Rand Paul – Political Press Beat-Down – Taking Remarks Out of Context Out of Party Partisanship

" Kentucky Senator, Rand Paul, a 2016 formidable candidate’s Time Magazine Op-Ed, (Time) has the political right and left in feeding frenzy. Jennifer Rubin, at the Washington Post has opined that Paul has undergone “a remarkable metamorphosis”, suggesting that the Senator has “flip-flopped” on his positions in the vein of John Kerry. In reading through the post, it is not unnoticed that Rubin has taken Paul’s remarks out of context by using a piece of the entire statement to suggest a valid point. (Washington Post) The comments underneath the article refute the claims by including the whole statement Paul made.

On the left, The Huffington Post weighs in on the subject using the same criteria as Rubin. Igor Bobic, from Talking Points Memo, does so from the left..

What gives? It is the political season and when the major party editorialists assess a “rising star” candidate as being a threat to their political party’s agenda, they do what comes naturally: edit either video or print to suggest a candidate is less than worthy, credible or perhaps downright unelectable.

Paul, to his credit, has addressed every “concern” that has surfaced from the Beltway, and that has their proverbial panties in a bunch. The problem that all of the major parties have at the moment is a combination of denial and an awaking general public – which may thwart their favored candidate’s chances. Tough luck for them, as both Kennedy (JFK) and Reagan suffered in much the same way. With Kennedy it was the fear of a Catholic, and of course, Reagan was a Hollywood buffoon - yet, they both are, perhaps, the most memorable of Presidents, despite their political party’s early angst and a public that didn’t listen to DC.

Paul is not alone in this type of chicanery, as it happens to both candidates on the right and the left, what is unusual about Paul is that he counters these pseudo critiques with calm, reasoned responses – and he has the voice of both the right and the left media, like it or not. That’s bold leadership in the sense that so many valid political hopefuls have not availed themselves of their voice in the past, and it is obvious that is the type of leadership that is needed today – calm, reasoned, forthright and honest.

Changes at the Washington Post – Hope for Growth versus Partisanship

Yesterday, the Washington Post announced that they had named Frederick J. Ryan as the new publisher, replacing Katherine Wymouth. The gist:

Politico’s first chief executive, Frederick J. Ryan Jr., a former Reagan administration official now charged with continuing to build the reach of Post journalism through digital initiatives, company officials said Tuesday.

The hiring of Ryan, 59, ends eight decades of Graham family leadership of The Post and underscores the newspaper’s move into a new era marked by expanded ambitions online and a determination to build a larger national and international audience.

(Washington Post)

The Post also published Ryan’s bio here, which is worth noting.

What does this mean for the Post? Most likely a more bi-partisan approach to both the print and digital edition, by which those disenfranchised from most print based on biased reporting, may just return. There are few daily newspapers in the U.S. that do not have an obvious political leaning – and have, as a result, seen a steep decline in print over the past two decades. It is, in this opinion, not the “internet” driving the former subscribers away - just ask your center-right neighbor.

Regardless, it is too soon to accurately speculate in which direction the Post will actually go (politically), but there is hope that one day – straight reporting will be found throughout a publication, with the partisanship where it belongs – in the editorial section.

Report on the Texas Border National Guards – Washington Post – Apparently – Perry’s Plan Works

Pre Troop Deployment - Border Crossings in Texas - image from KUT.org

The first of the National Guard deployed by Governor Rick Perry (TX) - are a bit bored, according to the Washington Post article. The fact that they are watching one of the most heavily trafficked areas, and seeing nothing suggests that someone has done something right.

In further reading the interviews that the article brings to light midway through the article one finds that those who are opposed to the beefed up military presence on the border are far fewer than those that are grateful.

For example: :

The charm of living near cattle ranches and mesquite trees that make up large portions of the Rio Grande Valley is steadily evaporating, residents say.

“It’s all different. I think the United States is a police state now,” said Javier Peña, a former police officer in Rio Grande City who had just finished breakfast at the Texas Cafe.

(Washington Post)

However, the one detractor was far outweighed by those grateful for the presence: :

“Will the border ever be secure? The answer is that it could be. But the federal government needs to get off the side, get in the game and be a real player and stop pretending,” said Rio Grande City Mayor Ruben Villarreal, whose community has seen the brunt of border crossing and drug smuggling.

“When these women and children were crossing our border, it opened all of our eyes up,” Villarreal said. “They’re the more delicate, the more fragile in our society, and they were walking across our border like they were just going through turnstiles at a baseball game.”

Over the years, drug traffickers and others headed north have trekked across his land, with Escobar and his workers usually trying to ignore them. Recently, he said, two men with rifles showed up near his irrigation pump, ordering Escobar’s workers to clear out because there was different work to be done there that night.

He said he realized how faulty his mind-set had become when the Central American children began appearing on the riverbank, followed now by soldiers with semiautomatic pistols strapped to their fatigues — embodiments of what has become an often surreal lifestyle.

“We’ve been turning this eye away from it for so long that it’s gotten out of control,” Escobar said, adding that he welcomes the National Guard and any other border enforcement. “Now, we can’t handle it. Now, we’re afraid. Now, we want someone else to come in and handle it.”

(Washington Post)

With further tales of severed heads being found, and grateful border residents, the article, which begins by almost suggesting that the national guard is unnecessary – changes to an endorsement of troops along the border. Also of note is the reduction in crossings in Texas during since the deployment of troops was announced by Governor Perry.

Therefore, one might believe that the border crossings have ceased – not so –they have taken to crossing elsewhere, Arizona, New Mexico, and by boat now into San Diego. (Breitbart) Perhaps if there were some sense in these states, (or specifically the Federal Government – troops would be deployed to the entire southern border at this juncture – especially given the fact that one might see an increase of ISIS terrorists attempting entry.