Why can't he just be more like our boy Mitch?

From Eric Dondero:

An amazingly revealing editorial on libertarian Republican hero Senator Rand Paul, coming out of the ultra-liberal establishment Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky.com), by Tom Eblen,
"Rand Paul, a Senate show horse, not a workhorse" April 24:

The Kentucky Republican's election last November came amid a perfect storm of voter discontent with the political establishment. Otherwise, Paul never could have defeated an accomplished secretary of state in the primary and an accomplished attorney general in the general election.

Paul has become one of the most high-profile members of the Tea Party movement in the freshman class of Congress. He owes much of his celebrity status to his father, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who has been a gadfly presidential candidate for both the Libertarian and Republican parties.

His appeal may also have something to do with his first name, which reminds people of the late novelist Ayn Rand, whose fairy tales of libertarian utopia still enthrall some conservatives.

If young buck Paul doesn't tame himself, KY voters ought to just "put him out to pasture"

Then [writer] Eblex expresses that Paul's Paul Ryan like budget cutting plan, is too radical and would cause an economic disaster if implemented:

The most significant thing Paul has done so far as a senator is to propose a budget-balancing plan that has no chance of ever happening. It would slash $4 trillion in spending by basically doing away with much of the federal government.

Like a somewhat less-radical plan by Rep. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, it is based on the same tax-cutting, anti-regulation philosophies that caused the economic crisis and ballooned the federal deficit in the first place. Both schemes would be good for corporations and wealthy people and bad for everyone else.

He goes on to wish oh so dreamily, that the young Paul would just be more of a compromiser like McConnell:

If Paul has any desire to become an influential member of Congress — and not just a show horse — he should take some lessons from the Senate's Republican leader and his fellow Kentuckian, Mitch McConnell.

Even those who don't agree with McConnell's politics or admire his values acknowledge that he is a master politician. He can aggressively push his agenda but still find ways to achieve beneficial compromise. McConnell knows how to work with opponents and get things done.

Finally, he snarks:

The media will eventually find another show horse to ride, especially if the public continues growing weary of the zealots of the Tea Party movement. Unless Paul can find ways to serve his constituents and actually accomplish something in the Senate over the next six years, I suspect Kentucky voters will be quick to put him out to pasture.

Photo h/t equineartists.com