Ron Paul loved earmarks. He’d cram pork for his district into must-pass spending bills like an overstuffed burrito — and then vote against them in the name of purity, often boasting that he never approved an earmark or a spending bill.

In 2006, Republicans proposed legislation to slow the growth of entitlements by $40 billion over five years. Democrats, as usual, screamed bloody murder about Republican heartlessness and voted against it. And so did Ron Paul — on the grounds the reform didn’t go far enough. Man, that sounds familiar.

Now I can’t say for sure that Rand Paul is carrying on the family tradition. He is different from his dad in many ways.

And yet: Every time health-care proceedings moved one step in Paul’s direction, he seemed to move one step back. Senator Ted Cruz offered an amendment that would open up the market for more flexible and affordable plans, like Paul wanted. No good, Paul told Fox’s Chris Wallace. Those plans would still be in the “context” of the Obamacare mandates.