--- title: "1 Rand Paul Quotes By Michael Gerson" description: "1 Rand Paul quotes by Michael Gerson. Plus more from Michael Gerson and more Rand Paul sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/michael-gerson-33420_civil-rights_to-this-point-sen-rand-paul-of-kentucky_2821439.jpg" --- > [“To this point, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been the Republican flavor of the year. Events from the IRS scandal to NSA revelations to the Obamacare train wreck have corroborated libertarian suspicions of federal power. And Paul has shown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/to-this-point-sen-rand-paul-of-kentucky-has-been-the-republican/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/michael-gerson-33420_civil-rights_to-this-point-sen-rand-paul-of-kentucky_2821439.jpg) ## More by Michael Gerson > [This has all the appearance of a foreign power trying to undermine structures of legitimacy of an American election. That is a serious matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/this-has-all-the-appearance-of-a-foreign-power-trying-to-undermine/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [“Freedom requires virtues it does not produce and may even help undermine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/freedom-requires-virtues-it-does-not-produce-and-may-even-help/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [The Republican Party has become more conservative. The Democratic Party has become marginally more liberal. There's almost no overlap in the middle, ideological overlap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/the-republican-party-has-become-more-conservative-the-democratic/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [The soft bigotry of low expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/the-soft-bigotry-of-low-expectations/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [It's hard when the worst people in the country are cheering, the people with the confederate flag, the people that do anti-Semitism on Twitter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/it-s-hard-when-the-worst-people-in-the-country-are-cheering-the/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [Parenthood offers many lessons in patience and sacrifice. But ultimately, it is a lesson in humility. The very best thing about your life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/parenthood-offers-many-lessons-in-patience-and-sacrifice-but/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [Atheists can be good people; they just have no objective way to judge the conduct of those who are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/atheists-can-be-good-people-they-just-have-no-objective-way-to-judge/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [The problem with these presidential debates like this is that you can't really prepare for them, because the questions are so individual and personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/the-problem-with-these-presidential-debates-like-this-is-that-you-can/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [“To restrict or legalize abortion, to allow or forbid gay marriage, a legislator would need to write and pass a law, get it signed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/to-restrict-or-legalize-abortion-to-allow-or-forbid-gay-marriage-a/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [When your goal is to bring together the country in a substantive way to say that we're united by values and more - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/when-your-goal-is-to-bring-together-the-country-in-a-substantive-way/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [When you analyze it, Mike Pence could only defend Donald Trump in some circumstances by projecting an image of himself, as though he were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/when-you-analyze-it-mike-pence-could-only-defend-donald-trump-in-some/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [The NSA is not looking through people's address books and Visa bills and violating the rights of average citizens. That's not what the NSA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/the-nsa-is-not-looking-through-people-s-address-books-and-visa-bills/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [There is some of the paradox of foreign policy polling. So on Iraq and Syria, the President is pretty much doing what Americans want,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/there-is-some-of-the-paradox-of-foreign-policy-polling-so-on-iraq-and/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [“The rational arguments against suicide are compelling. It causes intense suffering for loved ones that few would intend in their right mind. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/the-rational-arguments-against-suicide-are-compelling-it-causes/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [“To this point, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been the Republican flavor of the year. Events from the IRS scandal to NSA revelations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/to-this-point-sen-rand-paul-of-kentucky-has-been-the-republican/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rand-paul/michael-gerson/#itemlist", "name": "1 Rand Paul Quotes By Michael Gerson", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To this point, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been the Republican flavor of the year. Events from the IRS scandal to NSA revelations to the Obamacare train wreck have corroborated libertarian suspicions of federal power. And Paul has shown serious populist skills in cultivating those fears for his political benefit. For a while, he succeeded in a difficult maneuver: Accepting the inheritance of his father's movement while distancing himself from the loonier aspects of his father's ideology. But now Rand Paul has fallen spectacularly off the tightrope. It turns out that a senior member of his Senate staff, Jack Hunter, has a history of neo-Confederate radio rants. And Paul has come to the defense of his aide. . . . This would not be the first time that Paul has heard secessionist talk in his circle of confederates--I mean, associates. His father has attacked Lincoln for causing a \"senseless\" war and ruling with an \"iron fist.\" Others allied with Paulism in various think tanks and websites have accused Lincoln of mass murder and treason. For Rand Paul to categorically repudiate such views and all who hold them would be to excommunicate a good portion of his father's movement. This disdain for Lincoln is not a quirk or a coincidence. Paulism involves more than the repeal of Obamacare. It is a form of libertarianism that categorically objects to 150 years of expanding federal power. . . . Not all libertarians, of course, view Appomattox as a temporary setback. A libertarian debate on the topic: \"Lincoln: Hero or Despot?\" would be two-sided, lively and well attended. But Paulism is more than the political expression of the Austrian school of economics. It is a wildly ambitious ideology in which Hunter's neo-Confederate views are not uncommon. What does this mean for the GOP? It is a reminder that, however reassuring his manner, it is impossible for Rand Paul to join the Republican mainstream. The triumph of his ideas and movement would fundamentally shift the mainstream and demolish a century and a half of Republican political history. 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