The above headline is from a post over at Hot Air by Allahpundit, the content of which begs the question: what part of our bloated and corrupt federal government will be easy to reform?
Allahpundit reports that in a recent speech at Harvard, Rand “reiterated his strong opposition to ObamaCare but was fatalistic about repealing it — in the near-term at least.” Then Allahpundit adds that a write-up at The Hill makes it sound like Rand’s “time horizon was longer than that.”
Rand Paul is new to politics, being only a first term U.S. Senator. Once he’s around a little longer he’ll learn that there’s a reason why we rarely see reform. It’s not easy. Not in the short term. Not in the medium term. Not in the long term.
Deciding what to do about Obamacare is no different than any other area of public policy. It’s really not complicated. First you have to learn what the issue-area experts say about what does and doesn’t work. Then you develop a plan based on the facts. Then you have to sell it. Relentlessly, with the help of many spokespeople, and through every means possible.
Develop fact-based proposals and then sell sell sell.
The latter part of this (sell!) is understood by the political left, and not so much on the right. Without the support of the public, reform is impossible. Maybe that’s why Rand is fatalistic — he consciously or unconsciously knows that Republicans and conservatives are getting slaughtered in the information war.
It’s not always worthwhile to pick apart everything said by a public official. Since they spend so much time mic’d up, they’re bound to say foolish, or at least confusing things now and again. Lately, though, Rand Paul seems on a role. It’s clear his staff is purposefully getting him out there — giving speeches and interviews — so he can work out the intellectual kinks in his brain before he runs for president.
Here’s Allahpundit quoting Rand Paul:
“I think it’s going to be difficult to turn the clock back. People get assumed and accustomed to receiving things, particularly things that they get for free,” he told a crowd of students at Harvard’s Institute of Politics on Friday…
Maybe others recall similar fatalism being expressed by Ronald Reagan in the months and years before he ran for president. The Reagan I remember understood that being a public opinion leader meant that you use bold colors and skip the big tent mushiness talk.
Rand Paul appears to have a lot of work ahead. Whether the topic is foreign policy, Ronald Reagan, abortion, the proverbial “big tent,” and now Obamacare, Rand might be losing more fans than he’s gaining.
