2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWhy The Liberal Love For Rand Paul Is Wrong
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is no doubt delighting in the liberal love he is receiving for his TIME magazine op-ed on race, policing, and the crisis in Ferguson, Missouri. But I am not one of those easily impressed. Why not? Because he is wrong.
Paul is correct to critique the militarization of local police in America. But thats not a new phenomenon when it comes to black communities in America its been the norm since the 1960s. And the demilitarization argument does nothing to challenge nor change the fact that nearly two times a week in the United States, a white police officer killed a black person during a seven-year period ending in 2012, according to FBI statistics. Two times a week. Thats everyday local policing, and has nothing to do with the militarization of local police forces, nor big government. The choke-hold that killed Eric Garner or the multiple gunshots that killed Michael Smith were not military-grade weapons. They were weapons used as the result of what Senator Paul believes in most strongly, when it comes to civil rights: a lot of things can be handled locally.
And this is where he gets it most wrong. Sen. Pauls most mistaken premise is that big government is at the heart of the problem, presumably when it comes to the loss of black life at the hands of the police.
In what country is he living? He is flatly wrong to suggest that there has been an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows police to become judge and jury. Maybe thats the case for white America, but certainly not for black America or communities of color. There is no erosion of civil rights and liberties because on some level, local police have never respected the rights and liberties of African-American communities. Black bodies have always been subject to surveillance, suspicion, illegal and unconstitutional search and seizures, brutality and as weve tragically witnessed for the third time this week murder. Murder of unarmed black people at the hands of local police. These lethal and violent deaths of black citizens again, nearly two times a week are not the result of big government, but small government at its worst.
And this is where the brute facts, based on the radically different lived experiences of minorities in America, come up against Pauls shaky premises. Because for black Americans, what Sen. Paul disparages as big government is actually the government we trust most. It is local government that African Americans trust the least and the primary reason is the relationship of local police to black communities. According to a 2013 Pew poll, only two in ten whites trust the government in Washington to do what is right either always or most of the time, compared with roughly four in ten blacks and Hispanics.
more...
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-the-liberal-love-rand-paul-wrong
djean111
(14,255 posts)DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)Everything he wants to stop Uncle sam from doing to us, he will allow and encourage Wall Street to do to us directly.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Fuck Looneytarians.
It's like admiring Hitler because he was fond of dogs.
Fuck Rand Paul.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Really?
AndreaCG
(2,331 posts)I just read a FB post by one of my few RW friends. We agree Rand Paul is not our man, albeit for different reasons.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)There is no liberal love for Rand Paul.
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)lol. I've noticed some good posts from you today.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)And, they ain't cool.
Hippo_Tron
(25,453 posts)The man belongs to a political party whose present day coalition was formed initially from opposition to civil rights. Most rank and file GOPers don't believe that racism even exists anymore, except for "reverse racism".
Rand Paul is no trail blazer on these issues, but his mere acknowledgement of reality is a big step in the right direction when you consider the opinions of his colleagues (see Steve King). I'd also note that he and his father are spot on about the War On Drugs and it's sad that they're more right about it than most Democrats.
That said, the man is a fucking regressive lunatic on so many other issues.
Cosmocat
(14,572 posts)this would be the equivalent of Bernie Sanders coming out to advocate for privatizing SS or against gay marriage ...
It just is not where he is really at with it.
And, his "policy" solution here would be to take the teeth out the federal government's efforts to ensure equality.
THINK ABOUT THAT, while he gets gratuitous pats on the back for people who WANT to see some republican saying something not absolutely ridiculous about race, what he is advocating for is a Trojan Horse, fighting against the very things that have been developed to try to engender equality AND roll them back to make minorities more vulnerable.
Hippo_Tron
(25,453 posts)But he has made some very troubling comments regarding the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)to give small business owners "job creators" the right to discriminate based on race.
The reality is that he is an unapologetic racist just like his lunatic father. The KKK acknowledges racism exists - should we credit them as well?
Blue Idaho
(5,057 posts)The fact that Rand Paul occasionally takes a position that is palatable to liberals should not in any way make him an attractive figure. On the whole, he is a despicable huckster that will say anything and do anything to curry favor and seek political gain.
Gothmog
(145,530 posts)I would urge all liberals to keep away from Rand Paul and his daddy. They are racists and are not nice people
An entire shit load.
malthaussen
(17,216 posts)What bothers me is the all-or-nothing attitude I sometimes see around DU. A single criticism means hate, a single agreement means love. I don't understand that at all. Surely issues should be decided on their merit, and not on the basis of who advocates what position.
-- Mal
conservaphobe
(1,284 posts)The economy, job creation, and preserving the social safety net trump all the issues libertarians and liberals agree on.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)WTF, is this a bullshit purity test, or just a lame strawman argument?
Liberal_from_va34
(50 posts)In fact, most of my other liberal friends have yet to utter a single kind word about the Pauls in general. Most of them view the Pauls as frauds and opportunists.
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)beerandjesus
(1,301 posts)...you criticize Obama for anything, no matter how right-wing, you're an asshole for imposing a purity test. (And you have ODS.)
BUT....
...if you agree with Rand Paul on one or two issues, you're a "Rand Paul lover", and fail the purity test.
Of course what's *really* funny is how some of us care about actual issues more than team sports.