Salon has a long, interesting, non-hostile profile of Rand Paul and his GOP primary run for a Kentucky Senate race against party establishment favorite Trey Grayson, with interesting observations on Rand's father Ron's influence on the style and success of the Tea Party movement, and what Rand's apparent success has to say about power shifts in the GOP. Some excerpts:
In the GOP's soul-searching after its 2008 losses, [Sen. Jim] DeMint [(S.C.)] has been a conservative hard-liner. The rise of the Tea Party has dovetailed with DeMint's ambitions to trim the moderate fat, push the party to the right, and ultimately lead it. To that end, DeMint has grown his leadership PAC, the Senate Conservatives Fund, into a powerful alternative to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the fundraising arm of the Senate Republican caucus that McConnell leads. Over $340,000 worth of support from DeMint's PAC fueled one of the Tea Party's biggest electoral victories to date, when the right-wing Marco Rubio pulled so far ahead in the Florida polls that the incumbent Republican governor, Charlie Crist, left the party to run as an independent rather than lose in the primary.
DeMint's endorsement of Paul came only recently, on May 5, the same day [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell [(Ken.)]gave his official backing to Grayson....
With his own fundraising machine, [Rand Paul] hasn't needed McConnell's support. And if Tea Party candidates are widely successful, then DeMint could become the GOP's new kingmaker. Rand Paul would certainly be a favorite son.
On the political influence of Rand's father Ron on the Tea Party movement (which Rand points out earlier in the article is a much, much bigger draw of human bodies to events than the Republican Party per se these days).
Rand Paul's success can be understood in the genealogy of the Tea Party movement. Its viral and decentralized traits, the intellectual foundations of its libertarianism, and its fundraising tactics all come from Ron Paul's presidential campaign.
The first Tea Party event of the Obama era was arguably a Ron Paul "money bomb" fundraiser; and the story of that event is the primal example of how the medium of the Internet and the power of American mythology have combined to unify a movement of militant individualists.
While the argument about what was really the most vital or important event or influence or "true beginning" of the Tea Party movement isn't over yet, and may never be, the full Salon story provides a plausible creation myth involving a Ron Paul Meetup group event at Boston's Faneuil Hall on Dec 16, 2007, at which Rand Paul spoke.
By appealing to a national audience of the dissaffected, Rand Paul has access to that most vital currency of the would-be politician: currency itself.
Paul had the war chest to fight back..... His online fundraising has brought in nearly $3 million -- $500,000 of it from a diffuse assortment of libertarians and Glenn Beck fans outside Kentucky. (By contrast, Grayson's quarter-million-dollar out-of-state haul comes largely from the mainstream fundraising centers of New York and D.C.)
And the piece ends with a pretty apt summation of what Rand Paul has achieved so far:
The political genius of Paul is his ability to cultivate a narrative that speaks to all strains of the Tea Party movement at once. After all, the libertarian purists who loved Ron Paul’s dissident truth-telling are not natural allies of the Limbaugh Dittoheads who dismissed him as an eccentric. He sings his libertarianism in the key of Glenn Beck – and he is writing a Republican playbook for the tea party era, turning grassroots energy into electoral power. Now, less than a week before the primary, polls show Paul's lead over Grayson approaching 20 points. He also leads both of his potential Democratic challengers in the general election polling.
Those interested in Rand Paul must also read Reason magazine's May feature on his rise and appeal, by W. James Antle III.
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSS
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
kinnath|5.14.10 @ 2:30PM|#
I linked to this early this morning, dude.
|5.14.10 @ 3:11PM|#
I was expecting a hat-tip at the end of the article, but none was given. C'mon Doherty, man up, and tip your damned hat.
Since it's the weekend:
For a magazine called Reason...
Sudden|5.14.10 @ 3:34PM|#
Doherty is too cool for hats.
I tip my tin foil at Kinnath though.
Brian Doherty|5.14.10 @ 3:34PM|#
Whereever it is kinnath linked to this, and I'm not sure where that is, it isn't how or why I read the article. Not that I don't appreciate all of you and what you do to make Hit and Run so special.
Short Bus|5.14.10 @ 3:40PM|#
Like me?
|5.14.10 @ 3:49PM|#
Oh no, not the IP nazi's, now they think they fucking invented looking at Salon.com.
kinnath|5.14.10 @ 4:46PM|#
In the morning links.
