Despite efforts from the more liberal elements to lump libertarian Rand Paul in with social conservatives, the Kentucky Republican has made clear his is a distinctly different philosophy. His quotes, used by the ridiculously biased Huffington Post to supposedly expose him, instead show an understanding of Constitutional concepts foreign to both established conservatives and liberals, and directly relevant to the online casino legalization debate.
Rand Paul is being blasted for being manipulated into a political firestorm by MSNBC's most strident liberal, Rachel Maddow, who got Paul to say government has no business creating laws that interfere with private clubs, even if the membership is racially exclusive. Rand Paul distinguishes between, as Barney Frank has noted many times regarding online gambling, what government endorses and what government makes illegal.
The tendency to criminalize immoral, unethical, and repulsive behavior is a flaw common between many established Republicans and Democrats alike. Thus, those who think online casinos are tawdry and exploitative argue they should be forbidden to those who disagree.
Rand Paul says that community morals and ethics should discourage improper behavior, and that an excess of law and legislation has led to the decline of morality rather than a raising of it, with the letter of the law replacing the spirit of justice. He is consistent with that in that he recognizes the overly litigious nature of the US society, in which any unfortunate occurrence results in a lawsuit; if someone spills hot coffee on himself, it isn't the coffee brewer's fault, as someone is not always to blame.
"I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen," Rand Paul says.
Republican social conservatives think that the danger to a minute section of the public through online gambling is reason enough to ban the playing at online casino altogether. But, as the analogy has been made, people die daily in car accidents, yet we don't ban automobiles.
The truth is that life's problems have no easy answers, or else there would be no problem. Paul argues that, inasmuch as no one has a solution to hard issues without costs, each person has the right to make their own choice, whether it be to commit to religious fundamentalism and donate their life savings, or enjoy some mild entertainment at an online casino site.
Rand Paul says that community morals and ethics should discourage improper behavior, and that an excess of law and legislation has led to the decline of morality rather than a raising of it, with the letter of the law replacing the spirit of justice. He is consistent with that in that he recognizes the overly litigious nature of the US society, in which any unfortunate occurrence results in a lawsuit; if someone spills hot coffee on himself, it isn't the coffee brewer's fault, as someone is not always to blame.
"I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen," Rand Paul says.
Republican social conservatives think that the danger to a minute section of the public through online gambling is reason enough to ban the playing at online casino altogether. But, as the analogy has been made, people die daily in car accidents, yet we don't ban automobiles.
The truth is that life's problems have no easy answers, or else there would be no problem. Paul argues that, inasmuch as no one has a solution to hard issues without costs, each person has the right to make their own choice, whether it be to commit to religious fundamentalism and donate their life savings, or enjoy some mild entertainment at an online casino site.
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