A friend of mine from what I’m beginning to think of as the “good old days of politics” spent time as a Republican member of the Indianapolis City-County Council. He has steadfastly refused to exit the party, insisting that the few remaining sane folks need to be there to pick up the pieces when the fever breaks.
I hope he’s right about the fever breaking…
In any event, he continues to be the recipient of rightwing emails and solicitations, and on occasion, he shares them with me. This one from increasingly bizarre Rand Paul hit my inbox a couple of days ago, accompanied by a simple message: “wow!” Here it is in its entirety.
From: Rand Paul <emails@patriotpriority.com>
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 11:32 PM
To: Patriot (I’ve blanked my friend’s name)
Subject: throw away your masks and burn your ‘vaccine passport’
Patriot,
The left has gone completely COVID crazy.
They want government-enforced shutdowns, mask mandates, school closures, forced vaccines, and now they’re talking about a COVID vaccine passport.
It’s absolutely unconstitutional – not to mention, it’s absurd.
A Democrat politician famously said, “never let a crisis go to waste.” Boy, did this pandemic really see them put their shoulder into that old axiom.
Throughout the COVID crisis, these radicals have embraced theatrics, abandoned science, and the longer it goes on, the more they double down.
The newest power grab comes in the form of an alleged “Vaccine Passport” which would determine whether or not you’re “ALLOWED” to engage in your everyday life.
Want to go to the store? Show your vaccine card.
Want to go to a restaurant or concert? Did you tell the government what vaccines you’ve had?
Want to travel? VACCINE PAPERS PLEASE.
This is the slippery slope I warned about and it’s exactly what I’m fighting to defeat in Washington. Will you chip in to join the fight today?
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Patriot, this passport idea from these hypocrites in Washington is just completely unacceptable.
Let’s not forget: these are the same people who are boycotting states like Georgia for implementing common-sense policies like voter ID.
Let me tell you something… if you think voter ID is racist, but the vaccine passport is just fine, you need some serious help thinking through public policy.
I will never be in favor of this COVID hysteria and I will never support a COVID passport. JOIN ME: CHIP IN NOW >>
It’s time to say enough is enough.
I urge everyone to get the vaccine if you need or want it. And then I urge everyone in America to throw away their masks, demand their schools be open, and burn your vaccine passport if they try to give it to you.
If you’re with me, please chip in today to join the fight against the vaccine passport powergrab.
Where to begin? During the year-long fight against COVID, Rand Paul has consistently played to the (misnamed) “Patriots” –engaging in uninformed debates with Dr. Fauci, dealing in a variety of anti-science conspiracy theories, and just generally making an ass of himself.
If he really believes half of what he spouts, we can shrug and chalk up his behavior to mental illness, but if–as I half suspect–he is playing the “patriots” on his email list for suckers in order to raise money, he’s just venal. Either way, of course, the conclusion is the same: a member of the United States Senate who has absolutely no business being there.
Rand Paul and his ilk have displayed exactly ZERO interest in policy, in deliberating in good faith, or in representing the genuine interests of a majority–or even a minority– of their constituents.
Most Americans would undoubtedly define “patriotism” very differently from the implicit meaning conveyed by Rand Paul’s (mis)use of the word .
Rand Paul, one of the many prominent Republicans, whose main purpose to speak, seems to be to gain money for his campaign, not to propose a solution to any of the problems this country faces. People need to start realizing the Republicans have no, and I mean no, programs or policies to offer. They want the old stuff in place or better yet, just do nothing. Their main goal seems to be nothing but bash Democrats. Democrats are far from perfect, but at least they as a group are trying to take care of the least of us, get us through the current batch of problems, and look toward the future, not backwards.
Fucking quack. Is it any wonder he started his own “professional” board to “certify” himself? I mean, what a steaming pile of, well, you know the old joke: “There’s a pony in there somewhere!”
The misinformation is beyond shameless. It’s dangerous and, arguably, a violation of his oath to “first, do no harm.” As many as 400,000 people have died because of the lies and distractions told by the short-fingered vulgarian, his purse poodle Pence, and the other Republican politicians who went along with them that politicized proven public health measures in order to cover up their massively incompetent response to the pandemic (which, in case Rand hasn’t figure it out, is still very much with us).
And yes, the key phrase in all that mess is, ” Will you chip in to join the fight today?”
Whatever the Republican Party has become, it’s morally unsalvageable. The only thing whatever reasonable conservatives there may still be can do for it at this point is help the rest of us vote it into oblivion in every coming election cycle.
Please add Mike Braun to your list
Ironically, the proposed vaccine passports (there will be a number of them) are the result of innovation and potential adoption by capitalists in free-markets. Some businesses will choose to offer a service to customers, say transportation, that is extremely safe from exposure to aerosolized COV-SARS-2 virus. So far, the US federal government has played no role in their development . That may not last if one or more passports violate privacy laws or create some other hazard that would trigger an investigation by the FTC or Consumer Product Safety Commission.
