As liberty conservatives pick up the pieces from Rand Paul’s failed presidential campaign, it is important to consider the psychology behind his disappointing showing. What was really going on in Rand’s head as it all fell to pieces? While examining Rand’s meteoric rise to senatorial power, one occurrence stands out as being particularly impactful: the
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I have noticed a troubling trend amongst liberty conservatives that is growing lately. Instead of forging alliances with the anti-establishment Republican grassroots, they are pouting, whining, doing the bidding of the Bill Kristol’s of the world, abandoning ship, taking their ball and going home. They are proving all the worst stereotypes about the liberty minded:
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This was supposed to be our big year, but it all went awry. Liberty conservatives had two strong horses in the race: Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. It was more conceivable than ever before that one of those men could win the GOP nomination for President, but they were upstaged by a reality TV blowhard
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It has been a fun time for proponents of independence and decentralization throughout the world. Most liberty conservatives that I’ve seen are struggling not to overdose on liberal tears in the wake of the historic Brexit vote. The great Nigel Farage, the iconoclastic Ron Paul-inspired leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), has quite
MoreLate yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted on 4 separate gun related amendments to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act. The four amendments, two sponsored by Republicans and two sponsored by Democrats, were each voted down largely along party lines. The legislation followed a week that started with a shooting in Orlando, Florida that left
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Most Americans who have taken a civics course are aware that the Constitution, in Article 1 Section 8, grants the legislative branch the authority to declare war. However, it appears that our country’s lawmakers have either forgotten this or are instead choosing to pass the buck on to President Obama to avoid their Constitutional obligation
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The age of social media has given rise to an increasingly large group of people who believe that a couple sentences, or even just a few words posted on a picture constitute an effective argument. While in some ways, political and philosophical debate is healthier than ever before, the over reliance on simplistic arguments is
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Dear Austin, As a Libertarian Presidential Candidate, I know you’re busy with a lot of interviews and meetings with conservative media and voters looking for a way out of the coming Trump/Hillary nightmare, but I wanted to take the opportunity to reach out to you and try to iron out some of the wrinkles in
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On the night of the first ever nationally televised Libertarian Party presidential debate, myself and a small group of fellow writers, editors, and activists were invited by Libertarian Party candidate Austin Petersen to an after party of sorts in downtown New York City. It was history in the making – for the first time, national
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Idaho Representative and Freedom Caucus leader Raul Labrador has endorsed Senator Ted Cruz for President, National Review reported yesterday. Labrador joins fellow Freedom Caucus members Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), who previously indicated support for the Senator from Texas. Labrador, long viewed as an ally of the Liberty Movement, earned support from
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Iowa was the final act for a number of presidential candidates, including liberty candidate Sen. Rand Paul – but the reason Paul dropped might come as a shock to many. Though the Rand campaign made many overtures to his father’s base in the final months, Rand Paul did not carry the Iowa libertarian vote. Among
MoreA couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article for Liberty Conservatives Magazine predicting that the Rand Paul campaign would not see success in terms of voter numbers, but instead would leave a legacy with much larger implications than a short term presidential bid would normally have. I argued that Rand’s maverick approach to not
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Much of the libertarian interest in next week’s Iowa Caucuses is focused on Rand Paul – and rightfully so. Since his apparent decision to drop the middle-of-the-road rhetoric and go full libertarian early this year in the face of declining money and support, many of his father’s sidelined activists have taken renewed interest in his
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I haven’t written much about Rand Paul in a while – not because I don’t like the guy, but because I feel like his most loyal endorsers are often the better sort to be writing about his current campaign. After all, those who love you most are the best voices to have in your corner
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As we approach tonight’s Republican debate, sure to be a spectacle similar to the last three awkward attempts to manage the political equivalent of a starting football lineup, it’s worth mentioning that debates don’t have to be this way. Late last week Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal challenged Senator Ted Cruz to debate Obamacare mano y
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Rand Paul is without doubt my first choice for the presidency. As the most libertarian member of the United States Senate, and the son of Ron Paul, Rand is strongly deserving of our support and I wholeheartedly endorse him for President of the United States. However, should he be unsuccessful in his presidential campaign and
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It turns out the death of the Liberty Movement has been greatly exaggerated. At the first sign of some sputtering from the presidential campaign of “libertarian-ish” Sen. Rand Paul, critics and pundits gleefully took to the web to declare the so-called “libertarian moment” over. But those seeking evidence of the continued relevance of America’s youngest
