Dear Senator-Elect Paul,
Congratulations on your recent election to replace Jim Bunning as a Senator of Kentucky. While I only saw a short clip of your victory speech, I was mildly surprised by the confidence you exhibited during the speech. It was a great improvement over the figity, eye-darting, nervousness I saw you when debated Jack Conway in Paducah a few weeks ago. I assume this change is due in part to the fact that you’ve won the election and no longer have to fear that someone will ask you a question to which you do not have a politically expedient answer or obfuscation prepared. Or worse, a question that for the sake of political expediency you have to answer with a denial of something you’ve said in the past. With these concerns out of the way, I’m hoping that you will be willing to help me better understand some of your beliefs and policy positions. You’ve been a little inconsistent on a few things during the campaign, and some of your beliefs seem to be in direct opposition to your platform which claims to embrace personal liberty.
During the primaries, you said that you would never take money from Senators who supported the Wall Street bail-out, but in September you attended a $500-a-plate fundraiser organized on your behalf by 17 Senators who voted for the bailout. Does the word “never” have a different meaning in Texas?
Do you support a $2000 Medicare deductible?
What about a 23% sales tax on all purchases. You were for it before you were against it, but are you for it again now that you’ve secured your Senate seat?
When you appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show following your primary victory, you said that you would have voted against the Civil Rights Act. Later, you said that the legislation was necessary at the time. I’m confused. Why would you vote against a piece of legislation that you feel is in the best interest of the American citizens?
In the fallout of our comments to the Civil Rights Act thing, you repeatedly stated that you were not a racist. You even seemingly backed it up by firing campaign spokesperson Chris Hightower when people found out that he thought lynching was hi-larious. Yet you kept campaign donations from donors with ties to white supremacist groups. Isn’t it kind of disingenuous to keep money given to you by extremists whose views you claim you do not support?
Speaking of people who aren’t white, do you feel a border fence is necessary to stop illegal immigration, or do you think that it would be an overpriced, Berlin Wall-like symbol? You’ve said both.
Do you think the Americans with Disabilities act needs to be eliminated or simply reformed. You seem to go back and forth depending on who you’re talking to.
What is your stance on medical marijuana? Initially you, like your father, were for it, but at some point you changed your tune. Isn’t allowing the government to decide how a person chooses to treat an illness (or, for that matter, making it illegal for an adult to decide what substance he wants to introduce into his own body) a violation of personal liberty?
Do you want to completely eliminate farm subsidies, or simply restrict them to farmers who make less than $2 million per year?
Do you or do you not support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
You’ve repeatedly said that we need Congressional term limits, but when asked if you would leave the Senate after two terms, you’ve either waffled or outright said “no.” Isn’t this just a little hypocritical?
Your entire platform is based on reducing government interference in citizens’ lives, but you think it’s ok for the government to force a women to have a baby she doesn’t want, even if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Isn’t that about as intrusive as government can get?
Who would win in a fight: Aqua Buddha or Cthulhu?
Yours truly,
Steve Johnson
Concerned Voter
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