Paul Supports Liberty

By Nick Hankoff

Only under some delusion would a libertarian not support Rand Paul for president. To what end and by what means a libertarian supports the Republican Senator from Kentucky is up to the individual. But to ignore Paul or support another candidate is going to be pretty difficult even for determined contrarian libertarians.

Libertarians are supposed to be happy warriors, remember? So, why are any libertarians pouting about Rand Paul’s presidential candidacy? It could also be a matter of opportunism. Ironically, success for the 2008 and 2012 Ron Paul campaigns made this possible. The movement grew to such a size that now for one to take a position against Rand Paul is inconsequential.

The most common arguments against supporting Rand Paul actually reveal how easy of a decision it is to support him.

First, we have to throw out the anti-voting sentiment. It’s fair enough that you have the right to not vote, and, indeed, it’s fair enough to exercise that right. But the fact is a libertarian can support Rand Paul in near-infinite ways which don’t include voting for him.

All other objections comes down to Rand Paul not being libertarian enough: Rand isn’t Ron, etc. This line falls flat once it’s pointed out that Ron is endorsing Rand. We no longer live in the days of muttering to each other at Denny’s once a month until November arrives for us to mark down a third-party protest vote.

The presidential election is the time when even the most removed, apathetic US Americans glance at what the heck is going on in the world. This is our chance to reach new people on the crucial issues of our time.

The top issues are foreign policy and, by consequence, civil liberties in a police state. Wouldn’t it make sense to speak to those most impacted by the worst acts of the state? This is what Rand Paul is opening up for libertarians in his outreach to blacks and the poor.

Rand’s rhetorical style makes libertarians wince at times. Take, for example, his remark about putting NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in the same prison cell. Imagine the possibility that Rand Paul’s equivocation is actually a clever bait for reestablishing the premise of the entire question. That is much more likely his aim. It’s healthy to doubt a politicians’ sincerity, but not to the point of daftness.

Too often, libertarians care more about being right than negating state power. Liberty is not about winning an argument. It’s about the absence of the state.

Only Rand Paul will rein in the bellicose US empire, bring home troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, end undeclared wars on Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, engage with Iran, and prevent a war outbreak with Asia and Africa.

Only Rand Paul will facilitate an orderly, decentralized shutdown of the War on Drugs. Only Rand Paul will effectively abolish tethering bureaucracy and squelch crony capitalism when he doesn’t appoint any secretaries of Energy, Education, Commerce, and Housing. Only Rand Paul will veto budgets that add more crippling debt.

This doesn’t mean real libertarians must fall into lockstep with Rand Paul’s campaign. Far from it. A simple recognition of Paul for president as a valid segue to talking about liberty would suffice. Paul’s support of liberty should be enough to earn ours.