Why did Rand Paul forsake his dad Ron Paul for Mitt Romney?
Why did Rand Paul forsake his dad Ron Paul for Mitt Romney?
Well, perhaps 鈥渇orsake鈥� is too strong a word. We鈥檙e not talking about political patricide here, nothing remotely Oedipal. They鈥檙e both still on the libertarian fringe of the Republican Party, like-minded on the issues their brand of conservatism cares about.
But Rand Paul, the freshman US Senator from Kentucky, did endorse presumptive GOP presidential nominee Romney over his father, the US Congressman (and party gadfly) from Texas. And it鈥檚 caused quite a stir within the Libertarian Party, which laments the younger Paul鈥檚 鈥渂etrayal鈥� of his father鈥檚 principles.
鈥淣o true libertarian, no true friend of liberty, and no true blue Tea Partier could possibly even consider, much less actually endorse or approve of, the Father of Obamacare, Big Government tax and spender, Republican Mitt Romney,鈥� the Libertarian Party exclaimed on its website Friday.
What really gripes Libertarians is that when he ran for the US Senate, 鈥渕any of his fund-raising appeals were sent to the donors and supporters of his father鈥�. designed to convince Ron鈥檚 supporters that the apple doesn鈥檛 fall far from the tree. That Rand was, like his legendary father, a steadfast champion of liberty.鈥�
Although he鈥檚 no longer actively campaigning, Ron Paul emailed supporters this week acknowledging that he won鈥檛 have enough delegates to win the nomination. But he has yet to formally pull out of the race, and he still wants to have a presence at the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla., in August 鈥� perhaps as a featured speaker or influencing the party's platform. That鈥檚 why he continues to gather whatever delegates he can.
Although some of his ardent supporters hold out the possibility of a miracle in Tampa, Rep. Paul has told them to behave there, and he reportedly has a friendly personal relationship with Romney.
So for both Pauls, it makes sense that at some point, Rand Paul was going to have to ease toward the party establishment regarding the presidential race 鈥� whether or not his father ever endorses Romney.
Here鈥檚 how Sen. Paul put his Romney endorsement on Fox News the other night: 鈥淵ou know, my first choice had always been my father. I campaigned for him when I was 11 years old. He's still my first pick. But you know, now that the nominating process is over, I'm happy to announce that I'm going to be supporting Governor Romney.鈥�
It makes a lot of sense politically.
Ron Paul is nearing the end of what has been a remarkable period representing ideas and issues that don鈥檛 generate a lot of consistent enthusiasm among Republican leaders 鈥� hammering the Federal Reserve, fighting government intrusion on personal privacy, avoiding virtually all foreign military engagements, denying massive financial support for foreign countries, including Israel.
Rand Paul is at the beginning of what could well be a remarkable career as well, and publicly backing Romney at this point 鈥� though it鈥檚 left many libertarians steaming 鈥� could help him in the long run.
鈥淲hile Paul is a helpful validator for Romney, endorsing Romney also gives Paul a level of mainstream credibility he lacked during his 2010 Senate campaign,鈥� writes Alexander Burns at Politico.com. 鈥淚t shows he鈥檚 willing to be a team player when it counts, and puts him on the safe side of any speculation over a third-party libertarian push. And that could be crucially important for Paul if he decides to seek the White House himself in 2016 or beyond 鈥� as any number of operatives believe he hopes to do.鈥�
As one Republican strategist told Burns: 鈥淩and鈥檚 endorsement of GOP nominee Mitt Romney clearly shows that in spite of those who try to marginalize him, he has a keen set of political instincts and is very much aware that a successful national run will require more than just his father鈥檚 loyal following.鈥�
