How Rand Paul became the Tea Party's Obama

Salon.com ^ | 5-14-10 | Ben Van Heuvelen

[Christian_Capitalist]

How Rand Paul became the Tea Party's Obama
His father's libertarian army and Rush Limbaugh's "Dittoheads" aren't natural allies. But Rand Paul has united them.
Friday, May 14, 2010 08:01 ET

On the afternoon of Dec. 16, 2009, the 236th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Rand Paul left the office of his small ophthalmology practice in Bowling Green and drove 30 miles to Russellville, Ky. In an election year without the Tea Party movement, Rand Paul's campaign to become Kentucky's next U.S. senator would be just as quixotic as the bid his father, Ron Paul, made for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. The younger Paul has never before run for political office, and he shares many of his father's unorthodox views, including a desire to abolish both the Federal Reserve and the Department of Education. Yet, today he would address Kentucky's Logan County Republicans as the race's front-runner.

At the Republican Party headquarters in Russellville, Paul took the podium. Dimpled and handsome, 47 years old, with boyishly tousled salt-and-pepper hair, he surveyed the audience, a crowd of mostly retirement-age GOP stalwarts. Then, in a casual and articulate drawl, Paul committed an act of heresy that would have once doomed any Kentucky Republican: He attacked the state's senior senator, the minority leader, Mitch McConnell. The oratory opened with a display of subtle rhetorical agility worthy of Mark Antony.

"I got into this initially because there were rumors they were trying to push Jim Bunning out of office," Paul began. "I said to a reporter, 'I think that's wrong.'"

The two-term Sen. Jim Bunning was the slain Caesar of the stump speech. Playing the role of Brutus, of course, was McConnell, whose hand rests on the GOP's national fundraising taps, and who, with a twist of the wrist, had effectively forced Bunning into retirement. Without directly accusing the honorable Republican leader, Paul decried Bunning's martyrdom.

"I think he's done a good job for us," he said. "He has been conservative, and when the bank bailout came up, Jim Bunning had the courage to vote against it." Paul didn't need to tell this group that Bunning had done so in defiance of McConnell -- and he was too gentlemanly to belabor the point. The implication was clear: The party boss had taken Bunning down for his principles.

To take Bunning's place, McConnell had groomed Trey Grayson, a five-generation Kentuckian and fellow graduate of the University of Kentucky Law School -- the "leadership academy" of Kentucky politics, as some call it -- who is Kentucky's current secretary of state. Most impressive on Grayson's political résumé is that he won reelection in 2007, even as the state overwhelmingly elected a Democratic governor. In a state where 60 percent of voters are registered Democrats, Grayson (who is himself a lapsed Democrat) had valuable crossover appeal. When McConnell began assessing Bunning's electoral prospects in early 2009, Grayson must have seemed especially appealing in contrast. The insubordinate and gaffe-prone Bunning had recently responded to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by coldly forecasting that she would be dead within a year.

Grayson started the race with party backing, a reputation for competence, an ideal political résumé, and a 6-foot-5 frame that gave him an air of authority that his unspectacular public speaking sometimes lacked. When the first polling was done in September '09, Grayson had a 34-25 percent lead. Within four months, though, the numbers had reversed, and Paul told the Logan County Republicans why.

"If there's ever a year for an outsider who has never held office before, this is the year," Paul said. He recounted tales of Tea Party events. Seven hundred people in his hometown of Bowling Green had rallied on April 15; there were 4,000 in Louisville a few months later. By contrast, Paul said, "The biggest GOP event I've been to in the last seven months -- 200 people in Louisville. You can see how the Tea Party movement is big and it captures the discontent that's out there, and sometimes discontent with both sides."

The political divide between Paul and Grayson broadly represents a larger fault line within the GOP: It's Republicans who blame the Democrats versus Republicans who blame the government. A day earlier, on Dec. 15, 2009, a coalition of Tea Party groups had held an emergency "Code Red" rally in a park just north of the Capitol. Addressing the crowd was Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who appears to be making a bid to replace McConnell as the leader of the Senate Republicans.

The crowd was about 1,000 strong and half were wearing bright red jackets and hats, to signify the imminent threat posed by the healthcare bill, which at the time seemed close to passing. Several were waving the yellow Gadsden flags of the American Revolution, which feature the words "Don't Tread on Me" and the image of a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike. Most of the protesters were middle-aged and white, more men than women -- a representative sampling of the Tea Party movement, which (polling has since shown) is slightly older, wealthier, better-educated and angrier than the average American.

