Rand Paul

If Rand Paul cut to the heart of his political philosophy and clearly proclaimed that the Military-Industrial complex is totally out of control (a view with which I agree), his "approval rating" would drop to low single digits.

Americans are quite fond of apocalyptic weapon systems and visiting them on dark-skinned people "over there far away."

Instead, Rand appeals ill-informed populists who think they can have their cake and eat it too. (Or, not have their drones but leave the remaining mega-tonnage in place.

"It was Paul’s political genius to pick a ripe populist issue and drive home one narrow, uncontestable point... Paul gathered the sudden, unexpected, Internet-driven momentum of a varied coalition. There were, of course,paleoconservatives who believe a tyrannical dystopia has already arrived. Paul feeds their fears on talk radio: “I am worried about them doing surveillance without warrants, flying over my farm, watching where I hunt, things like that.” It is bad enough to be killed in a cafe. But warrantless hunting surveillance? Will they stop at nothing?" Conservative Washington Post columnist, Michael Gerson