Posted by
KsReaganite on Sunday, May 23, 2010 4:37:30 PM
I am somewhat saddened by the slow but inevitable backtracking that Dr. Rand Paul has done on a host of issues. I guess that is to be expected with the tremendous pressure brought upon him by the full spectrum of the political establishment.
The fact is that purely private racial/religious/linguistic/gender discrimination, while reprehensible, is not the proper area for a free government to interfere. Now if such prejudice were to affect commerce subsidized by the government, that would be a different story; that is acknowledged by Dr. Paul in his affirmation of the main tenements of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Beyond the immediate flap, however, is the basic notion that is forgotten by and large by Left and Right, except when a controversy suits them: a limited government means that nobody can be 100 % secure or remain a 100 % unoffended. Nor can individual liberty be guarded without the pesky little thing called procedural due process. Both the Left and the Right have their favorite targets to deny the guarantees of due process, and prudent observers know what I am referring to. Dr. Rand Paul will be amiss if he buckles further into the trap of trading a little bit of liberty for a little bit of safety.
From his remarks I draw hope that he will be able to strengthen the three positive elements in the conservative coalition: the right to life folks, business, and libertarians. At the same time, it is important that his candidacy sideline the more pernicious components of latter day conservative movements: the nativists, anti free trade nuts, and pure bigots.