Ron Paul Blog

National media outlets are starting to take note of the fact that Rand Paul has a legitimate chance of becoming the next Senator from Kentucky. This from the Journal’s subscription only Political Diary:

Libertarianism Is the Family Business

Who says you can’t learn something from your parents? Ask Rand Paul, son of last year’s presidential wunderkind, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.

The younger Mr. Paul, an eye surgeon, is making a spirited run for Kentucky’s open Senate seat, which is being vacated by Republican Jim Bunning. Earlier this week the campaign reported it had sucked up a whopping $1 million in the third quarter alone, much of that accomplished by Mr. Rand tapping into his father’s extensive, online grassroots national network. Mr. Paul’s total swamped the haul of Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the favored candidate of the party leadership. Mr. Grayson announced about $643,000, and that’s after getting fundraising aid from Senate Minority Leader (and Kentucky Senator) Mitch McConnell.

The numbers have suddenly thrown a new light on the race. Mr. Grayson was figured a shoo-in for the nomination in next May’s primary. But Mr. Paul’s fundraising mojo, along with a recent Rasumussen poll showing him nearly as popular as Mr. Grayson in hypothetical matchups against Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, may have some handicappers rethinking.

Rand Paul (yes, he’s named after the famous novelist) might also be a sign of the times. Like his father, he has a libertarian bent, and has focused the race on runaway federal spending, deficits, bailouts and earmarks — issues that Kentucky voters are eating up right now, as they worry about Washington and its spending binges. Mr. Grayson still has plenty going for him, including name recognition and a national party network to leverage to his advantage. But the younger Paul is a newcomer worth watching.

– Kim Strassel

One correction to the WSJ report: As Rand (shortened from Randal) explains in this video, he wasn’t named after Ayn Rand, even though he is a fan.

Ron Paul interviews Ivan Eland:

Another episode yesterday of Freedom Watch from Fox’s Strategy Room.

The first guest? British MP and RonPaulBlog.com reader (we’re on his blogroll) Daniel Hannan. Other guests include regulars Peter Schiff, Lew Rockwell and Steve Bierfeldt.

I still say this deserves to be on actual television (not just internet only). How could it not get better ratings than the Huckster?

I enjoyed the Daily Show with Jon Stewart before the run up to the 2004 election, when he suddenly seemed to become more partisan and less funny. In the light of Stewart’s latest feud with Jim Cramer Tucker Carlson, Stewart’s old nemesis, explains what happened in a post titled “How Jon Stewart Went Bad“:

The relationship between Stewart and the media is a marriage of the self-loathing and the self-loving: He insists their real news is fake, they insist his fake news is real. He doesn’t take them seriously at all. They take him way too seriously. But nobody takes anybody as seriously as Jon Stewart takes himself.

A serious man needs a serious mission, however, and this is suddenly a problem. With Bush gone and the Republican Party in chaos, most of Stewart’s targets have disappeared. Yet rather than pivot with the times and challenge those now in power, Stewart continues to attack the same old enemies, at this point mostly straw men and pipsqueaks. A couple of weeks ago, he spent an entire seven minutes mocking the crowd at a CPAC conference.

His studio audience loved it, though that isn’t saying much. Stewart’s audience would erupt if he read the phone book, or did his monologue in German, a response that over time is a threat to any man’s soul. During many segments, Stewart’s audience doesn’t laugh so much as cheer, a distinction that would bother most comedians. Stewart keeps them around anyway. Uncritical praise corrupts absolutely.

As Stewart becomes more self-righteous, he inevitably becomes less funny. Sanctimony is the death of humor, and also of innovation. Where a show like South Park challenges its audience’s every conceivable assumption, The Daily Show has become safer than Jay Leno, pandering night after night to the converted. Can you remember the last time Stewart said anything his viewers might disagree with?

Like most sermons, Stewart’s showdown with Jim Cramer ended with a neat moral lesson. Once journalists who cover business regain their sense of responsibility and “start getting back to fundamentals on the reporting,” Stewart said gravely, “I can get back to making fart noises and funny faces.”

But it’s too late. The great comedian is gone, maybe forever. Jon Stewart is stuck in lecture mode.

Read the whole thing here.

Apparently the best advocate the drug warriors could find was Stephen Baldwin?

Over at the American Conservative’s blog, Daniel McCarthy observes some of the same things I did about the Barr campaign’s actions regarding Ron Paul’s September 10th presser before concluding that Barr has only himself to blame for losing Dr. Paul’s endorsement to Chuck Baldwin (along with Barr’s own campaign manager Russ Verney).

By the way, also checkout Daniel’s coverage of the Rally for the Republic and maybe even take advantage of the 3 month free trial of the American Conservative Magazine. (I did)

As I noted yesterday, sending Phil Gramm to ask Ron Paul for his endorsement doesn’t seem like a very smart move by the McCain camp.

Today in the Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary, John Fund observes the same thing:

No Cigar

The McCain campaign could have picked a better ambassador to convince GOP Rep. Ron Paul to endorse the ticket.

Mr. Paul, who won some two million votes during the Republican presidential primaries, held a news conference yesterday in Washington to announce he would not support the McCain-Palin ticket and instead urge his followers to vote for any of an eclectic group of third-party candidates. These ranged from Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate, to consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

During the news conference, Mr. Paul revealed that the McCain campaign had gotten former Texas Senator Phil Gramm to call him and urge him to back the GOP ticket. Mr. Paul said he told Mr. Gramm such a move would alienate many of his core supporters and he wouldn’t do it. Mr. Paul didn’t have to add that he and Mr. Gramm fought a bitter primary for the U.S. Senate in Texas back in 1984. Mr. Gramm won, forcing Mr. Paul to give up his House seat. Mr. Paul didn’t return to Congress until a dozen years later.

Even though Mr. Paul has clear disagreements with Senator McCain on the Iraq War and civil liberties issues, he seems more forgiving towards his running mate Sarah Palin. “She said nice things about me on MTV,” he told me at last week’s GOP convention. “I hear nice things about her from my supporters in Alaska.”

Mr. Paul is referring to an MTV interview in which Mrs. Palin referred to Mr. Paul as “a good guy” who was “independent of any party machine” — much as she was during her own climb from the Wasilla City Council to the governor’s office in Juneau.

Even though Mr. Paul has spurned the GOP ticket, I suspect a fair number of his voters will plump for McCain-Palin in the fall. So far, she has shown the rare ability to attract support from all strands of the GOP coalition — from social conservatives to the more libertarian acolytes of Mr. Paul. It’s quite a hat trick, and we’ll see if she can maintain the enthusiasm all the way to November.

– John Fund