I’m beginning to plan a trip to Ireland next year and I suspect I won’t be able to get on the plane at O’Hare without showing my vaccine passport which I will gladly do. I’m hoping that my former employer wins the airline’s or airport’s contract to provide a safe and effective one.
http://www.ibm.com/products/digital-health-pass
And that is all I have to say about Rand Paul.
The same guy who wants proper photo ID to be presented at the vote center is also against presenting proof of vaccination for entrance into privately owned (see small business Republican mantras) operations.
Three times during this rant, he mentions donating to him. THREE TIMES!
If thats not obvious to his poor supporters they deserve to be scammed.
The problem is not with politicians like Paul or Braun. The problem is that a majority of the electorate supports them.
To be a Republican “conservative” now these days means that Republicans are racing to see how they can kill more people, through mass shootings or disease. These guys have confused their right to kill people with personal freedoms and have chosen to ignore any almost any issue dealing with public health and safety.
But, that said, this letter is just about fear mongering and fund raising, but the result for the average donor is going to be greater risk for disease and death. Happy and satisfied people are not compelled to click on the “donate” button.
There was an scary opinion piece in the NY Times that said the hard core Trump base is becoming radically disconnected from reality and I suspect that from propaganda like Sheila presented here and 2nd Amendment discussions I have had on social media, that we are going to see more violence, like 1/6, from unhinged Trumpian Republicans who firmly believe they are protecting American freedom. When it happens, “surprised” people like Rand Paul will be saying “It should be obvious to everyone we were lying”.
Reading Rand Paul and his maligned views of public policy to combat COVID reminds me of the so-called Rev Jim Jones. Jones and his inner circle orchestrated a mass murder-suicide of himself and his followers in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana, 40 years ago.
The link below shows the history of vaccines,
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline/all
And here is a history of vaccine passports, nothing new, but the ignorance level is astounding!
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56680309
So we can see that absolutely, people were aware of how to prevent the communicable element of disease, and make sure people who were sick or could develop the disease were restricted in their movements. Those who developed immunity, mostly through herd immunity from many infections and deaths, were allowed to freely move about.
And, as I recall, you had to be inoculated with the most current vaccines to get on a ship and later a plane to another country, or to attend college or public schools, or to hold a job where you would be in contact with the general public, it was just common sense!
So, right now a large portion of the GOP is abdicating the public good for personal gain and power!
Abraham Lincoln foresaw the current nincompoopery (and that’s putting it mildly) and its consequences then and now. You really must peruse Lincolns Lyceum Address, Nostradamus had nothing on Lincoln! He actually spells out the reasonings for the GOP doing what they’re doing right now, and, it’s not anything but self-aggrandizingly criminal.
There is no interest in healing any riffs in this country, they wish to tear it down, they wish to burn it like an arsonist running through the forest with can of gasoline and a torch!
This is the evil that has permeated this current political movement on the right, but it’s been burgeoning for a long long time. It will take drastic measures to counteract what’s happening, you can already see the fear on the right, the flailing and mind-boggling insanity is going to get worse and worse.
At what point does government, president Joe Biden, recognize that there are no honest negotiating partners, and he must use all of his available tools and assets to rectify the issue. If not, it’s going to make January 6 look like a summer break celebration!
Here’s to Rand Paul (and also Mike Braun)…….. ?
Abraham Lincoln
Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois
January 27, 1838
It would be tedious, as well as useless, to recount the horrors of all of them. Those happening in the State of Mississippi, and at St. Louis, are, perhaps, the most dangerous in example and revolting to humanity. In the Mississippi case, they first commenced by hanging the regular gamblers; a set of men, certainly not following for a livelihood, a very useful, or very honest occupation; but one which, so far from being forbidden by the laws, was actually licensed by an act of the Legislature, passed but a single year before. Next, negroes, suspected of conspiring to raise an insurrection, were caught up and hanged in all parts of the State: then, white men, supposed to be leagued with the negroes; and finally, strangers, from neighboring States, going thither on business, were, in many instances subjected to the same fate. Thus went on this process of hanging, from gamblers to negroes, from negroes to white citizens, and from these to strangers; till, dead men were seen literally dangling from the boughs of trees upon every road side; and in numbers almost sufficient, to rival the native Spanish moss of the country, as a drapery of the forest.
Turn, then, to that horror-striking scene at St. Louis. A single victim was only sacrificed there. His story is very short; and is, perhaps, the most highly tragic, if anything of its length, that has ever been witnessed in real life. A mulatto man, by the name of McIntosh, was seized in the street, dragged to the suburbs of the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and all within a single hour from the time he had been a freeman, attending to his own business, and at peace with the world.
I know the American People are much attached to their Government;–I know they would suffer much for its sake;–I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.
Here then, is one point at which danger may be expected.
The question recurs, “how shall we fortify against it?” The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;–let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children’s liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap–let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;–let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.
Many great and good men sufficiently qualified for any task they should undertake, may ever be found, whose ambition would inspire to nothing beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential chair; but such belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle. What! think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon?–Never! Towering genius distains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.–It sees no distinction in adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected to the memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough to serve under any chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps of any predecessor, however illustrious. It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible, it will have it, whether at the expense of emancipating slaves, or enslaving freemen. Is it unreasonable then to expect, that some man possessed of the loftiest genius, coupled with ambition sufficient to push it to its utmost stretch, will at some time, spring up among us? And when such a one does, it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs.
