I keep forgetting that Rand Paul is running for president, which is kind of sad. I mean, at one time, I thought it would be at least interesting to see if he could put together a new kind of coalition of folks who might be able to help him be as competitive as his father was, if not significantly more so. You know, he could have held on to most of the Ron Paul supporters and gone after the youth vote on things like marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform. He could have poached some of the Edward Snowden acolytes who are consumed with dread about drones and electronic surveillance. He could have brought on some folks who are fully supportive of a truly more humble foreign policy that entails far less intimate involvement in the Middle East. He could have called for massively reduced Pentagon-spending and won some support from unexpected quarters.
But I don’t think he ever had the balls to buck the Republican Party’s orthodoxies in any kind of consistent and clear way. He didn’t have a vision or the work ethic to build a new coalition of voters or to inspire masses of people to get involved in politics for the first time.
We’re seeing Bernie Sanders have some success with this kind of unorthodox campaign, but he’s actually got some energy and a willingness to stick to his guns.
I think Paul is just too lazy to do the work and he’s too lacking in imagination. It’s really a disservice to the issues he claims to care about.
In any case, when he drops out, I don’t think anyone will even notice.
