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LOUISVILLE, Ky. Rand Paul is giraffish.

Doesnt make sense to compare a little sprite of a U.S. senator to a giraffe. But hang with me here.

The junior senator from Kentucky is now self-isolatingafter he learned Sunday that he is infected with the coronavirus.

But he didnt self-isolate before he saw fit to expose himself to other members of the U.S. Senate by attending a luncheon in the Senate, and according to The Washington Post, going to the Senate gym and taking a dip in the Senate pool.

Along the way, one can only suspect that he touched tables and chairs and door knobs and lockers and shower knobs and hands and, well, just about everything youd expect to touch if you went to a luncheon and a gym and a swimming pool.

Leaving the coronaviruseverywhere he went.

More: Kentucky's Rand Paul the first known US senator to test positive for coronavirus

All this after he was worried enough that he might have picked up the coronavirus in Louisville at the March 7 Speed Ball fundraiser an event at which at least three others who attended tested positivefor the virus that he went looking to be tested.

This really shouldnt surprise any of us.

It falls right in line with the second-rate political philosophy he ripped off from second-rate author Ayn Rand a philosophy that puts ones own personal desires and individual wants above all else.

But when he complained about rules limiting the manufacture of incandescent light bulbs because they use too much electricity, or when he ranted about the fact that the low-flow toilets in his house hadnt worked for 20 years, he became little more than a punchline.

Now hes a petri dish.

Spreading the potentially deadly virus among a population that is most at risk of dying from it.

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According to the Congressional Research Service, the average U.S. senator is 62.9 years old. Its the oldest U.S. Senate in history, and it puts the average senator well over the age of 60, at which point the coronavirus becomes much more lethal.

Its hard to imaginea U.S. Senate headed by Mitch McConnell being more toxic than it already was, but congratulations Rand. You did it.

Now, youve got two other Republican members of the Senate in self-quarantine, one of whom is 73-year-old Sen. Mitt Romneyof Utah. Romneys wife, Ann, is 70 and has multiple sclerosis, which could put her at even greater risk.

And Paul subjected Romney and the others to this after he was worried enough about himself to get the test, but not worried enough about others to warn them?Who does that?

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., arrives for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

Obviously, someone who is more worried about their individual right to do whatever the hell they want and doesn'tgive a damn about the people they might harm.

Its the same type of person who would insist on burning incandescent lightbulbs even though they force us to burn more fossil fuels and then claim that their use of fossil fuels isnt causing climate change despite the fact that the scientists studying this stuff almost uniformly say it is.

Its the same type of person who would block funding after national disasters in an attempt to make some lame point about deficit spending, and then would vote for tax cuts for the wealthy that would put the country into even greater deficit spending.

Read this: Rand Paul's coronavirus infection sends shockwaves through Senate during major stimulus debate

Its the same type of person who looks up to Ayn Rand's objectivism philosophy a philosophy Paul ascribes to that says a persons own happiness" is "the moral purpose of his life.

In my house, wed call it giraffish, from an episode of the old "Andy Griffith Show" when Barney Fife is explaining to Opie why a pack of dogs hes worried about during a thunderstorm and one little trembly one in particular will be OK.

Dogs take care of one another, Barney explains. Not giraffes.

Boy, giraffes are selfish, Barney says. Running around, looking out for number one.

The fact that Paul was, as always, looking out for No. 1has exposed other members of the Senate, their families and staffs to this dreaded virus. He should be ashamed.

But, giraffes don't feel shame.

Joseph Gerth can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at jgerth@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/josephg.

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Gerth: Rand Paul's me-first mentality exposed the US Senate to coronavirus - Courier Journal