But my main point here is to point out some ominous words coming from Christie that drew scathing criticism from Paul and now do so from me:
"This all began last week when Christie said at an Aspen Institute forum that there is a 'strain of libertarianism' within the Republican Party by those who oppose the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program and other counterterrorism techniques. The governor said Paul and others in the GOP could come to New Jersey and explain their opposition to the 'widows and orphans' who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terror attacks."From the AP via CBS Denver:
“I remember what this country was like on Sept. 12.... I’m very nervous about the direction this is moving in. I think we need to be very cautious … about shifting this thing way back."Chris Christie is trying to pay lip service to the national security establishment in the hopes that it will win him what looks to be a very, very bloody nomination process, unless as I said earlier he has already made the veep deal with Rand Paul.
But let's focus on the main issue, which is not Rand Paul but the preservation of the essence of American society. Remember above where I referred to the staking out of America's libertarian middle ground? This is the most important of my points. We are libertarian at heart.
I remember in public school trying to get to my backpack that was hanging on a wall and asking a classmate to please step aside so I could get to it. He responded, "I'm not moving. It's a free country." While that's one extreme case, it demonstrates how much freedom is in our air. Go to Japan, go to Germany or the UK, go to most places in Latin America or Africa and you won't find the air of freedom the way you do in the United States.
While I admit there are herds of mindless Americans who have grown so used to Facebook and smart phones that they refuse to practise security on a personal level, I still know how much freedom means to our culture and way of life. The Republican nomination in 2016 will be about whether freedom can still survive. We had hoped for Barack Obama to bring us that change, but his refusal to budge from a very anti-libertarian middle ground has squandered all the Democratic advances made in the horrors of the Bush era. With the Democratic Party already promising to put more police officers in the streets and continue reckless government abuses of power until it is voted out of office, America now turns its eye again to the Republican Party to see what morally-upright characters might still stroll amongst its ruins.
If you ask your average progressive whether he would vote for a libertarian or a capitalist conservative centrist, it's pretty obvious to see what would happen should Rand Paul win the nomination. It will be a very difficult process, but it will be enabled by all the liberal areas of the US that have recently moved in the direction of month-long elections and same-day registration. Young voters are leaning libertarian in larger numbers.
Remember that Rand Paul's father Ron Paul polled at a solid 30-33% in post-debate opinion polls for much of the primary process, until only the main contenders were left. Ron Paul also almost won Iowa with all the new voters he was able to muster, coming in just a hair behind the whirlwind Santorum blitz and the perpetual Romney machine. And Ron Paul won the overwhelming majority of caucus delegates from Iowa, for all the good it did him.
It's safe to say that Rand Paul's presence in Iowa should not be discounted, which I think explain's Christie's early attack. Sadly, it predisposes me against him. Sure, much of the centrist "I don't really follow politics" crowd who voted Christie into office will continue to support him at the national level, but I really don't think the middle of America is asking for it. Post-Bush and post-Obama, we need a real reformer.
Speaking of which, just take a look at the new Pope's stance on homosexuality. After growing up in a very Catholic part of the East Coast, I see it as nothing short of a miracle.
Let's pray we can get the miracle of an independent reformer in the White House again. Vetoing almost every bill would go a long way in cleaning up the bovine excreta of the legislative branch, even if it could put us into a short period of mild chaos. It's just trading the chaos of today's bureaucracy for the chaos of a few months' of reforms.
Use Pope Francis's cleaning up of the Vatican as the example here. Sure it causes a little chaos that the prelate of the Vatican Bank is indicted for theft and fraud. But restoring the brand to its true foundations thereby restoring trust of its clients/citizens to it is far more important to the brand in the long run than questions of growth or chaos. Long-term growth on a solid foundation is far more valuable as an asset, but America is heavily in personal and national debt.
Under Obama, the economy has been gaining ground, and businesses don't want that trend to stop, even in the name of reform. Even if the Obama economy can continue another two years of even more robust growth, Americans will still vote in droves for Rand Paul the same way they voted for George W. Bush. The current holders of debt and credit in America do not want the loose credit environment to stop, even if it means strengthening the ability of their debtors to pay up. They will be happy to line Christie's process for a bloody fight, again, unless Rand Paul is already playing along to their tune.
In the end, Rand Paul has irked me on some decisions, but time will tell whether he plays to money or to the tune of Liberty.
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