Must Conservatives Be Cop Lovers? Rand Paul Challenges Fellow Republicans to Rethink

Townhall ^ | 08/20/2014 | Jacob Sullum

[Cowboy Bob]

Is it be possible to be a Liberal and believe in the rule of law?

[Resolute Conservative]

I don’t like the term “cop lover”. I am not a groupie. I support them in their job and believe they should be held to a higher standard and punished when wrong (severity dependent). In most situations I give them the benefit of the doubt until all the facts are out unless it is brazenly apparent they were in the wrong.

[Salvation]

Is Rand posing as a Republican? <sarc off

[listenhillary]

Is his solution to look the other way when blacks commit crimes? Or is it to sing to them and hold their hands so they will be peaceful and give up their violent ways?

[Kazan]

Is it possible to be libertarian and protect innocent people from terrorists, tyrants and criminals?

[Slump Tester]

Well, THIS conservative certainly isn’t. But they’re nice to have around when the natives are restless.

[Responsibility2nd]

Oh great. Another lib apologist trying to spin Rand Paul’s lib message.

[FourtySeven]

When did his editorial appear in Time? Before or after the events in Ferguson? I really don't know.

If before, then an unfortunate case of bad timing I'd say. If after, he's just an opportunistic jerk who is showing his true colors.

[Tucker39]

Rethink? Yes, I’ve already rethought....and I think Rand Paul is as bat$hit crazy as his whacko sire!

[dirtboy]

The point is not that Officer Darren Wilson committed a crime when he shot Michael Brown, a question that has yet to be resolved amid conflicting accounts of the incident. The point is that black residents of Ferguson had ample reason to suspect the shooting was not justified and to worry that the official investigation would be rigged in Wilson's favor.

As opposed to what? The example of the politically rigged prosecution of George Zimmerman? If anything, liberal politics will ensure Wilson will be railroaded and prosecuted no matter what evidence exists that he acted properly and in self-defense - witness Governor Nixon's remarks.

[dirtboy]

He is asking them to extend their avowed skepticism of big government to the parts of that apparatus that lock people in cages and shoot them down in the street.

Shoot them down in the street? Another Townhall writer slurps down the Saint Michael Koolaide.

[Iron Munro]

Rand Paul Considers Possible Run For President In 2016

Rand Paul Considers Possible Run For President In 2016

[SampleMan]

Conservatives love the rule of law. They respect lawful authority.

It is not a conflict, but rather extremely consistent, that conservatives despise despotism when they see it.

I approached this case in Ferguson with a fully open mind. If the cop was shown to shoot a surrendering man with his hands up, he would be a murderer. If he was dealing with a violent attacker, it would be a justified shooting. All the evidence so far strongly supports the latter.

[skeeter]

The writer discredits himself in the title of this piece.

Suffice it to urge conservatives to rue their common sense and avoid dogma.

[skeeter]

rue=use

Either I'm becoming dyslexic or my spellcheck has gone nuts.

[freedumb2003]

Someone left the door open on kooky Uncle Rand’s room again!

[areukiddingme1]

Rand Paul, we live in a world that has thugs, and those thugs have guns. Who’s gonna protect the public and your family from those thugs? You? You, Rand Paul? The Police have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Brown and you curse the Police. You have that luxury Senator. You have the luxury of not knowing what the Police know, that Brown’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And the existence of the Police, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you Senator, saves lives! You don’t want the truth, because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want the Police out there on patrol. You need the Police on patrol. The Police use words like “honor”, “code”, “loyalty”. The Police use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending citizens. You Senator, you use them as a punchline. The Police have neither the time nor the inclination to explain themselves to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of protection that the Police provide, and then question the manner in which the Police provide it! We would rather you just said “thank you”, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, put on a badge, and patrol your own neighborhood or a neighborhood in Ferguson. Either way, the Police don’t give a damn what you think Senator! ~ Ripped off from A Few Good Men and modified.

[Iron Munro]

The point is that black residents of Ferguson had ample reason to suspect the shooting was not justified

To Jacob Sullum:

Such as ?

State the reasons and back your statement up with facts, not descriptions of mushy feelings expressed by friends and relatives of criminals and wrong-doers.

[cdcdawg]

You are right. The title alone is chock-full of idiocy.