Paul also repeated, contrary to all evidence, the fairy tale that “Maybe half, maybe 60 percent” of Hispanics are conservative.

His most ridiculous assertion, one that calls into question his seriousness on the issue, was this:

“Forty percent of those who are here of the 11 million who don’t have the proper documents. Forty percent of them came with the proper documents and then somehow lost their documentation.”

Lost? Really? You don’t have to be a policy wonk to know that 5 million illegal aliens didn’t just misplace their visas. I’m assuming Senator Paul is neither a fool nor a liar, which means he’s so blinkered by dogma that facts have to be hammered into ridiculous shapes to fit his preconceptions.

This calls to mind his father’s demented assertion that “I think this fence business is designed and may well be used against us and keep us in.”