A Ron Paul guy I am not. But I certainly agree with what he said today after the TSA detained his son Rand who had refused a patdown search:
Republican presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement in reaction to the detention of his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, by Transportation Security Administration agents in Nashville on Monday.
“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” Paul wrote in a statement provided to The Daily Caller. “One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our kids and our seniors and does nothing to keep us safe.”
So far, the other candidates are not talking about the burgeoning police state in this country, with the deadly SWAT team raids, warrantless searches, and the rest of it.
One of them, Newt Gingrich, wants to make the police state bigger. He wants to expand the Patriot Act and dramatically expand the war on drugs.
In that respect, despite holding a Ph.D.. in history, Gingrich lies shamelessly about the founding fathers.
Gingrich was later asked if former Presidents Thomas Jefferson or George Washington should have been arrested for growing marijuana.
“I think Jefferson or George Washington would have rather strongly discouraged you from growing marijuana and their techniques with dealing with it would have been rather more violent than our current government,” he responded.
Both Washington and Jefferson grew marijuana on their Virginia farms. At the time, the plant was used to make a number a products, such as rope and textiles. It did not become a widely-used recreational drug in the United States until the 20th century, but some academics have claimed that at least seven early U.S. presidents used the drug in the form of hashish.
Gingrich has previously called for a more aggressive drug policy, including the death penalty for drug smugglers.
In view of undisputed history, I don’t think this should be dismissed as ignorance. Gingrich clearly knows better. I think is shameful that such a man is being seriously considered as a candidate for the presidency. But Gingrich is so shameless that I wonder whether he is a sociopath.
Not that a little thing like shamelessness stopped Obama.
MORE: Not that it matters, but these Drudge headlines are typical vintage Newt:
CONFUSION:
Newt knows that honesty is not the best policy.
Not that the conservative Alinskyites would care, but voters might.
Comments
4 responses to “Well, at least the Republican Party has a wide range of views…”
Reason magazine on the Rand Paul incident:
http://reason.com/blog/2012/01/23/rand-pauls-tsa-incident-the-return-of-th
http://www.tomwoods.com/blog/left-liberals-laugh-at-rand-paul-tsa-ordeal/
As if trying to prove they are good for absolutely nothing — wasn’t the Left at least supposed to be sort of OK when it came to civil liberties and government groping? — the folks commenting on Rand Paul over at Talking Points Memo think the whole thing is kind of funny. (Thanks to Newsalert.)
From the comments at Talking Points Memo:
JohnnyDrama 61 pts
APPARENTLY Eustace is one of those posters that only works till seven PM.
Can you say CONSERVO-TOOL????
JohnnyDrama That is the end of business hours in Tel Aviv.:-)
The leftist blogs are so full of anti-Semitic remarks now. Even the libertarian leaning business site, zerohedge, is full of the crap.
LA Military Exercises:
http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/NEWS.html?article=9653697
The LAPD will be providing support.
Preparing for martial law? Or is this training for occupation somewhere close by?