Jake|5.14.10 @ 3:43PM|#
At least include your website/blog address in your username, so the rest of us can check it out...
(disclosure: that's not *my* website being linked to in mine)
|5.14.10 @ 2:37PM|#
primal example of how the medium of the Internet and the power of American mythology have combined to unify a movement of militant individualists.
Uh, did they have to use that word?
|5.14.10 @ 2:47PM|#
Militant individualists:
People who plan to take over the government and prevent me from controlling how everyone lives.
|5.14.10 @ 2:51PM|#
That's a nice spin, John, but what you'll see on CNN is a short grainy video of the Hutaree dudes playing in the woods, while the word "militant" is uttered. Then they'll cut to Rand Paul.
|5.14.10 @ 2:54PM|#
I was agreeing with you. I see the same thing. And it is ridiculous.
|5.14.10 @ 2:58PM|#
I know you were agreeing with me. I'm really surprised the MSM has not stepped in to stop Paul from getting the nod. Of course there's still time...
EMp|5.14.10 @ 3:16PM|#
Rand Paul is hitting a lot of the right notes - and making GOP elites and some of the MSM very nervous. I like it...I like it a lot!
|5.14.10 @ 3:19PM|#
Did you see the temper tantrum David Brooks threw on This Week about Bob Bennett getting booted in Utah? His tears were just yummy.
|5.14.10 @ 3:44PM|#
yes...good stuff...and on Wednesday David Leonhardt had a article on the front page of the NYT that was whining about tea party types who he says "effectively punished Mr Bennett for not being a big enough fan of big government".
So funny to hear these assholes get irritated at the "irrationality" of being mad at the political establishment.
EMp|5.14.10 @ 5:48PM|#
HA-ha-haa!! Brooks flipped his lid - nice to see some of the WSJ'ers get a little steamed the same way they have steamed a lot of their natural constituency over the past few years! I loved seeing his reaction! :-)
EMp|5.14.10 @ 5:59PM|#
BTW - I know Brooks writes for the NYT, but he is spiritually aligned with the Wall Street'ers... ;-)
bookie lou|5.14.10 @ 11:28PM|#
Only 3 people watch CNN and two of them are blind and deaf.
¢|5.14.10 @ 2:40PM|#
Uh, did they have to use that word?
Twice. They like rape.
Apologetic California|5.14.10 @ 2:46PM|#
This reminds me oh-so-much of pre-Blair Labour "Militant Tendency".
|5.14.10 @ 2:53PM|#
"Rand Paul: Living Example of the Dying GOP Establishment?"
I don't quite get how Rand is GOP establishment
Brian Doherty|5.14.10 @ 2:56PM|#
What I meant by that hed was that his candidacy is an example of how the GOP est is dying. I'll actually change it to make it less ambiguous now.
|5.14.10 @ 3:08PM|#
aweseome...when I don't act like a asshole people talk to me
|5.14.10 @ 3:34PM|#
Don't get cocky, kid.
T|5.14.10 @ 3:39PM|#
You're just now figuring this out?
His Eminency|5.14.10 @ 2:57PM|#
"...reserved by members of the 9/11 Truth movement (who could perhaps also lay claim to the first event of the Tea Party movement...
Salon just couldn't resist a truther connection.
|5.14.10 @ 2:59PM|#
I thought of the TP starting more with Paul's money bomb on Guy Fawkes' Day. I threw some in that day. I think Warren did too.
|5.14.10 @ 3:46PM|#
anyone who didn't give money that day is asshole...it's a good signal anyway.
|5.14.10 @ 3:00PM|#
I think the incident where UF campus communist Pete Self punched Rand Paul on the Plaza of the Americas many years ago set him on the path he is today.
|5.14.10 @ 3:19PM|#
Really? I thought the Plaza was owned by the Krishnas.
distinguished gentleman|5.14.10 @ 3:23PM|#
That's new to me.. It is an obscure joke or a just a story that few have heard?
|5.14.10 @ 3:51PM|#
@Libertate I loved the Krishna food! Most entertaining was Brother Jed and Sister Cindy debating Radical Bill, of course.