"Over a year ago," DeMint said, "Americans voted for a president who promised to cut taxes, cut spending, cut debt." His amplified voice drowned in a chanted chorus of "liar, liar." A woman with short gray hair and rosy cheeks that matched her red sweat shirt held a sign that read "Obama bin Lyin."

DeMint finished his attack on Obama, then pivoted to Republicans.

"Democrats and Republicans, if they're not standing up for our Constitution, for a balanced budget and the principles of liberty ... then you send us people that believe as you do that this country is about freedom and now is our time to fight for it," he said, and waved to the applauding crowd....

[Snip...]

...In an election rife with symbolism, the most telling augur came a month ago, on April 14, when the ousted Bunning announced his endorsement. Bunning had once given Grayson his blessing to form an exploratory committee to run for his seat, and in many he ways owed his political career to McConnell. Yet Bunning is best understood as the Hall of Fame pitcher he was -- one man alone on his mound, and a cantankerous competitor to the end. He seemed determined to defy McConnell’s call for a fresh arm, and, in the spirit of militant individualism, handed the ball directly to Paul.

Full article at LINK

[Christian_Capitalist]

"I am proud to support great grassroots candidates like Dr. Paul.... Because he’s a federalist and he wants the states to have more say -- and as we respect the 10th Amendment in our Constitution, he wants the states to have more say in a lot of these issues." ~~ Governor Sarah Palin

"I'm endorsing Rand Paul because he's a true conservative who will stand up to the Washington establishment. Rand has been running on the issues that matter since the beginning of this campaign. He's a strong advocate for balanced budgets, he wants to end the culture of earmarks, he supports term limits, and he's 100% pro-life. Rand is exactly the kind of leader Americans are looking for right now. He's not a career politician and he's got the guts to stand up to the massive spending, bailouts, and debt that are being forced on us in Washington. ~~ Senator Jim DeMint, chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund

Rand Paul is endorsed by:

• Governor Sarah Palin
• Senator Jim DeMint
• Steve Forbes
• Dick Armey
• Gun Owners of America
• Concerned Women for America
• And Kentucky US Republican Senator Jim Bunning!

[Christian_Capitalist]

Last few days of this Primary race.
May 18th, and then on to the Generals.

[The Duke]

How desperately the left wish they had an identifiable central leader of the Tea Party to demonize and trash!

[GoCards]

Salon can speak with NO authority on Tea Party, Repub’s, Conservatives, Libertarians, just everyday citizens. Just sayin

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Salon’s ga-ga for L. Ron Jr.

Act surprised.

[humblegunner]

Rand Paul is a nutcase like his nutcase father.

[Christian_Capitalist]

(Shrugs). It's just a news piece.

Even Salon.Com can quote Jim DeMint as well as any other paid scribblers.

[Christian_Capitalist]

You guys are funny.

Primary's May 18th. Think you've still got time to pull your RINO boy Grayson's chestnuts outta the fire?

The latest SurveyUSA poll this week had Paul up by 49-to-33 with only 11% undecided, his biggest lead yet. Grayson is now leading only amongst self-described "Liberals".

But maybe you can beat Paul yet! (LOL....)

[Christian_Capitalist]

You guys are funny.

Primary's May 18th. Think you've still got time to pull your RINO boy Grayson's chestnuts outta the fire?

The latest SurveyUSA poll this week had Paul up by 49-to-33 with only 11% undecided, his biggest lead yet. Grayson is now leading only amongst self-described "Liberals".

But maybe you can beat Paul yet! (LOL....)

[delapaz]

right, because we should bow to our Federal Reserve Overlord Bernanke. That’s the conservative thing to do.

[delapaz]

You forgot Jim Dobson on your list.

[humblegunner]

Oh, my.. polls are so important.
Can polls stop Paul Jr. from being a nutcase?

No?

Damn.

[a fool in paradise]

Is Salon’s stock worth more than 10 cents a share today?

[Christian_Capitalist]

I don’t even think it trades any more.

[a fool in paradise]

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SLNM.OB

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[Christian_Capitalist]

Polls can't stop your boy Trey Grayson from being a Bill Clinton-loving RINO, either.

I'll stick with Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint's choice: Rand Paul.

[MrB]

It’s just unfathomable, in their worldview, for people to be “self leading/governing” and not need some elite centralized control.

[Christian_Capitalist]

You’re right! Sorry for the oversight.

[humblegunner]

Polls can't stop your boy Trey Grayson

Never heard of him. Is he someone I should know about?

[Christian_Capitalist]

Polls can't stop your boy Trey Grayson ~~ Never heard of him. Is he someone I should know about?

Not really. According to Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint, the only candidate in this race worth supporting is Rand Paul, anyway.