3 ms·

I don't believe this is true. These are highly unpopular positions among the republican base.

dragonwriter 11y ago
> These are highly unpopular positions among the republican base. There's a number of states with open primaries now, so its not implausible that Paul's Presidential tactics involve trying to bring non-Republicans (particularly libertarian non-Republicans) in to vote for him in the Republican primaries. Or to secure support outside the Republican base and then be able to make an electability argument to the primary electorate.
anigbrowl 11y ago
True, but they're popular outside the republican base, and Paul has rightly calculated that the base consists of too many older white social conservatives for the party's long-term health. I don't think he expects to get the nomination for President on his first attempt, and I'm not sure he wants a cabinet post either. Rather, he wants to position himself as a national figure for a more serious run in a future election cycle by laying out a more libertarian-themed party platform now. For example, he's also taking efforts to distance himself from attempts to set abortion policy at a federal level, which he rightly perceives as a liability for the national party. Although it's an unlikely prospect, I wonder if the internal conflicts in the GOP might manifest as an actual split. Ironically enough the passionate, fire-breathing Tea Party types, who you would expect to be primarily concenred with shrinking government, are actually most likely to support more aggressive foreign policy, expansion and intensification of domestic law enforcement, and hold a hardline attitude on social conservative issues like gay marriage or abortion (these are my anecdotal observations FWIW).
- 13years 11y ago
  There really is no more Tea Party. It was co-opted by the establishment. The original Tea Party was far more libertarian and stood against all those things you list.
  - joshuapants 11y ago
    The original "Tea Party" was a reference to the Boston Tea Party made during a Ron Paul fundraiser, right?

> These are highly unpopular positions among the republican base. There's a number of states with open primaries now, so its not implausible that Paul's Presidential tactics involve trying to bring non-Republicans (particularly libertarian non-Republicans) in to vote for him in the Republican primaries. Or to secure support outside the Republican base and then be able to make an electability argument to the primary electorate.

anigbrowl 11y ago

True, but they're popular outside the republican base, and Paul has rightly calculated that the base consists of too many older white social conservatives for the party's long-term health. I don't think he expects to get the nomination for President on his first attempt, and I'm not sure he wants a cabinet post either. Rather, he wants to position himself as a national figure for a more serious run in a future election cycle by laying out a more libertarian-themed party platform now. For example, he's also taking efforts to distance himself from attempts to set abortion policy at a federal level, which he rightly perceives as a liability for the national party. Although it's an unlikely prospect, I wonder if the internal conflicts in the GOP might manifest as an actual split. Ironically enough the passionate, fire-breathing Tea Party types, who you would expect to be primarily concenred with shrinking government, are actually most likely to support more aggressive foreign policy, expansion and intensification of domestic law enforcement, and hold a hardline attitude on social conservative issues like gay marriage or abortion (these are my anecdotal observations FWIW).

13years 11y ago
There really is no more Tea Party. It was co-opted by the establishment. The original Tea Party was far more libertarian and stood against all those things you list.
- joshuapants 11y ago
  The original "Tea Party" was a reference to the Boston Tea Party made during a Ron Paul fundraiser, right?