The incident really happened! Rand said something Pete didn't like, so he went up and punched him. I don't recall if Self was arrested, although he often was arrested for one thing or another.
|5.14.10 @ 4:08PM|#
I saw Brother Jed and Sister Cindy a couple of times back in the mid-to-late 80s when I was at UF. That was pre-Rand punching, I'm sure.
|5.14.10 @ 6:10PM|#
Our College Libertarian group both heckled and cheered Brother Jed, depending upon what he said. Jed and Cindy trusted us enough to watch their kids a few times. I can still hear Sister Cindy's voice "you libertarians are only half right!"
|5.14.10 @ 3:03PM|#
influence on the style and success of the Tea Party movement...
What success? They've failed to stop anything Obama has wanted to do thus far.
|5.14.10 @ 3:15PM|#
ya but if there was no tea party then Mitt Romney or John McCain would already be the shoe-in favorite to win the 2012 republican nomination...instead the media tells us Sarah Palin may be the leader, but everybody knows/hopes that is just bullshit.
The teaparty managed to get a republican dipshit elected as the Massachussetts Senator and yes he is a turd with neo-connish bits and pieces in him, but the fact that the tea party has done that is a sign of it's potential power...kinda like a f-18 jet engine welded onto a tri-cycle...it might fuck something up if we get lucky.
|5.14.10 @ 3:43PM|#
The tea partiers have also removed at least one Republican from office.
Basically, if you have (incumbent) next to your name then you're in trouble. With some exceptions, of course, like pig man from San Fran.
|5.14.10 @ 3:44PM|#
Whoa, this should have been a response to Trolly, er, Tony, below.
|5.14.10 @ 3:15PM|#
Like get Democrats reelected?
Tony|5.14.10 @ 3:39PM|#
Such a noble goal for freedom loving individualists... returning Republicans to power. Libertarians are battered wives who keep believing it will stop some day because he keeps promising lower taxes and freer markets.
|5.14.10 @ 3:47PM|#
Tony:
Best. Comment. Ever.
*applause*
|5.14.10 @ 3:53PM|#
Kim,
you sound like a woman who is very empowered and appreciate a good sense of humor.
|5.14.10 @ 4:09PM|#
I think she sounds fat.
qwerty|5.14.10 @ 3:51PM|#
Reagan and Bush Jr. did lower taxes.
Clinton and Obama raised them.
Who should libertarians support?
|5.14.10 @ 3:55PM|#
Reagan and bush raised taxes...SS doubled under reagan...bracket creap on SS tax got much worse under Bush the extra spending both undertook was just a hidden tax on our children...so fuck both of them and Clinton too.
|5.14.10 @ 4:08PM|#
AMT got bad under Bush as well...their tax raising ways only tricked the weak minded.
Jersey Patriot|5.14.10 @ 4:15PM|#
If you're deficit spending, you're not cutting taxes, unless you believe in the Money Tree.
x,y|5.14.10 @ 4:11PM|#
Neither.
Sam Grove|5.15.10 @ 11:15AM|#
Tax cuts are irrelevant as gov't spending increases.
|5.14.10 @ 3:23PM|#
I think Dave Corzine, Martha Coakley, and Craigh Deeds would disagree with you.
|5.15.10 @ 11:44PM|#
Tea Party had nothing to do with McDonnell winning. Virginia is not exactly a left wing state, a few elections notwithstanding, and most importantly, Creigh Deeds was an absolute moron
|5.14.10 @ 4:32PM|#
Obama must not have wanted to do much in that case. Other than various executive actions which are immune to any influence from the people, all he's gotten done (with Dem majority in the House and 60-vote majority in the Senate) is sign a weakened health care bill into law (and was only able to do that by engaging in parliamentary trickery).
No public option, no card check, no cap and trade. Not that I'm complaining.
Tony|5.14.10 @ 5:09PM|#
Correction: 60 vote minority in the Senate. If there's lack of progress it's because of the undemocratic constipation in that chamber.
|5.14.10 @ 6:50PM|#
60 is more than half of 100. Not that I expect an alleged chemist to know math.
In any case, the GOP got plenty done with less than 60 votes while they had the reins.
|5.14.10 @ 11:48PM|#
Yes they did. No Child Left Behind, Medicare Drug benefit, a couple of wars, explosion in spending (i.e. future taxes), and many, many others.
I'm so proud.
|5.15.10 @ 1:04PM|#
I didn't intend to imply that I agreed with what they did, just that they did it. Which shows that Tony's "Senate is undemocratic" excuse for Dem ineffectiveness is hogwash.
Tony|5.16.10 @ 12:48AM|#
Dems were never as united, and never abused the rules as much. The filibuster is not meant to translate to minority rule on every single vote, which is what it's turned into.
