Paul is generously portrayed as a libertarian. In an age of unprecedented government intrusion into (formerly) private life, Paul has made inroads with conservatives because we believe in limited government. Yet, while conservatives are wary in any context of government’s corruptive propensities, we are not anti-government.
We want government that is big enough to do the things for which we need it, we want it to do those things well, and we are not ashamed to admire it when it does so. Government is a necessary evil — with an emphasis on necessary. Ronald Reagan is fondly remembered for how he used government’s appropriate national security powers to wither the Soviet Union. We wish he had had more success in stripping government down to its proper role, but what we most admire is Reagan’s orchestration of government’s proper role.
Senator Paul, to the contrary, is not so much a proponent of limited government as an opponent of government, period. Conservatives are libertarian when it comes to protecting our liberties against overbearing government’s encroachments. We recognize, however, that our liberties cannot survive without national security and the rule of law. Paul, like other anti-government activists who style themselves as libertarians, fight national security and the rule of law at every turn — assuring us they know these virtues have their place, but eroding that place whenever the opportunity arises.
Paul’s campaign against the Patriot Act is not about fidelity to the Constitution. His ill-informed banter about “general warrants” and the like is geared to impede the legitimate exercise of constitutional authority.
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