Rand Paul's kinder, gentler libertarianism

Rand Paul used to be libertarian. Now he describes himself as libertarian-ish.

Its a slight distinction, but an important one.

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The senator is using his presidential campaign kickoff tour this week, including a Thursday afternoon speech at the U.S.S. Yorktown aircraft carrier in Charleston, to present himself as a kinder and gentler version of his father, long the movements standard-bearer, while also showcasing a scaled-back, sanded-down form of libertarianism thats more palatable to the Republican rank-and-file.

Theres no talk from the Kentuckian about ending the Federal Reserve, no quoting Friedrich Hayek and no laments about how the U.S. deserves a share of blame for terrorism all hallmarks of Ron Paul presidential campaign rallies. Doom-and-gloom has been replaced by sunny optimism; the language of revolution has been supplanted by something that sounds a lot more incremental and a lot less edgy.

The focus now is on humanizing Rand Paul. Glossy videos at his campaign events show him coaching little league soccer, traveling to Guatemala to give free medical care and visiting with African-American college students. His stump speech includes a poignant story about how his ailing grandmother inspired him to become an eye doctor. As her vision began to fail, I became her eyes, he tells crowds. Those introducing Paul at events repeatedly describe him as compassionate.

Libertarians of all varieties understand why the 52-year-old is bowing to pragmatism and playing the inside game. Most are okay with what they see as a delicate balancing act; they recognize that not enough libertarians are out there to win the Republican nomination. But others, especially those who identify with the Libertarian Party, have a word for Paul: sellout.

There are a lot of libertarians who will sit down and talk with you for hours on end about the Fed and macroeconomic theory and Hayek and so forth, said Bob Barr, who represented Georgia in Congress for five terms before running for president as the Libertarian Partys nominee in 2008. Thats great, but the average voter doesnt know who Hayek was, doesnt know who Milton Friedman was and doesnt know what the Federal Reserve does.

Rand is much more founded in the real world than his dad was when he was a candidate, Barr continued. Rand understands that if you want to win a national election as a libertarian that is with a small l you have to appeal to a lot of Republicans. We have, after all, a two-party system period, end of argument.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 2012, chastises the younger Paul for supporting a budget that includes sizable increases in military spending and for cozying up to evangelicals. Paul continues to personally oppose gay marriage and does not call for the legalization of marijuana.

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Rand Paul's kinder, gentler libertarianism