For several years now, those of us who've been following the political career of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have noticed that he's not the brave, principled destroyer of the left/right paradigm. Rather, he's a melange of several related ingredients:
1) A dash of Ron Paul's loopiness.
2) Stir in some states' rights nullificationism.
3) Toss with a tinfoil hat full of conspiracy theories.
3) And serve on a waffle-shaped bed of flip-floppery.
Fortunately for him, the general public and cable news haven't really noticed all four things blended together and dumped into a cartoon-sized bowl of crazy until this week.
The vaccination debate, which shouldn't be debate at all, has finally exposed to the public and press the true nature of Rand Paul's fringe extremism. If you're not a fan of Rand Paul, his year couldn't have started any worse, and as the Klieg lights grow brighter his status as a serious 2016 contender are fading away.
In the wake of President Obama's remarks in which he recommended parents vaccinate their children, Rand Paul announced that vaccinations are an "issue of freedom":
"I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines," he said. "I think the parents should have some input. The state doesn't own your children. Parents own the children, and it is an issue of freedom."
That right there is Ron Paul-meets-big-government-meets-conspiracy-theorist quackery. No, there isn't any medical evidence linking "mental disorders" to vaccines. All we need now is an awkward flip-flop and we've completed the Rand Paul Tetralogy.
Ironic: Today I am getting my booster vaccine. Wonder how the liberal media will misreport this? pic.twitter.com/1vSqwfBp5u
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) February 3, 2015
And there it is. I'm sure... CONTINUE READING