Rand Paul talks a lot probably too much for his own good
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is everywhere these days. And arguably nobody has crafted such a big profilein his first four years in the Senate. He gives what seems to be a speech a day, is on TV all the time, and isn't shyabouttalking to reporters. The summation is lots of Rand Paul being on the record.
The flipside of that, of course, is that there is lots of Rand Paul being on the recordfor people like us (ink-stained wretches that we are) to parse. And parse we will.
Over justthe past few days, several stories have detailed the inconsistencies and take-backs contained in Paul's public record. Here's our David Farenthold:
Sen. Rand Paul wanted to eliminate aid to Israel. Now he doesnt. He wanted to scrap the Medicare system. Now hes not sure.
Hedidnt like the ideaof a border fence it was expensive, and it reminded him of the Berlin Wall. Now he wants two fences, one behind the other.
And what about same-sex marriage? Pauls position such marriages are morally wrong, but Republicans should stop obsessing about them seems so muddled that an Iowa pastor recently confronted him in frustration.
Yahoo's Chris Moody offered a similar take, and the Daily Caller's Matt Lewis summarized both pieces thusly:
Both do a very good job of documenting Pauls changing positions, but neither fully captures the frustration that comes from dealing with someone who refuses to play by the agreed upon rules of logic, rhetoric, and discourse that keeps society from descending into chaos.
Ouch.
Perhaps nothing captures this phenomenon more than a recent flap over Paul and his comments on executive orders. Paul told a crowd in New Hampshire a few days ago that, as president, hewould repealall executive orders that are currently on the books i.e. more than 200 years' worth.
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Rand Paul talks a lot probably too much for his own good