David Frum:
... Paul invoked a nightmare out of a dystopian future: an evil future president shooting a missile at an American having coffee in a neighborhood cafe, merely on suspicion, without any due process of law.Charles Johnson:
I think we can all agree that such a case would be pretty deplorable. It is also far-fetched.
... Paul emerges from a milieu in which far-fetched scenarios don't seem far-fetched at all. Paul specifically mentioned the possibility of a democratically elected Adolph Hitler like figure coming to power in the United States. Looming federal tyranny - against which the only protection is an armed citizenry - is a staple item in the Rand Paul inventory of urgent concerns.
... Rand Paul stipulated that he did not intend his remarks about a Hitler-like president to apply to the present president. But he must have a pretty fair idea of what his core constituency hears when he talks about looming tyranny....
Note that Sen. Paul is a frequent guest on the conspiracy-peddling Alex Jones show, where he co-signs every deranged fantasy. This is the new hero of the right.The Alex Jones media empire earlier this afternoon:
Billions of bullets and ammo bought. The #NDAA. Urban Warfare Drills. Gun Grabs. All of these actions point to a #CivilWar. Your thoughts?
— Infowars Magazine (@InfowarsMag) March 7, 2013
The filibuster may have also been, for Paul, about civil liberties as you and I understand the term. But this is what it was really about.
