This is pieced together from a discussion we had in our Armenian-Americans For Liberty group, where some of the folks think that we should support a Rand 2016 run at the Presidency and I completely disagree. Anyway, I thought I’d share the thoughts here since I think most of you would either agree or would like to see the logic. Part of this has been edited to make more sense. 

Someone had posted a quote about Rand on tumblr and it goes like this: “Good people do shitty things one little compromise at a time.” - Cory Doctorow. 

Rand lost me a long time ago when he showed that he’s willing to compromise his principles to get a head in the GOP. 

If Rand’s willing to bend to support a shitty candidate that NO ONE thought had a chance, what else is he willing to bend for? Ron stood by his for decades and he got this far without bending and certainly not breaking. Rand spent two years in office and he was instantly a GOP-bitch-boy. 

Rand Paul is not a Ron Paul Republican. Rand is a pseudo-libertarian, quasi-NeoCon. He likes some liberties and doesn’t like others. You can’t pick and choose liberty. It’s one of the few things in life that is all or nothing. 

Here’s Rand in his own words in TIME magazine before he was elected: 

“They thought all along that they could call me a libertarian and hang that label around my neck like an albatross, but I’m not a libertarian“ 

The article goes on to say: ”Pure libertarians, he says, believe the market should dictate policy on nearly everything from the environment to health care. Paul has lately said he would not leave abortion to the states, he doesn’t believe in legalizing drugs like marijuana and cocaine, he’d support federal drug laws, he’d vote to support Kentucky’s coal interests and he’d be tough on national security.”

To me, Rand thinks he can scoop up Ron’s base and I’m sad to say that he will probably get a large portion of it simply because even the libertarian base is easily susceptible to cult-politics. 

However, voting for Rand because he is Ron’s son is no different than voting for Obama or Romney because of the political party they associate with. If you support Rand simply because he’s Ron’s son and you expect him to walk in Ron’s shoe’s you’re not only mistaken, you’re a hypocrite. Rand can’t walk in Ron’s shoes because he refuses to wear them. 

If you vote for Rand based on his genetic relation to Ron, you’re doing nothing short of practicing the same cult-based politics that 99% of this nation endorses and we strive to end. It’s the very thing that we’ve been fighting (or so I thought) since we all began to back the Liberty Movement, let’s not throw it all away now based on something as silly as a last name. 

There are other up-and-coming politicians that are more principled and built from Ron Paul’s mold than Rand is or will ever be. I know it’s four years away and anything can happen, but Rand’s already lost my vote. I’m not even sure he had it in the first place. 

I’d also like to address another question that always seems to pop up in discussions like these, if not Rand Paul in 2016, then who? Find someone principled and capable. Someone who is unwilling to play the ridiculous game of “scratch-your-back” politics. If you can’t find someone to vote for as President, dissent 

Write in your own name, write in Thomas Jefferson or simply don’t cast a vote for President.  We don’t have to get someone in to the office of the President in order to win the fight against oppression, we can make a lot of head way through local politics, state senates, or in either house of Congress. All politics are local. Change starts with small, calculated steps. We need to first spark the embers, only with the right gust can we ignite the flame. 

@Suga_Shane