Rand and the Rons

National Review Online - The Corner ^ | March 12, 2014 11:19 AM | Ramesh Ponnuru

[SoConPubbie]

Jonah’s column today discusses recent comments by Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz about foreign policy, Ronald Reagan, and each other. (I said my piece about the topic yesterday.) Jonah points out that while Senator Paul speaks warmly of Reagan today–he even cites the “Eleventh Commandment” and warns against “splintering” the Republican party–his reaction at the time to eight years of his presidency was to join his father’s anti-Reaganite third-party campaign.

I don’t think primary voters will weigh that episode heavily against Paul because it was his father’s campaign, and because people change. The more Paul talks about Reagan, though, the more likely it is his rivals will bring it up.

[SoConPubbie]

"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton "We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792 "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

[SoConPubbie]

Jonah points out that while Senator Paul speaks warmly of Reagan today–he even cites the “Eleventh Commandment” and warns against “splintering” the Republican party–his reaction at the time to eight years of his presidency was to join his father’s anti-Reaganite third-party campaign.

The "his father’s anti-Reaganite third-party campaign" Ramesh is talking about is accurately described in Jonah Goldberg's Op-Ed "Channeling Ronald Reagan" in the LA Times:

His father was an often vicious critic of his fellow Republicans, including Reagan. In 1987, Ron Paul left the GOP to run as a libertarian presidential candidate, in the process denouncing Reagan for "massive monetary inflation, indiscriminate military spending, an irrational and unconstitutional foreign policy, zooming foreign aid, the exaltation of international banking, and the attack on our personal liberties and privacy."Reaganomics, said Paul the Elder, was simply "warmed-over Keynesianism." Rand is a very different man than his father, but his big-tent conservatism is a bit ironic given the fact he worked on his father's campaign and is inheritor of the Paul machine.

[SoConPubbie]

Ted Cruz Ping!

If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.

Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!

[BRL]

Truth is ... that no matter how much you like Reagan, he did not throw much sand into the government growth machine. He talked about it, but did not force the issue

[Beagle8U]

He couldn’t do too much to shrink government with a Demoncrap congress.

[flaglady47]

Once again, Rand Paul is Ron Paul in camouflage.

[Beagle8U]

Bingo!

[novemberslady]

bkmk

[2ndDivisionVet]

Want a laugh?

Dole Is Conservative, Cruz Is Not
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-jenkins/ted-cruz-bob-dole_b_4946245.html

[Defiant]

I had hoped that Rand Paul would be a great vehicle to bring libertarians back into the Republican fold, but he has become a disappointment. It seems he absorbed a lot of the lessons of his father, he is just smart enough to know not to spout them, and diplomatic enough to know how to hide it. But it has been coming out lately, especially with foreign policy, amnesty, and now his attacks on a true conservative, Ted Cruz.

I believe that Rand Paul is just a watered down version of Ron Paul. A diluted toxin is still toxic. It does not become sweet through the addition of water. It is obvious he is positioning himself for a run at the Presidency. I hope he doesn't get far.

[novemberslady]

Thank you
I don't go to huffs site :)

[novemberslady]

Thanks again.
I like Ted Cruz. I like Bob Dole.

I would vote for either of them (especially if Sarah Palin were on the ticket)
Don't think Bob's gonna run though.
Maybe he'll read this and advise...

[ken5050]

You'll enjoy this...an exquisite take down of Rand Paul over at Red State here

[novemberslady]

"But just in case you came in late or missed it, he’ tough. Damned tough."

Thanks :)

[flaglady47]

Yes, I enjoyed the Red State article re Rand Paul very much, as it echoes my sentiments precisely. He is hiding his true self, isn’t he. Mel Gibson, Rand Paul, and Pat Buchanan are alll chips off the old man’s block, and don’t disguise it all that well.

[flaglady47]

alll = all above. Typo.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I was very lucky having lived & worked campaigns in Iowa. I’ve met most of the people running for president in the eighties and nineties.