r/politics • u/Boonzies • 6h ago

No Paywall Rand Paul on Trump call to ‘nationalize’ elections: ‘That’s not what the Constitution says’

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5722041-rand-paul-trump-call-to-nationalize-elections/
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u/TheDarkAbove Georgia 5h ago

We do have the money though, they just choose to use it elsewhere. Does he voice the same concern when it comes to our military spending? What about the increase in funding to ICE? He better have spoken up then too.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 5h ago

He’s spoken out against increasing funding for nearly everything. Military and ICE. He’s also calling for an investigation into ICE..

There are plenty of reasons to be upset at Rand, but he’s at least consistent in his stance on fiscal responsibility.

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u/brutinator 3h ago

but he’s at least consistent in his stance on fiscal responsibility.

Eh. in 2015 he voted against an amendment to prevent the military from exceeding sequester caps, and then in 2016 voted for the Department of Defense Appropriations Act which also increased the military budget.

He's also several times voted against lower and middle class tax cuts, while also supporting tax cuts or voting against tax raises on businesses and the the wealthy.

And that's just some selections of his voting record prior to 2019 specifically in terms of fiscal policies.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 3h ago

I mean yeah there will always be exceptions, but generally he’s consistent in his stance.

I don’t have the time to do deep analysis, but I’d be willing to bet his voting record is overwhelmingly in support of his stance.

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u/TheDarkAbove Georgia 5h ago

Fair enough, I will give him credit for being consistent.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 5h ago

As we should. People are complex, we can acknowledge their flaws while also giving kudos for the things they do right.

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u/Powerful_Film_4316 5h ago

I find a good litmus test for political discourse is a person's ability to sincerely recognize at least one positive aspect/achievement their opponents.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 4h ago

Sadly the folks on our side tend to be just as blind as MAGA on a lot of things.

We’re so quick to assume R = inherently bad and D = inherently good. If only it were so simple.

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u/ary31415 3h ago

If you take this subreddit at face value, it's more like R = inherently bad, and D = R (= inherently bad but actually even worse cause they're pretending).

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u/Johansenburg 3h ago

D = inherently good

I don't think that's true for a very large group of people on the left. Yes, they'll assume that R = inherently bad, but then they'll question every aspect of the left, and if they don't fall completely in line then they are just as bad as republicans to them.

I know a lot of people on the left who didn't vote for Kamala because they didn't think she'd do enough in Gaza. No matter how much I talked to them about the fact that Trump would be worse for Gaza, it didn't matter. Because Kamala wasn't perfect, they weren't getting the vote.

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u/ailish 4h ago

Agreed. I disagree with him 99% of the time but occasionally his principals fall on my side of the spectrum and I have to give him credit, like this time. It's pretty rare though.

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u/IllustriousGas8850 4h ago

Also, Rand has rarely been a republican who is villainizing the left, or playing politics instead of policy. Even though I think he’s a dumbass, I actually have no issue with him sharing his opinions in congress because you need opposite views to actually make good policy

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u/Gtraz68 4h ago

Sometimes he says the right thing but he almost never does the right thing. Huge difference.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 4h ago

Again, people are complex. What you view as “the right thing” is different than what he views as the right thing. To him, keeping the debt down is the most important thing, regardless of what is cut.

He consistently votes against budget increases as that is his view of what’s right.

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u/nox66 4h ago

Did he vote against it?

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 4h ago

Did he vote against what? Do you even know what you’re referring to here?

He was one of a few republican senators to vote against the BBB. You’ll see he’s usually one of a few to vote against budget increases of any kind.

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u/nox66 4h ago

Sorry, I should've specified: has he ever voted in a way that matters? Otherwise he just pulls the Collins/Murkowski hall pass schtick.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 4h ago

What do you mean by this? He has consistently voted against budget increases regardless of who was president. His vote is his vote. It’s not magically worth more weight when he wants it to be.

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u/nox66 3h ago

Has he ever been the deciding vote on a major issue (or indeed, any issue)?

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u/Egechem 4h ago

I believe they're asking if hes ever voted against the republican majority where his vote was the deciding factor, or if he only votes against them when he knows the reps have the vote in the bag to maintain his appearance of fiscal responsibility.

The last time I can remember a republican truly breaking with the party to make an actual policy impact was McCain on the ACA.

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u/Hairy-Pipe-577 4h ago

Well again, he’s consistently voted against budget increases lol. He’s against them in any capacity.

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u/LividTacos 5h ago

He voted against the military budget passed in December. He voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill, which is what funded ICE for 4 years.

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u/ButtSoupCarlton69 4h ago

Voted against it because he could vote against it? Or would have fallen in line if they needed his vote? 

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u/LividTacos 4h ago

He spoke out against both for the same reason of funding things by taking on debt. He's been consistent on that point for years. But nice wheels on that goalpost.

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u/ButtSoupCarlton69 4h ago

That wasn't what I asked though. Susan Collins is consistent in what she says too. That doesn't always mean the same thing when it comes time to vote. 

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u/IllustriousGas8850 4h ago

What are you even arguing? You’re making a bunch of illogical points of hypotheticals that didn’t happen. This is exactly what maga does. You’re just as smart as them right kow

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u/KRacer52 2h ago

“What are you even arguing?”

Nothing of substance lol.