Republicans running for President can be forgiven many sins — but dissing conservative icon Ronald Reagan is not one of them. Mother Jones’ David Corn — who seems to be making a career of revealing bits of video damaging to politicians’ carefully crafted images — now reveals a video where the usually Reagan-praising Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul criticizes him and (perhaps a bigger sin) praises former President Jimmy Carter:
As Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ponders a presidential bid, he has lately made efforts to wrap himself in the banner of Ronald Reagan. In op-eds and speeches, the libertarian tea partier has increasingly invoked the Republicans’ most holy icon, especially after being attacked by members of his party’s establishment who have accused him of isolationism. Writing in the Washington Post last week, Paul likened his nuanced approach to foreign policy to what he claimed was Reagan’s embrace of “strategic ambiguity.”
A few days earlier, at a so-called “Freedom Summit” in New Hampshire, Paul hailed Reagan as the last president who presided over the creation of millions of jobs, asserting that after the Gipper lowered tax rates, 20 million jobs were created and “more revenue came in.” (FactCheck.org concluded that Paul was “falsifying evidence”—and ignoring that more jobs were created during President Bill Clinton’s tenure when tax rates went up.)
But Paul hasn’t always cast himself as much of a Reagan fan. In fact, when he stumped for his father in 2008 and again when ran for Senate in 2010, Paul often referred to the grand old man of the GOP with a touch of disappointment and criticism. And he routinely made an assertion that might seem like blasphemy to many Republicans: President Jimmy Carter had a better record on fiscal discipline than Reagan.
In a variety of campaign appearances that were captured on video, Paul repeatedly compared Reagan unfavorably to Carter on one of Paul’s top policy priorities: government spending. In a variety of campaign appearances that were captured on video, Paul repeatedly compared Reagan unfavorably to Carter on one of Paul’s top policy priorities: government spending. When Paul was a surrogate speaker for his father, then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), during the elder Paul’s 2008 presidential quest, his sales pitch included dumping on Reagan for failing to rein in federal budget deficits. Standing on the back of a truck and addressing the crowd at the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers picnic in July 2007, Rand Paul complained about Reagan and praised his father for having opposed Reagan’s budget.
There’s more, but here’s JUST ONE of the videos Corn has embedded that’s making the rounds and gives ammunition to Paul’s foes within the Republican Party — which include members of the establishment, neocons, and social conservatives:
Go to the link because there’s a total of seven videos showing Paul criticize Reagan and/or praise Carter.
I disagree with anyone saying this ends Paul’s chances to be a serious contender for the Republican Party’s 2016 nomination. Although there are scenarios where he could win it, he’d also have to overcome some political hurdles.
Paul recently said the GOP might be overselling the allegations of voter fraud which GOPers around the country are using to enact laws that a wide variety of analysts, politicians and lawyers consider outright voter suppression. That won’t earn him brownie points with many Republicans and runs counter to the mantra repeated over and over by conservative talkers, Fox News and some conservative bloggers.
With this video, the political mountain Paul needs to climb has just gotten bigger.
SOME REACTION:
–No More Mister Nice blog:
That and other Rand Paul attacks on Reagan’s spending are in the Mother Jones article, and in the video supercut below. Rand can’t possibly survive this in 2016 … right? Don’t be so sure.”
He then has a quote of a conservative blogger defending Pauls’ right to criticize Reagan and adds:
So there you have it. You and I can’t criticize Ronald Reagan, who was the greatest American of our era and whose cowboy boots we’re not fit to polish — but conservatives can critique him, if they’re “respectful” and they’re “doing it from the right.” So Reagan criticism is sort of like using the N-word — permitted within the group, but declared utterly taboo by the group if done by others. (Presumably this is because of conservatives’ long history of suffering at non-conversatives’ hands. Sorry, that was sarcasm.)
Not a Rand Paul fan. Never was. He never renounced his father’s vicious anti-Israel, anti-semitic rantings. And he showed his colors in, of all places, an interview with Alex Jones. Sheesh.
If Rand Paul had been caught in bed with male prostitutes or wearing diapers, it would probably be less controversial than saying anything negative about Ronald Reagan. But Rand didn’t stop there. He said Jimmy Carter was better than Reagan.
Even if that’s true it isn’t going to matter. The name Rand Paul is well on its way to becoming blasphemy.
What Paul says about Reagan exploding the debt is all true, of course.
And it’s not wise to underestimate the Republican base’s capacity to ignore facts and focus on shiny objects: That’s how they came to deify the folksy, addled, debt-exploding Z-grade actor as an exemplar of fiscal rectitude in the first place.
But imagine the field day Paul’s primary opponents will have parading this heresy before the cameras at every debate. The message that Reagan actually was a profligate spendthrift won’t sink in, but the fact that Paul unfavorably compared Baby Jeebus Reagan to Satan’s Valet Carter sure will.
While we’re on the subject of Paul oppo research, that Mother Jones piece that I mentioned earlier is blowing up among lefties, who seem convinced that Paul is now DOA in the primaries because he — gasp — noted that Jimmy Carter kept spending lower than Reagan. Is that right? Which of his opponents, please tell me, is going to attack him for complaining that federal spending has been too high, even under conservative leadership? It’s okay to criticize even Reagan so long as you’re attacking from the right; if you don’t believe me, stop and think how many Republicans you’ve heard say in the past year alone that we can’t afford a repeat of the 1986 amnesty that Reagan signed into law. If Paul’s comments about Carter and Reagan end up giving him trouble, it won’t be because he dared to question the Gipper. It’ll be because, allegedly, they’re further evidence of Paul’s foreign-policy weakness: The reason Reagan spent more, Paul’s critics will say, is because he was hellbent on bringing down the Soviet Union in a way that Carter never was. Deficit spending is lamentable but defensible if the cause it serves is noble enough. Would President Paul have refused to spend the necessary dollars even if it meant a reprieve for the failing Soviet Union? In that case, perhaps he’s too dovish after all. That’ll be how the Carter/Reagan comments are spun, if anyone even thinks to attack him on it.
Rand Paul told the truth about Reagan. #NoBacktracking
— Pamplinlaw, Esq (@LesaPamplin) April 23, 2014
I hope Levin smashes Rand Paul tonight. He should, Paul prefers Jimmy Carter's economy to Reagan"s. Not so far… Soon he will right?
— Laura McGinnis (@Txsleuth) April 23, 2014
Rand Paul crosses the Reagan/Carter line http://t.co/LUssqFJu1f
— GStuedler (@GStuedler) April 23, 2014
Rand Paul says Jimmy Carter was better than Ronald Reagan on budget issues. Yep, that’s how you win over GOP primary voters.
— Ken Gardner (@kesgardner) April 23, 2014
If you think agreeing with Reagan 100% is the litmus for conservatism, the MotherJones piece on Paul and budget will upset you.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 23, 2014
There is nothing @SenRandPaul won't say to get elected. NOTHING. http://t.co/w6sVbjUIvO
— Lisa Graas (@CatholicLisa) April 23, 2014
Wow, Rand Paul is really outdoing himself today
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 23, 2014
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.