CE|5.15.10 @ 9:25PM|#
Let's see.... a Republican Senator was elected in... Massachusetts? A three-term Republican Senator who voted for TARP came in third in the Utah primary? John McCain is pretending to be conservative?
I'd say the Tea Party is off to a great start.
Scotticus Finch|5.14.10 @ 3:18PM|#
The most heartening aspect of Paul's campaign (as a local) is that AFIK he has remained entirely positive, even in the face of a decidedly negative opponent.
See Rand Paul's Strange Ideas, for example, which is currently lambasting Paul for wearing shorts on teevee.
|5.14.10 @ 3:28PM|#
That is funny. Next he will go after him for driving a pick up truck and not using enough hair gel.
|5.14.10 @ 3:35PM|#
thanks for the webpage...
this was one of my favorites:
During This Campaign, Ron Paul Criticized The Reagan Administration.‘‘‘I listened to Ronald Reagan in the ‘70’s. He told me that he would balance the budget, cut back and get the Government off my back. They are not off our backs, they are in our wallets and into our bedrooms and into our private lives more than ever before.’” (Andrew Rosenthal, “Now For A Real Underdog: Ron Paul, Libertarian, For President,” The New York Times, 10/17/88)
I understand that voters are dumb on average...but of the population that will go on the internet and are able to read that webpage...I don't think Greyson could create a better ad in favor of Rand Paul. Even Pauls opponent is pushing the idea that the Pauls are CONSISTENTLY against the growth of government.
|5.17.10 @ 9:12AM|#
Every time I see Trey Grayson's ads, I'm tempted to call him.
Hey, Trey! You know your ads only make me want to vote for Rand Paul, right? Is that the effect you were going for?
jj|5.14.10 @ 3:38PM|#
According to the WaPo journalist who fielded that photo Rand was rushing back from one of his son's soccer games. The reporter read into the shorts an endearing message of a non-politician parent and doctor who was trying to juggle a senate campaign and life in the ordinary world.
mr simple|5.14.10 @ 3:43PM|#
That sight is hilarious. They quote his mother saying he has always been interested in politics as proof that he is actually a (secret) career politician. As opposed to Grayson, who is actually a career politician. This site reeks of desperation.
Scotticus Finch|5.14.10 @ 3:47PM|#
Desperation is right. Grayson's 11th-hour mailer accuses Paul of tax evasion because Paul's campaign workers were paid as "contractors" instead of "employees", so Paul didn't have to withold or provide workers' comp insurance.
I wish I had it in hand to quote from.
|5.14.10 @ 5:02PM|#
Wow, if you go here you see that Grayson has gotten the endorsement of Rudy Guiliani and Rick Santorum.
*shudder*
I'd vote for almost anything else before this guy.
|5.17.10 @ 9:15AM|#
Exactly. His tv ad touts his endorsements, as if they're something to be proud of.
Granted, Paul's endorsements by Palin and Dobson make me nauseous, but at least I can recognize the thread of common cause, there.
robc|5.16.10 @ 2:26PM|#
Technically, Grayson may be right on how the IRS interprets contractors v employees. It still makes him a whiny ass bitch for trying to use that argument. Siding with IRS abuse seems a really stupid thing to do.
Bill C|5.14.10 @ 3:35PM|#
He's still got to fend off the increasingly childish and desperate attacks from his primary opponent which costs $$$. Each dollar spent now makes him weaker for the general so consider a contribution: http://www.randpaul2010.com
It's the best investment in politics in decades a person interested in liberty can make.
jj|5.14.10 @ 3:41PM|#
I thought that Rand was being overly ambitious running for senate rather than congress. I am glad I was wrong.
|5.14.10 @ 3:40PM|#
Not that I don't appreciate all of you and what you do to make Hit and Run so special.
Ouch.
|5.14.10 @ 3:43PM|#
when I don't act like a asshole people talk to me
This is precisely why I unrelentingly act like an asshole; and even then, people still try to talk to me. What does a man have to do to be left alone?
|5.14.10 @ 4:19PM|#
+100. It doesn't work for me either.
Beowulf|5.14.10 @ 4:42PM|#
What does a man have to do to be left alone?
Grow to 6'9" and stop smiling. Long hair and sunglasses are optional, but effective. Good luck.
Xeones|5.14.10 @ 3:51PM|#
'Cause your unrelenting assholery is kind of endearing, P.
