United Liberty

“but I don’t like that he is towing the fear-mongering party line.”

Not necessarily. Notice that he’s making a distinction between combantants captured on the battlefield and those arrested on American soil. Since the Obama Administration has embarked on the path of show trials for captured detainees, it would appear that the status quo of military tribunals for detainees is preferable for liberty in this case.

A great many of us Pro-Defense Libertarians were suspicious of Rand Paul when he first decided to run, figuring he’d be like his weak on defense Dad on foreign policy. But we’ve been greatly impressed with his decisive Pro-Defense turn as represented by this ad.

For every leftwing libertarian Anti-War type Rand Paul loses he’ll gain two more on the Pro-Defense Libertarian Right.

It may be smart short-term politics for his local district, but do you think it’s smart in the long-term? If he has any larger political ambitions, this ad is going to get replayed over and over by the group that he may need most.

I support Rand and will vote for Rand, but I don’t like where he is headed here.

Rand has stated that the debt is the biggest problem, yet his defense/foreign policy seem to be disconnected from this goal. I wish Rand would steer towards his father’s more logical approach toward foreign policy, however this ad doesn’t neccesarily reflect a full blown view.

Please note that nowhere does he suggest we should engage in undeclared wars or endless policing of the world. His position on the issues presented here are certainly in the mainstream of both libertarian, conservative and ‘tea-party’ thought and principles. As a political scientist, I think this is a great initial ad, as his opponent is going to attempt to define him as weak on defense. This allows him to define himself, rather than let an opponent do it for him. A very wise move by a very effective candidate.

I agree w/ the author. Whether he specifically talks about the war on terror or not, the ad presents a big military type feel, typically associated with neocon fear mongering politics. I wish Dr. Paul would submit advertisements where he honestly and openly comes out and says his positions on the issues, instead of pandering to political games.

additionally, I think the advertisement could have been targeted more accurately to the main issue for Americans, the economic situation. If he has run an advertisement detailing his view of a need for a strong stable monetary system and efficiently run smaller govt., it might have been more effective.

Jason, you say that “This ad is going to make many of Ron Paul’s supporters very angry”.

I fully support Ron Paul and this ad (which I helped contribute to in donations) does not make me “VERY” angry. By your putting the word ‘very’ in there, it almost sounds like you would have hoped it would. My heart rate did not go up during the ad. Nice try.