Skip to main content

Rand Paul on Guantanamo Bay


***Call in Radio Show on this issue tonight at 8 pm! Details below***

The Controversy

Many of Rand Paul's more libertarian supporters are concerned about his recent statements regarding the Guantanamo Bay detention center, though many of his more conservative supporters might be very pleased:

For Immediate Release
November 19, 2009

BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY – Leading United States Senate candidate Rand Paul today criticized the Obama administration’s decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center and try terrorism suspects in United States Civil Courts.

"Foreign terrorists do not deserve the protections of our Constitution," said Dr. Paul. "These thugs should stand before military tribunals and be kept off American soil. I will always fight to keep Kentucky safe and that starts with cracking down on our enemies."

This release yesterday has raised the ire of many of Rand Paul's supporters who align themselves closely with his father, Ron Paul's strict opposition to the continuing existence of the prison.

Reading through the comments at The Daily Paul or Mises Institute, it becomes apparent that Rand may have lost a large number of die-hard supporters over this controversy.


The Radio Show Tonight

Tonight I will be hosting a one hour, call-in radio show to get your thoughts about Rand's recent statements. The point of the show will be to have a real dialogue about this and to gather a representative sample of everyone's different thoughts- in part simply for Rand's benefit.

I will be e-mailing the recording of the show to Rand Paul's people so that they can put their finger to the pulse of what supporters think, from traditional "red-meat" conservatives to people in the Ron Paul R3volution camp.


Details

You can listen to the show live here, or here:

http://tinyurl.com/randpaulgitmo

It will be tonight (Fri, 11/20) at 8:00 PM Central Time

Call-in Number: (646) 929-2657

Depending on the volume of calls, I may not be able to get everyone on the show, but I will do my best to let as many people speak as possible while allowing each caller to have ample time to fully articulate their position. All thoughts and positions on this issue are welcome.


Disclosure

I am a strong Rand Paul supporter. I have worked actively to support and promote his campaign. I have donated a lot of money to his campaign.

I am a little shocked and worried about this development, but I also want to give Rand some time to fully explain and defend his position before making a judgment about it.

This whole situation carries a lot of nuance, so there's a lot of ground to be covered and questions to be asked.


Other info

Here are two great resources on this issue that offer two good arguments for closing down Guantanamo Bay, one Constitutional and one strategic.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Barack Obama Tattoos

With Barack Obama's approval ratings still at a solid 62%, I became suddenly curious to know how popular the 44th U.S. President really is. Are people so enamoured with President Obama that I could do a quick Google search and turn up some photos of people with permanent tattoos of Obama inked into their very skin? Oh yeah. It's that bad. Below are ten examples of Barack Obama tattoos (some decent, some pretty awful). PS: As a control, I decided to Google "bush tattoos." I found only two examples in the first couple pages, and they were decidedly anti-Bush. I also learned to never, ever Google "bush tattoos" again. Seriously. Don't. There are some gross tattoos out there. In the interests of full disclosure, I must admit that I am not a fan of President Obama . But I've got to say that the tattoos above aren't nearly as bad as this: Editor's note: The pictures are linked to their respective sources. To view the source pages, simply click ...
Read more

Legal Marijuana On The Michigan Ballot for 2018

A Michigan ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana received enough valid signatures to qualify for a vote in November. When the required number of ballot signatures was certified by the State Board of Canvassers, the 4-0 decision of the board was met by cheers from supporters of the initiative who were present, the Detroit Free Press reports . Rick Thompson, a board member of the Michigan National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), put this ballot initiative in perspective as a matter of the State of Michigan safeguarding its own sovereignty and protecting its own citizens from an intrusive federal policy: "The people of Michigan deserve this. They earned it. We've faced many trials and tribulations. We've had so many stop and go signs from the federal government. That's why states have to take the reins on the issue and really be the crucibles of democracy that they've always been intended to be." Indeed the last time ...
Read more

What I did on the ten year anniversary of 9-11

During my brief trip to Korea, on the ten year anniversary of 9-11, I did exactly what the terrorists didn't want me to do: I lived without anxiety. I lived without regrets. I lived without fear. I let nothing intimidate me. I let my soul be still. I laughed with my friends. I tried something new. I marveled at nature. I sang at the top of my lungs... badly. My heart was at ease, because I spent all day knowing that for me, this day and every one that preceded it for the last decade was not about the terrorists, but about loving my life, the world I live it in, and the people with whom I am so lucky to share this world. The best memorial I could offer for so many thousands murdered ten years ago, was to ignore their murderers, live without terror in my heart, and in its place let blossom joy. This post is dedicated to you, chingu . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page
Read more
–––As Featured On–––