Old Mexican|5.14.10 @ 3:54PM|#
It's a good thing Rand is more in-tune with the Reason crowd than his dad, otherwise they would scrape the bottom of the barrel to find any sort of obscure reference years past of anything remotely "damaging" to his political career, no matter how absurd the implication, no matter the size of the intellectual shoehorn...
... or at least they would rehash somebody else's innuendo. Why work for it if someone already does the "job", right?
|5.14.10 @ 4:06PM|#
Kochtupus gave money to Greyson. Maybe Rand's enemies have tried to dig up everything they could and just couldn't find anything as potentially damaging as they did on Ron.
or not to be pessimistic, but this is one way it may work. It is possible that Rand does have something in his past that makes him a prime blackmail target. The NSA can get quite a lot of data on a person if they point their info cannons at you...would the government use that data in a bad way?
Bill|5.14.10 @ 4:18PM|#
Obama is not running this time.
|5.14.10 @ 4:41PM|#
At the very least he allowed that racist tripe to be published under his name (and, ahem, got paid for renting his name out to those creeps). Nothing absurd about questioning his judgement over that.
Xeones|5.14.10 @ 4:03PM|#
I like how Dan T.'s 3:03 attempt at snark boils down to "might makes right." Nice to see you're finally being philosophically honest, Danny.
|5.14.10 @ 4:46PM|#
Does it bother anyone that Glenn Beck got mentioned twice in here? I don't like the Paul's being tied to Glenn Beck. He is not anti-establishment in the least.
|5.14.10 @ 5:03PM|#
Yes, but what are you gonna do
SIV|5.14.10 @ 8:07PM|#
He is not anti-establishment in the least.
Jim DeMint was mentioned more frequently.
He's doing God's work moving the GOP to the right.
|5.14.10 @ 5:51PM|#
Obama is not running this time.
Obama has never stopped running. Its all he does. When he should have started actually, you know, governing, last year.
|5.14.10 @ 6:27PM|#
We should send him a pair of shoes.
|5.15.10 @ 3:41PM|#
no trophy, no flowers, no flashbulbs, no wine,
he's haunted by something he cannot define.
bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse,
assail him, impale him with monster-truck force.
in his mind, he's still driving, still making the grade.
she's hoping in time that her memories will fade.
cause he's racing and pacing and plotting the course,
he's fighting and biting and riding on his horse.
the sun has gone down and the moon has come up,
and long ago somebody left with the cup.
but he's striving and driving and hugging the turns.
and thinking of someone for whom he still burns.
cause he's going the distance.
he's going for speed.
she's all alone
all alone in her time of need.
because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course,
he's fighting and biting and riding on his horse.
he's racing and pacing and plotting the course,
he's fighting and biting and riding on his horse.
he's going the distance.
he's going for speed.
he's going the distance.
mad libertarian guy|5.15.10 @ 1:36AM|#
The problem with all of these articles is that they don't actually illuminate anything other than the fact that Rand, like father Ron, is not your typical republitard. They say very little of his politics and how they actually differ from standard republicanism other than small bytes here and there.
As a Kentuckian who has a vested interest in Paul, I've decided to do so myself. My goal is to look at his platform via a libertarian lens rather than the standard "he's not your average GOPer" stance that every other article has taken. I'll be writing a series on his platform, assuming that he wins the primary next week, which he almost sure to do considering he has a double-digit lead over that party hack Grayson, in which I'll talk about some of the more important or contentious issues and analyze them through the libertarian POV. I hope you guys get a gander.
Sorry for the blatant self promotion. Just looking for readers and conversation.
Ebeneezer Scrooge|5.15.10 @ 4:36AM|#
Just remember there's still lots of time for him to get on stage and find a way to absolutely blow it.
His father did just that. Here's to hoping the son is a smarter politician.
CE|5.15.10 @ 9:28PM|#
You mean by getting elected to Congress 10 times? By setting a single-day fundraising record when he was supposed to be a gadfly? By kicking off the Tea Party movement that is finally going to end the Politburo-level reelection rates of the US Congress?
Tony|5.16.10 @ 12:52AM|#
But have you ever heard him talk? I mean I was impressed with him too until he opened his mouth and I heard his rigid libertarian boilerplate hooey for the first time.
