On Randian Flourishes

I finally sat down to watch Rand Paul's "victory" speech this afternoon and there's just something about this that completely runs contrary to what America is, what the Tea Baggers are allegedly about, and what Rand Paul himself is allegedly about.

Let's watch:



Well, for starters, this was a message from Fox"News", corporations that would rather it not be known who they align themselves with, as well as just the Republicans that voted for Paul on Tuesday. Other than that, yes, this was the "will of the people".

Then we get to the point where Paul's victory cry runs completely contrary to what his libertarian tendencies tell us.

Why is someone who is so anti-government wanting to be part of that apperatus that they decry? Moreover, where exactly is Paul considering on taking this same government? While all the Tea Baggers that voted for him are willing to state that he is being tasked with restoring "honor" and "integrity" to government, as well as reducing it's role in America, I would really like to know what their definition of honor and integrity is, as well as to see what they would have to say if government was completely removed from the lives of the average American.

In terms of Congressional approval, it shouldn't surprise anyone that their favorability ratings are low - most certainly from liberals/progressives. The Democrats in office haven't been even fractionally as forceful as we want them to be and Republicans have been more focused on being cast as the victims of tactics that were once seen as standard procedure when they were in power. So, for Paul to even cite this as a reason why he was elected makes as much sense as him saying he disagrees with portions of the Civil Rights and Americans With Disabilities Act and then trying to act like he didn't. Oh, he did that too? Well, you get the point.

As Paul's rhetoric continues, I'm getting the sense that this is going to be one of the guys that will back each and every "investigation" into the Obama administration simply because he both needs to do so to keep his Tea Bagger base aligned with him as well as distracting from the fact that he has never spoken about how he would cut spending - outside the off-hand and vague mention about how Social Security and Medicare need to be reformed.

I'm wondering how his "respectful requests" are going to pan out. Considering how Rebpulicans were staunchly against the Clinton budget format that ultimately led to a record surplus, I'm not going to be holding my breath for Paul - or anyone in the Senate siding with him - to act any differently.

Wait...........he's going to ask Congress and the Senate to "deliberate on freedom and American exceptionalism"?

It's from this point that Paul just relies of Tea Bagger talking points, and glittering generalities. Actually, his generalities aren't even that glittering, just phrases and platitudes designed to rally his base enough so that they wake up the next morning and actually feel like they have accomplished something.

Again, I'm fully looking forward to Rand's first day on the Senate floor to see just how much of a disaster he truly is. I'm already getting my DVR ready to record every CSPAN channel there is.