Rand Paul Crashes His Test Drive

Somebody must not like this kid. Newsmax's owner--I admit I didn't think they had an owner so much as an original source for the mold--has just written a rather clear eyed appraisal of the Republican party's chances if it can't get another superstar quasi Republican hero like Clinton. Remembering those days as I do I am rather astounded by how the passage of time has sweetened and softened what was, to say the least, a fraught relationship. But some members of the Republican party have decided to let bygones be bygones and they really don't want Rand raking all that stuff up again.

Sen. Rand Paul was fast becoming the GOP contender of the future — until he resurrected the Monica Lewinsky issue in a series of recent interviews. It's a real mistake for Paul's rising political future and a strategic blunder for the GOP. The Republican Party faces a serious crisis. Demographics are moving aggressively against its ageing white base. Blue states remain firmly entrenched while once-Red states such as Texas and Florida are becoming increasingly Blue. In 2012 the GOP spent $1 billion, fielding a telegenic candidate and..."

wait for it...wait for it...

still lost against an unpopular president presiding over the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Oh, and we started out so reasonably, in a world where changing voter demographics might lead us to think that voters might find different kinds of people "popular" and want different kinds of policies. Why, if they were popular, we might even measure their popularity by examining the popular vote during a major poll such as an election. They might even win such a popular poll by 5 million votes.

Why? I keep hearing that the party of Lincoln is "out of touch" with working Americans. In the face of this reality, the GOP should be grappling with how to offer positive, free-market solutions for America's ills.

I think the love that dare not speak its name here is basically, this. If the Democrats could pull all those fucking votes without running a white southern male who looks and sounds working class while we were running a northern elitist billionaire scumbag then we have got no hope at all if they run someone even tangentially associated with the working class, even someone faintly affiliated with the old soft shoe Clinton with his aroma de bubba.

Instead, Paul's assault on Bill Clinton is not only throwing the GOP back into the ugly muck of the 1990s, but pairing itself off against a still-popular former Democratic president.

Yup, there it is. Don't remind our remaining white voters that the Democrats don't always run a black guy.

The Clinton affair was litigated back in the 1990s, and Republicans went so far as to impeach the president. But in the end they lost — Clinton remained in office, and the public, by and large, decided that the GOP's efforts were not good for the country. We will lose again if we make Bill Clinton and the 1990s the issue.

Wait--you are talking evidence based medicine with the current Republican party? This should be good. Let me get out my popcorn and put my feet up. This is going to take some Sochi level gymnastics combined with some Ken Ham level contortions. Our editorialist is not content with just cautioning Rand not to remind people that Hillary Clinton is the wife of history's greatest monster. He goes a whole lot further and writes a mash note to Clinton that makes pecuniam non olet faint with shame at its understatement:

Clinton, to his credit, has admitted his mistakes, to his family and to the public. He apologized for them and gained redemption with a presidential record that has turned to gold as the years have passed and by acting as a goodwill ambassador for the United States. Some years ago Newsmax featured Bill Clinton on the cover of our magazine, focusing on how Clinton had not only re-invented the post-presidency into a powerful bully pulpit, but praising him for engaging globally with the work of his foundation, laudable work even straight-laced Republicans could applaud. (Emphasis mine) In recent years, Clinton has won kudos from both sides of the political aisle for his work with his foundation, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for various causes since it was established in 2001. Recently renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, it has used the president's immense popularity and fundraising prowess — and that of his wife, Hillary — to improve the lives of more than 400 million people in more than 180 countries around the world by alleviating poverty, supporting numerous public health initiatives and developing sustainable development projects that governments won't touch. While in the past many former presidents have retreated to the golf course and corporate boardrooms, and one, Jimmy Carter, has spent his time often siding with American adversaries, (like, voters?) Bill Clinton put himself in the frontlines advocating for the country.

I would gloss that last line as "his big swinging dick, he swung for us." And for the grand finale:

In fact, his popularity actually reached an all-time high as recently as September 2012, when a New York Times/CBS News poll found that two-thirds of registered voters viewed him favorably. That popularity no doubt made a difference in the 2012 elections. Clinton delivered a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention and aided President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Clinton's support, understandably, has angered some Republicans and perhaps helped create the embers that Rand Paul has fanned so successfully over a matter that seems resurrected from the ancient past. I think the Republicans — and Rand Paul — should learn a lesson or two from Bill Clinton. One is that we need to focus on the future and the policy issues that make the Republican Party a better choice to voters, offering a message of true economic prosperity that creates real jobs and real wealth. And, like Clinton, we can actually do something that proves we care. Unfortunately, I am not seeing and hearing that important message today from Washington's Republican leadership. We need to if we want to win. Christopher Ruddy is CEO and editor of Newsmax Media Inc.

Good luck friend. You've got a long row to hoe if Rand Paul, or any of the other potential contenders, are the tool of your choice.