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Sometimes I don’t know whether to kick the Supreme Court or kiss it. As America seemingly turns to the left, albeit by judicial fiat, the Right will have its revenge in 2016 via the legitimate voice of the people, the ballot box. This is where real change happens. A few black robed tyrants in narrow decisions on
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The Far Left and the Far Right finally have something to agree on: opposition to the package of legislative endeavors leading up to what has been dubbed “Obamatrade”. The issue has given rise to the most bizarre coalitions, with Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee joining Harry Reid and Elizabeth Warren in opposing the deal,
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When Rand Paul put out the call to design his next t-shirt, he didn’t expect such an overwhelming response. There were 160 entries from across the nation, which were narrowed down to 10 by a campaign team committee. Thousands of votes later, one t-shirt, designed by Chris Mandle of Mandle Design was the winner. His
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One of the major issues that has caused a divide of late in the Republican presidential field is the granting of fast track authority to the Obama administration to negotiate the Trans Pacific Partnership. Earlier tonight, Senator Rand Paul came out against granting Obama fast track authority. Paul told WMUR.com that “the Trans Pacific Partnership
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The other night as my wife Kelsey and I were getting ready for bed, we were talking about the 2016 presidential race and discussing how things would shape up for the first-in-the-nation caucus state – our home state – of Iowa. We had both heard that Ted Cruz was set to announce his candidacy at
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Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign, which in recent months has gone from being a strong possibility to a near certainty, has hired a new political director to conduct operations in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa. Jonathan Van Norman, who served as former Rep. Ron Paul’s regional director in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District during
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Nobody thought that former US Representative Ron Paul would show up in Iowa this week to stump with his son, Kentucky Senator and likely 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul; but when Rand took the stage to deliver the keynote at an “Audit the Fed” rally hosted by Liberty Iowa, there was a whole lot of
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Nearly two weeks ago, just prior to his appearance at Steve King’s Iowa Freedom Summit, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz carved out some time to meet with leading liberty activists from around Iowa. The low-key meeting, held in Des Moines, was many activists’ first time to meet the libertarian-leaning Tea Party firebrand. It was also Cruz’s
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HANNITY: Now, under the president’s budget proposal, over the next 10-year period, tax increases will total $2 trillion. The projected federal debt by 2025 will topple $26 trillion. So what is he thinking? By the way, he said $9 trillion in debt was unpatriotic and irresponsible. Here with reaction, Kentucky senator, potential presidential candidate Rand
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Tea Party champion and conservative firebrand Ted Cruz may be ready to embrace his libertarian side – and he may need to, if he hopes to find a path from Iowa to the White House. As it turns out, the death of the Liberty Movement in Iowa may have been greatly exaggerated. While an establishment
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Just last month my friend and photo radar expert Shawn Dow told me that the real reason behind the police protests in Ferguson was the automatic ticketing photo radar machines that had been put in place by local governments to raise revenue. This has caused incredible harm on the poor in the community and frustration
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The leftist website Media Matters has published a hit piece on Kentucky GOP Senator Rand Paul. In the article they attempt to smear Senator Paul by exposing his relationship with Fox News Contributor and former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano. Senator Paul wrote the foreword for Judge Napolitano’s new book, Suicide Pact: The Radical
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Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack. – Sun Tzu Last week, Kentucky Senator and likely presidential candidate Rand Paul got in a highly-publicized spat with Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council over the Senator’s answer to a question on abortion and contraceptives. Paul – a medical
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The Middle East is in flames again, and for once, Liberty people seem unsure what to think about it. For years our only rallying cry was “no more nation-building – bring the troops home!” And for a while, that was enough. Our foreign policy ideals were so diametrically opposed to those in play for the
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Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults. – Socrates Last week I wrote an open letter to social conservatives, in the interest of broadening communication between two groups that both have a vital interest in stopping the socialist slide engineered by people who benefit
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Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. In fact, if Thanksgiving didn’t land squarely on the intersection of food, football, hunting, colorful leaves, hoodies, and cool weather, the 4th of July would be the undisputed champion of my holiday list. Independence Day is one of only a couple holidays that hasn’t yet
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“By the Waters of Babylon” by Don McLean Iraq, once known as the “cradle of civilization” may soon come to be known as the “graveyard of civilization.” The first laws, writing, astronomy and math were all gifts that Mesopotamia gave to advance civilization. The most famous Mesopotamian from Ur of the Chaldeans, was Abraham, the
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