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The New York Magazine published an article by Jonathan Chait calling Rand Paul Donald Trump‘s “most loyal stooge “arguing that Rand Paul “has not only attached himself to Trump, but is actively snuffing out whatever faint stirrings of opposition his colleagues can muster.”

Chait points to instances Paul has attached himself to Trump and when Paul was against any active investigation into Russian ties to the executive branch.

I just don’t think it’s useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party,” Paul told “Kilmeade and Friends.” “We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans.”

In addition, Chait argued that “Paul has elevated the practice of looking away from the crimes of the Executive branch to an actual principle of governance.” Chait found fault with Paul’s dispute with McCain over remarks he made about the media, with Paul saying “we’re very lucky John McCain is not in charge because I think we would be in perpetual war.”

Chait writes:

“Obviously Paul has longstanding disagreements with McCain on foreign policy. But the subject of this rant was not foreign policy; it was Trump’s creepy, Stalinesque dismissal of the news media as a class enemy, which Paul is excusing by changing the subject to other issues. Every authoritarian requires spineless lackeys who will attack his dissidents. In Trump’s Republican Party, the authoritarian’s best friend is the libertarian.”

However, there are others who believe Paul is making his own way. Curtis Tate in McClatchy argued Paul is “quickly positioning himself again as a starkly independent Republican.” Tate pointed to Paul voting against Pompeo and working with Senate Democrats on issues from criminal justice reform to foreign policy.

“Yet in a highly partisan, sometimes bitterly polarized Senate, Paul has proved willing to work with Democrats on issues where they agree,” Tate writes. ” Whether it’s criminal justice, infrastructure, foreign policy or national security.”

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