Delusion can be added to the list of issues that plague Rand Paul after the Kentucky senator claimed that Democrats are afraid of him.
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Here is what Paul said during a taped interview on Meet The Press, “I think that’s what scares the Democrats the most, is that in a general election, were I to run, there’s going to be a lot of independents and even some Democrats who say, ‘You know what? We are tired of war. We’re worried that Hillary Clinton will get us involved in another Middle Eastern war because she’s so gung ho.'”
The problem for Rand Paul is that the 2016 election isn’t going to be about foreign policy. 2016 is going to be about jobs and the economy. The other big issue that Paul has is that the establishment of his own party isn’t going to support his pseudo-isolationist talk. The Republican Party is still defending the Iraq war and arguing that Obama should be doing more in Iraq.
It is doubtful that the Republican Party will suddenly throw away their neo-con tendencies and rally behind Rand Paul. Sen. Paul’s rise is the byproduct of the fact that most of the top tier Republican candidates are under either investigation or indictment. Democrats would love to run against Rand Paul. Hillary Clinton, or whoever the Democratic nominee is will have a field day with Rand Paul’s record.
The old Democrats are afraid of me trick is something that Republicans pull out when they need to reassure the base that they aren’t too radical, but Sen. Paul represents nothing new or different from the Republican Party. He blamed “big government” for the violence in Ferguson. He talks a good game on the war on drugs US intervention, but those positions run counter to the majority opinion in his own party.
A Rand Paul nomination would cause many Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton. The more likely outcome for 2016 is that an establishment Republican will emerge that the party leadership will rally around. Democrats aren’t afraid of Rand Paul at all. They would love to take him on, but the Republican Party itself is unlikely to give Democrats the chance.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
