signRight now, dozens of news reports are predicting a "second wave"of "health insurance disruptions" - as the Washington Post refersto it - for later this year.Then, tens of millions of American small businesses are set toreview their insurance plans and premium increases for 2015.Meanwhile, I hear alarming stories of more young people beingturned off to the hard road of medical school to become medicaldoctors - a road I took, and my father before me.The whole ObamaCare scheme is a ticking time bomb even the mostardent apologists in Congress fear.

Now, some Democrats in Congress are starting to hint around aboutso-called "fixes" to ObamaCare.It's a trap - a trap pro-ObamaCare legislators are setting sothey can skate through yet another election without paying theprice for their assault on American healthcare and freedom.I'm sorry, but the problem with ObamaCare isn't only with its"implementation." It's not only with its website. It's not evenonly with taxing, it's spending or it's bailouts!

The core problem with ObamaCare is the Big Government idea thatsome federal bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. can run your lifebetter than you can.They can't. PERIOD. And the only way our country is going toturn itself back away from the brink of disaster is with arenewed support for the principles of liberty that made theUnited States the greatest and freest nation in human history.That's why your action today is so critical.

I need your help toconvince my colleagues in Congress to say "NO DEAL."The truth is, "fixing" ObamaCare can't be done. And you and Icertainly aren't stupid enough to allow pro-ObamaCare legislatorsto get off scot-free in another election year with another delay.Repeal is the only answer. 100% outright REPEAL. Click to signAs I mentioned, Democrats in Congress are scared stiff aboutpayback at the ballot box.

So if you and I draw a line in thesand, they'll have no choice.Either they'll vote with you and me to repeal ObamaCare, or theAmerican people will elect a Congress that will.And as for President Obama, he can either admit he was wrong, orrisk an even BIGGER Tea Party tidal wave election than we saw in2010, which will effectively render him powerless for the lasttwo years of his presidency.Either way, ObamaCare will be wiped off the books for good - if Ican count on your support right away.

So first, won't you please sign your "Stand With Rand to RepealObamaCare" petition at once?As you'll see, your petition will help me stiffen my colleagues'backbones against cutting any deals with Democrats and insteadinsist on full repeal. And secondly, I hope you'll agree to your most generous financialsupport.I don't know what you can afford.Please a chip in a contribution of $10 or $20 to help me reachand mobilize more Americans all over the country to help me fightto repeal ObamaCare.Every dollar you give will help me reach more Americans andgenerate more heat on members of the U.S. Congress to repealObamaCare.The truth is, my colleagues understand the American people arefed up.

That's why I believe turning up even more heat can finally breakthrough Washington, D.C.'s blockade against common sense and sendObamaCare to the ash heap of history.But I must count on your support.So please sign your petition and chip in contribution of $10 or$20 or whatever you can afford at once!In Liberty,Senator Rand Paul (R - Kentucky)P.S. Democrats are scared stiff about the price they'll pay inthe 2014 elections. So if you and I keep the pressure on,ObamaCare CAN be repealed. The disastrous ObamaCare roll-out isjust the tip of the iceberg of higher taxes, lost jobs,lower-quality healthcare and more that will come.So won't you please complete your "Stand With Rand to RepealObamaCare" petition to your Representative and U.S. Senatorsright away?And if you can, please agree to chip in a contribution of $10 or$20 to help me turn up the heat on Congress! Click to signPaid for by Reinventing A New Direction - RANDPACwww.randpac.com