Ebeneezer Scrooge|5.16.10 @ 4:00AM|#
No, that's not what I mean CC. Ron Paul has managed to make a significant difference and I give credit where it's due. But --
In his presidential campaign he pulled at least two really big blunders for which I do not forgive him.
1) He had the opportunity to force the campaign to focus on financial responsibility. People were actually listening to him. So what does he do? Start babbling about the gold standard.
Whatever you think about that matter (and I agree with most of where Ron Paul would like to go with it), anybody with half a brain knows that in the current environment, if you begin by insisting on an immediate return to the gold standard, nobody but the hardcore libertarians are going to keep listening.
By making this his lead punch, at the moment he'd finally gotten the national stage, he marginalized himself.
2) He walked into the Republican National Convention and slammed the Iraq war.
I agree with Ron Paul's position on the Iraq war. But if he was going to run on the Republican ticket, he really, really needed to be a whole lot more subtle in his approach to that issue. It was obvious going in that this was going to get him booted off the RNC stage.
They'd have booted him asap anyway, but he really didn't need to give them two really good excuses for doing it.
Ron Paul has proven his capacity in the House of Representatives. He's also standing at the front end of the Tea Party wave (though I think it's a stretch to credit him with having created that movement -- I think it was latent and about ready to boil anyway).
But if you want to play at a higher level you need to understand, there are times when a far more discreet approach is needed. Establish your base on core issues of agreement (to establish that nebulous "political capital" that people talk about), before you start blasting away at things you know are going to be unpopular.
Ron Paul has proven that he doesn't have the ability to play at that level.
Does the Senate require more Political-ease than the House? I imagine it might. I hope Rand Paul has what it takes to go there, and beyond. So far I find him far more agreeable than most anyone else that I've seen in a very long time.
The rest of my skepticism, btw, is due to the simple fact that virtually all libertarian-ish politicians are either big enough kooks as to never get near the microphone at the national level, or else they blow either just before or just after getting the chance to speak. Why am I supposed to believe we've hatched a new breed here?
robc|5.16.10 @ 2:30PM|#
Ron Paul never onces pushed for a return to the gold standard. He pushed for legalizing* alternative currencies, including ones backed with gold.
*technically they are already legal, but if you use gold, you owe capital gains if the dollar inflates, because gold is being treated as an investment not an alternative currency.
robc|5.16.10 @ 2:32PM|#
Also, re: #2, it was the absolutely the right thing to do.
I wish he had stressed the fiscal more than the war, but he took the right position on Iraq.
|5.16.10 @ 7:34PM|#
If Ron Paul had not delivered his anti-war message he would have been seen as just another conservative Republican.
While most of us here know they're lying sacks of shit, every Republican candidate claims to be fiscally responsible.
|5.16.10 @ 9:56PM|#
Ebeneezer your #2 is totally incorrect. Ron Paul was not allowed to speak at the 2008 RNC convention and never stepped foot in the building. He held a counter-convention called the "Rally for the Republic" at the Target Center in Minneapolis during the RNC convention and over 12,000 people attended the event.
There is also a misconception about the Tea Party that Rand Paul attended on December 16, 2007. It was not the brain child of one Meetup group, but it was a nation wide coordinated event and fundraiser that was started by TeaParty07.com to commemorate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and events were hosted by Ron Paul Meetup groups around the country. The largest were in Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Maui, Austin and Freeport Texas, the event Ron Paul attended. You can find videos of the events on youtube and watch Ron Paul throw the barrel marked "Iraq War" into the water. There were hundreds of smaller events around the country.
robc|5.16.10 @ 2:21PM|#
Dec 16, 2007 was the first modern tea-party. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot. Anyone who says there is even an argument (Im looking at you Brian Doherty) is also an idiot.
Max|5.16.10 @ 4:13PM|#
Ron Paul, the Teflon racist and boring old fuck. If Paul's spawn is the best the Tea party can do, then we have no worries.
|5.16.10 @ 9:14PM|#
Here in Mississippi we have a similar race with a GOP primary coming up on June 1st. There is a Tea Party candidate, Joe Tegerdine, with strong grassroots support. Then there is a state legislator, Steven Palazzo, the only MS legislator to stand firmly with Governor Haley Barbour to block eminent domain reform last year. Barbour and the NRCC are backing Palazzo...suprised? The GOP Primary on June 1st in MS District-4 is a perfect example of Tea Party candidate vs establishment candidate.
http://mississippiconservative.....t-primary/