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm
Let’s all back Rand Paul’s next door neighbor for his Senate seat.
Paul is a spoiled libertarian brat, a headline hunter, a power seeker, and a glorified optician who pretends to know more about the virus than the celebrated epidemicologist Fauci. Words can’t express how much I loathe this man. He, like his fellow Republicans these days, offers nothing to solution of the pressing issues we are confronted with, from rising seas to global epidemics. I often write elsewhere that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has the worst representation there is in the senate, with Florida and Indiana in hot pursuit. GRRRR!
Let’s all quick getting down in the gutter with the Former and his followers and calling people we don’t agree with adolescent names and/or using (former) curse words to describe them. We’re above that…or are we? Pot calling kettle…what?
^^^^ That is hilarious.
Yeah, Rand Paul is a nutcase.
I have reservations about a “Vaccine Passport” but I have greater reservations about a large number of people, who for political reasons, put everyone else’s health at risk. Ditto the entire gun argument – their right to bear arms puts everyone else at risk. I don’t quite get the selfishness.
Keep in mind though, these fund raising letters are appealing to something that’s there in the ether already. Dems need to be hip/aware/ahead of curve: It used to be said that fundraising was the first primary… now it’s media/social media/etc. We’ve seen how an entire alternate reality has been constructed, where truth is subjective and facts don’t matter. I’m not suggesting that we do THAT, but the first battle is the hearts and minds.
Rand Paul is no worse than Jim Jordan who is no worse than Donald Trump who is no worse than Mitch McConnell. They all just want to raise money no matter the cost to the country. They are performers, not statesmen. Organ grinder monkeys.
The good news is that the performance level that they are willing to go to borders on desperate. Their act is not worth what it once was.
I agree with Gerald here. Paul is in the same group of mentally incompetent publicity rats like Ted Cruz, that have NO intention of governing, only promoting their personal brand to the weakest minds among us.
See, Rand and his daddy Ron lived in east Texas most of their lives. I suspect that their dwellings were downwind of all the oil refineries there and the resulting brain damage speaks for itself. Naturally, they caucus with Republicans. The nation couldn’t ask for more destructive and deranged politicians.
Oh. The filibuster gives these assholes way too much influence.
He’s just a reflection of his people, as are Braun and Young. The people of Kentucky and Indiana are damned fools.
They all want to leave a legacy, Trump was wondering if you could be added to Mount Rushmore, LOL! They would rather be known for quixoticly chasing windmills, enter Don Quixote, than building a lasting legacy for justice. Talking about cancel culture, they are attempting to cancel the age of Enlightenment i.e. Renaissance, and revert society back to a subservient dark ages!
Thanks John for Lincoln’s extraordinary 1838 warning of, and guarding against, future tyrants.
Rand Paul touches the hot spots in today’s GOP, –
“I urge everyone to get the vaccine if you need or want it. And then I urge everyone in America to throw away their masks, demand their schools be open, and burn your vaccine passport if they try to give it to you.”
I gather that 571,000 deaths from Covid 19 is not enough for Rand Paul.
The GOP today has No Programs, No Policies, except FEAR. Not satisfied with just Fear tactics they undermine and subvert hygiene like masks and social distancing.
The Trumper’s I know are absolutely refusing the vaccine. Here in Indiana I would not be surprised if 35-40 % of the people refuse the vaccine.
ML,
What we’re witnessing among Republican deniers is intentional Darwinism. Let ’em get sick and die. Maybe their offspring will get the truth. Unbelievable.
Okay…I reluctantly admit it….I am from Indiana.
But that didn’t keep me there. I’ve lived in Oregon ( as a retiree ) for the last 16 years….which
is as far as I can get from the mid west….it’s too wet further west.
About Kentucky….have there been any politicians different from McConnell or Rand Paul…in the last 50+ years ? Or do such moronic types ALL come from Kentucky ?
Not that politicians are any different as those coming from Indiana or Texas…..
Another example of the worthless radical right wing extremists projecting his BS onto others. There seems to be no end to their ruthless lying.
I’m in the process of filling out my International Certificate of Vaccination (Passport) booklet as I type this! I can see Germany from my house but can’t go there until I get my second Moderna shot in May. The borders are closed to France too (10 miles) so I’ll have this booklet in my purse when I shop over there again. When my hubby brought the booklet, he went back and checked his old visa paperwork for his other Certificates of Vaccination.
Do you know, he got 5 vaccines in one day so that he could come to the States back in ’09. I want to scream this tidbit of knowledge to all of the vaccine deniers that somehow he was able to survive with all of those shots in one setting.
I’m rather glad that I was so otherwise engaged that I did not see this post: Paul is a fool, maybe a crazy fool. It was said, back in the day, when his father was on the campaign trail, that his fellow GOP travelers thought him crazy. So, maybe, there is a bit of a pattern here. And, of course, Rand’s parents saddled him with Ayn Rand’s brand, from the get go!