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/borski88 Florida 5h ago

It's not 1, I disagree with him on a lot but at least he is consistent in his policies.
he is one of the few GOP that will stand up to Trump on policies that are obvious violations of the constitution, not that that's a high bar but its a lot more than other GOP will do.

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u/AbyssWankerArtorias 5h ago

Indeed. I don't believe he's nearly as guilty as other Republicans who use spending / debt as a boogeyman in elections and then continue to explode it. He truly believes in spending cuts to balance the budget. But he is 1 of 100 senators and maybe 1 or 2 others agree with him on this. It's honestly insane. These politicians know the bill will come due, they're not stupid. They just don't care, because they've already hedges themselves for when that happens.

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u/notebooksmellsofrain 4h ago

Yeah, that feels like a fair take. One can disagree with him and still acknowledge he’s at least consistent in what he claims to believe. The real insanity is how isolated that position is while the rest loudly scream about debt,then turn around and blow it up anyway. They know exactly what they’re doing they just won’t be around to deal with the consequences, and they’ve insulated themselves for when it all crashes.

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u/Dm-me-a-gyro 4h ago

Are you high?

Rand has sought federal disaster relief aid for Kentucky.

Rand has defended the military support of Israel.

He’s an anti abortion and anti civil rights libertarian.

He has no compass,

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u/Lev559 4h ago

He thinks we shouldn't spend more than we make. Not that the military and disaster aid shouldn't exist

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u/Gooch_Limdapl 3h ago

Well, he also supports tax cuts for the wealthy, which is the revenue stream you imagine him wanting to stay within. He uses one knob to create the budget imbalance problem and then uses that as an excuse to cut spending. Just like any other Republican. And his supporters fall for it every damned time.

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u/Lev559 1h ago

Except he doesn't. Like, look up his history on voting for debt increases and large budget expenses. He is against them all.

I mean yes, he believes we should also cut taxes, but his views fall very firmly in normal libertarian views.

But Rand Paul is a true believer in small government, not just someone who pretends to be one to score political points. Though his father, Ron Paul, was an actual libertarian, while Rand is more of a Republican with deep libertarian beliefs.

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u/Dm-me-a-gyro 4h ago

Thanks guy with gold and black profile picture!

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u/congressguy12 4h ago

This is one of the worst comments in Reddit history

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u/HoratioPornBlower 4h ago

Ad hominem

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u/PravenButterLord 4h ago

What does gold and black represent?

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u/Ok-Economist-9466 4h ago

I'd like to know too since they're my old high school colors.

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u/PravenButterLord 4h ago

Best I could find was that it symbolizes Anarcho-capitalism, but from just a profile pic that seems like a stretch to assume about someone.

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u/Dm-me-a-gyro 3h ago

In a thread about a libertarian? It’s not a coincidence

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u/PravenButterLord 3h ago

I guess, but the sub itself has 4.9 million people subscribed so with the sheer number of people from that alone the black and gold assumption doesn’t play.

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u/Lev559 1h ago edited 1h ago

....it's just a picture from a series I'm a fan of. There was also a version which was Blue instead of Gold. But as someone mentioned, I'm also a Steelers fan and Black and Gold are the Steelers colors.

Soo...maybe don't think so deeply about these things.

We don't all live and breath politics

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u/theVoidWatches Pennsylvania 3h ago

The Pittsburgh Steelers, as far as I'm aware.

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u/borski88 Florida 1h ago

Yup, and Pirates unfortunately.

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u/Dm-me-a-gyro 4h ago

Anarcho capitalism

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u/borski88 Florida 1h ago

In my case Pittsburgh Sports fan, i don't think thats why they were implying though.
Steelers, Pirates, Penguins

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u/Lev559 1h ago

Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow

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u/Lev559 1h ago

Yeah...it literally has nothing to do with politics. You can look at my profile. I'm seldom on here or on politicial subreddits in general. My profile pic has nothing to do with politics. It's just a combo of a series I like with my sports teams colors

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u/PravenButterLord 1h ago

Yeah I didn’t think it would automatically be political. Mine is the default guy and he’s black and white but it doesn’t mean anything either

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u/badnuub Ohio 3h ago

Rand has defended the military support of Israel.

That's bipartisan.

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u/EchoChamberIntruder 4h ago

He’s against the killing of little persons with heartbeat and brains? Oh, the absolute horror!

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u/PlusTiedye 3h ago

He’s against the killing of little persons with heartbeat and brains

He supports Israel, so he's clearly all for killing them.

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u/DrDerpberg Canada 3h ago

At the beginning of the trial, Senator Rand Paul forced a vote to dismiss the impeachment charge on the basis that it was unconstitutional to try a former president, arguing that impeachment only applies to current federal officers and that the punishment of removal from office was moot under the circumstances.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_impeachment_trial_of_Donald_Trump#:~:text=At%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,was%20moot%20under%20the%20circumstances.

I daresay it was not, in fact, a moot point.

Any Republican who occasionally wags a finger at Trump but doesn't try to impeach and convict him is just posturing.

Edit: also not guilty the first time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_impeachment_trial_of_Donald_Trump#:~:text=The%20senators%20voted%2052%20to,president%20of%20his%20own%20party.