Darrell Delamaide's Political Capital: Liberals crush on Rand Paul says more about Clinton

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Rand Paul of all people is enjoying a kind of a honeymoon with some on the left.

Yes, the Republican senator from Kentucky backed by the Tea Party and openly aspiring to run for president has fans among progressives who otherwise have nothing good to say about Republicans.

One of the things they like is Pauls opposition to knee-jerk military intervention. It is a stance he inherits from his libertarian father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, but which distinguishes him from most other Republican candidates as well as hawkish Democrats like Hillary Clinton, the putative frontrunner for her partys presidential nomination.

Liberals also like Pauls opposition to the war on drugs and along with it his advocacy for criminal-justice reform, including restoring the right to vote to convicted felons. Too often, Paul says, drug-related convictions disproportionately falling on young people of color ruins their lives.

After a recent interview with Paul on his program, the liberal Bill Maher said the conversation left him unsure about 2016. I think its only a good thing for America, the comedian said with his typical modesty, when Im not sure who I am going to vote for next time.

For the time being, at least, these liberals seem willing to forget or overlook Pauls opposition to gay marriage, his defense of personhood, his feeling that private enterprises should be able to discriminate against whoever they choose, and his willingness, at least in the past, to share fringe conspiracy theories.

Pauls successful charm offensive, if that is what it is, prompted Time magazine to feature him on the cover last month with the headline The Most Interesting Man in Politics.

And this week, Salon and Huffington Post blogger H.A. Goodman posted a piece: Im a liberal Democrat. Im voting for Rand Paul in 2016. Here is why.

For Goodman, in addition to Pauls stance on military intervention and criminal-justice reform, it is the Kentucky senators unflinching criticism of domestic spying by the government that puts him at the head of the pack. Neither Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, nor any other candidate in 2016 has made this a top priority in their campaign, Goodman says.

He also notes that Paul was the first 2016 contender to visit Ferguson, Mo., the site of racial disturbances this summer after a white policeman shot and killed a black teenager. For some reason I just cant imagine Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush taking a moment to find out why Ferguson took place, Goodman says, and what steps are needed to solve that intractable situation.

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Darrell Delamaide's Political Capital: Liberals crush on Rand Paul says more about Clinton