Rand Paul is Still On Our Side, Despite the Romney Endorsement

A lot of people in the liberty movement are disappointed if not disgusted with Senator Rand Paul's recent endorsement of presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, and I share the sentiment. However, it's not time to completely disown him as the latest sell out to the cause of liberty, at least for now.

Ron Paul's purity to the message of liberty has spoiled us. That he has been able to maintain this integrity and consistency while becoming as influential as he has is amazing, inspiring, and encouraging. It's a strategy for liberty that yields little in the short run in exchange for much in the long run.

However, this is not the only way to advance our cause. You can play ball with your opponents, compromise, and change the outcome in your direction. That has been Rand Paul's strategy from the beginning. As long as he advances our ideas and uses his power to hold back the advance of statism, he's on our side, and we should be supportive of him to the degree he supports liberty. So far, he has been decent, fighting to reduce regulations, promoting some fiscal sanity, opposing the PATRIOT Act and the Lybian war, and calling for ending the Iraq war, to name a few highlights of his one and a half years in office.

No matter how ugly the politics, Rand Paul is still advancing our cause, in the Senate. Voice your disgust to him, but keep the big picture in mind and don't disown him completely. And from now on, don't think Rand Paul is the next Ron Paul. He's his own man.

Dan McCarthy has an excellent article in the American Conservative on this subject.