One step forward, two steps back: that is how you can describe the young career of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) so far. This was on full display this week as the popular Tea Party senator lent his support to Roy Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice and controversial figure running for the U.S. Senate.
Following a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., Senator Paul decided to make an official endorsement, noting that he looks “forward to welcoming him to the Senate very soon.”
Halloween is just around the corner, and whether you’re a libertarian or a Barry Goldwater conservative, Paul’s endorsement should send shivers up your spine.
Rand Paul Endorses Roy Moore
In December, Moore will go one-on-one against former U.S. attorney and Democratic candidate Doug Jones. The special election is to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Polls suggest that it is a tight race, despite Moore being a questionable candidate for the Republican Party.
Not even President Donald Trump backed Moore during the Alabama Senate primary this summer.
But Senator Paul is willing to take a gamble by throwing his support behind the Moore campaign. In an endorsement statement on Tuesday, Paul said:
“Judge Roy Moore has spent a lifetime defending and standing up for the Constitution while fighting for the people of Alabama. We need more people in Washington, D.C. that will stand on principle and defend the Constitution....I look forward to welcoming him to the Senate very soon.”
Paul isn’t the only libertarian-leaning senator to back Moore. On Monday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) announced that he has endorsed Moore, citing his “reputation of integrity.” Lee believes that a Moore victory is essential in passing “conservative legislation” in the Senate.
It is true that having a Republican endorse another Republican shouldn’t necessarily be surprising. However, who exactly is endorsing Moore is astonishing and likely irksome to libertarians, constitutionalists, moderate GOP members, and Tea Party voters.
Give Roy Moore a Chance?
Like most Republicans, Moore is paying lip service to everything libertarians and conservatives want to hear. Some of his campaign positions include lower taxes, less spending, more states’ rights, and zero entanglements in foreign wars “merely at the whim and caprice of a president.”
These are sublime policies to promote – but how many times have Republicans flipped? That said, once you dive deeper into Moore’s past, it starts to become highly dubious to back such a political candidate.
Sixteen years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Moore suggested that it happened “because we’ve distanced ourselves from God.” Sounding similar to leftists who think last month’s hurricanes occurred because the U.S. elected Trump, Moore said:
“You know, we’ve suffered a lot in this country. Maybe, just maybe, because we’ve distanced ourselves from the one that has it within his hands to heal this land.”
Ostensibly, Moore is not in favor of homosexuality, declaring that it is “abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature and of nature's God.” He also considers that it “violates both the criminal and civil laws of this State and is destructive to a basic building block of society-the family."
He once argued that communities in Illinois and Indiana were under Sharia Law. When confronted with the fact that there weren't any, he dismissed it by saying "it doesn't matter." He told reporters:
"Well, let me just put it this way — if they are, they are; if they’re not, they’re not. That doesn’t matter. I was informed that there were. But if they’re not, it doesn’t matter."
Moore also averred that former President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and was a secret Muslim.
A Sad State of Affairs
Let’s face it: it is highly unlikely that the House of Representatives or the Senate will ever be filled with individuals like Rand Paul or his father. The objective for the Republican Party’s new blood should be to have as many freedom-loving, liberty-minded, and pro-constitution candidates as possible.
Like many of his GOP colleagues, Moore may spout libertarian or conservative talking points – non-intervention, smaller government, and the constitution – that makes the party’s base happy. Unfortunately, all that goes out the window when he avers that homosexuality should be illegal or that national tragedies ensue because “we legitimize sodomy.”
And this is disappointing.
According to Reason, Paul does not “believe there is one conditional/libertarian position on immigration, life and gay 'rights' (outside of protecting everyone's natural rights)." This seems like a copout; libertarianism supports more legal immigration and proposes that government should not intervene in marriage.
The non-aggression principle (NAP) is vital to libertarianism.
A political observer close to Paul told the libertarian outfit:
“Nearly any candidate running for office that isn't named Paul will likely give some aspect of Rand's folks heartburn. Anti establishment and not beholden to anyone; focus on the constitution; would have voted with Rand on fake Obamacare repeals; has said foreign aid is unconstitutional; wants congress to exert its authority on war issues.”
This year, Senator Paul has certainly regained a lot of his credibility, much of which was eroded when he aligned himself with Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other Rockefeller Republicans. Why sacrifice any of the gains he has made over the last 10 months by endorsing Moore?
Do you support Rand Paul’s endorsement of Roy Moore? Let us know in the comments section!
