In a quirky twist of fate, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has become the Trump Whisperer on the Hill. After a rocky primary in which both men hurled prickly barbs and outright personal insults at one another, Paul is a daily installment on President Trump’s schedule. Let's face it, "politics as usual" fell off the radar, forever, after November 8, 2016.
The swamp dwellers appear flummoxed at the relationship; after all, Rand has stopped the Trump train at every depot along the way, preventing legislation from moving forward into laws with future bragging rights. Many professional head scratchers are frantic without established guidance, but with a cursory glance, they should realize that this unholy alliance is the movie Casablanca in real time.
Ugarte (Paul): You despise me, don’t you?”
Rick Blaine (Trump); “Well, if I gave you any thought I would.”
The blocking of Trump by Paul in the first ten months is already considered legendary:
“The Kentucky senator has opposed the president on just about everything; from the first GOP budget to tax reform to Syria strikes to Trump's Saudi Arabian arms deal to his Afghanistan policy to the debt ceiling and hurricane funding to multiple attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. They could hardly disagree more. And Paul has stymied Trump's agenda at every turn — voting against the president's ACA replacement and fighting his beloved CIA director.”
And yet, they both refer to the other as a ‘good friend.' They golf together, plot strategy on the phone almost daily, and devise plans to rock the worlds of the other 51 senators (I can hear the male version of cackling, Bwahaha in stereo). What grand schemes are they plotting? They can't agree on a single issue. Methinks they are contriving to bring other sheeple Republicans, albeit kicking and screaming, into the new era of how things are going to get done in the 21st century.
Of all the Gin Joints in all the Towns in all the World…
The gossip line spreading scuttlebutt about the Trump-Paul alliance has not gone unnoticed by the likes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY-R), the rest of the RINOs and Democrats who tenaciously remain entrenched. Not only are they nervous; they are unhappy bordering on hysterical. Before Trump, Paul was cause for the Senate’s perpetual queasy state. With this seemingly unlikely and close relationship, the Senate is in full-blown irritable bowel syndrome.
Paul (the Republican who identifies as a Libertarian) has gone wing-tip to wing-tip with his compadres for years. Add in Trump, who has flip-flopped from Liberal to Republican, and in punitive nature struck a deal with the Devilcrats on the budget to show who is, indeed, in charge, and the traditional geezers are apoplectic. Their world has turned topsy-turvy at every opportunity. This is great fun for the burgeoning bromance; less so for McConnell and his cronies.
A source (unnamed) for Axiom had this to say:
“Based on a half-dozen sources with front row seats to the odd couple, the enemy (Paul) of a bigger enemy (McConnell) can become one of Trump's few Senate friends. Senior administration officials tell me they think Paul is playing them—that he gets all the perks of associating himself with the president without actually helping advance his agenda.
“We've had this conversation recently," one senior official vented. "It's like, 'Wow, Rand really doesn't help us on anything.'"
Maybe that’s because the Senate acts as if there is nothing to do but block Trump at every turn. And how is that working out for you guys?
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
From slinging insult after insult last year such as “orange faced-windbag” and the rebuttal of “ugly,” who would’ve thought that these two could forge a bond. But they have, and it appears Paul gets what makes Trump tick, and without abandoning his principles, has befriended the president. A friendship that both non-swampers desperately need.
So how did Paul become such an essential ally to Trump? There is no direct connection or “I'll pat your back if you pat mine." On the contrary, it appears to boil down to character, personality, and the mutual desire to irritate McConnell. Whatever brought these two together may never be evident to the rest of us, but we'd do well to keep an eye on their blossoming union.
Here’s looking at you, kid(s).
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