Rand Paul gets a weekly column in Washington Times

[Harald]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first weekly column by Sen. Rand Paul. It will appear regularly on washingtontimes.com and in the pages of The Washington Times

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/sen-rand-paul-trust-verify-immigration-reform/?page=1

I am in favor of immigration reform. I am also wary of reforms granted now for a promise of border security later.
...

The gang of eight wants back taxes and fines. Most of these undocumented immigrants are poor and may not be able to ever pay ten years of back payroll taxes. I would be willing to forego the fines and back taxes in exchange for a longer and significant time period before these folks are eligible to enter into the green card line.

...

I share the goal of a working immigration system, and a new approach to allowing those here in our country who want to work and stay out of trouble to stay here. But I will not repeat the mistakes of the past when vague promises were made and not kept.

Would I hope that when they become citizens, these new immigrants will remember Republicans who made this happen? Yes. But my support for immigration reform comes not from political expediency but because it’s the right thing to do.

Rand Paul

[TER]

NICE!!!

[Confederate]

Wow! Can you imagine Ron ever getting a weekly column in a major newspaper??

[Harald]

We really need this. When Milton Friedman was alive he was running a weekly column in Newsweek for several decades. That helped bring free market ideas to mainstream (at least rhetorically they now swear to support free-market and few people openly advocate for soviet type central-planning)

Regular weekly does of free-market and liberty thinking in mainstream publication could be very helpful.

[cero]

as someone who waited 5 years to come into the country, I love this:


But, as a matter of both national security and immigration policy, it is absolutely essential that we both secure our border and modernize our visa system so we know who comes and who goes on travel, student and other temporary visas. And it is vital all other reforms be conditioned on this goal being met.

soo many people I know came on tourist visas and just ended up staying, this needs to be addressed.

the drones, and physical barrier bit put me off some what thou.

[thoughtomator]

I really like that Rand is taking on the key issues head-on rather than sticking to safe subjects like most politicians do.

[PursuePeace]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first weekly column by Sen. Rand Paul. It will appear regularly on washingtontimes.com and in the pages of The Washington Times
l

excellent!

[V3n]

Wow! Can you imagine Ron ever getting a weekly column in a major newspaper??

Yeah - but he wouldn't know who the real author was! :p



(I kid! I kid!)

[Tax the Fed]

Installment # 001 excerpt . . .

Senator Rand Paul : "I say: What we have now is de facto amnesty."

" . . .new immigrants will remember Republicans who made this happen? Yes.
But my support for immigration reform comes not from political expediency but because it’s the right thing to do.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/sen-rand-paul-trust-verify-immigration-reform/?page=1#ixzz2KKy6rvjx
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

[VoluntaryAmerican]

This is huge. Good for Rand! I was always surprised how articulate he is, I'm assuming he writes his own articles. He's a good writer.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Wash Post Editorial board gave Rand's FP a positive review:

As the past four years have demonstrated, things go bad when a president lacks a clear foreign-policy vision. The lack of coherence in our dealings with other nations has emboldened our foes, who suffer no consequence when they murder our ambassadors and kill our citizens.
One of the newest additions to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Rand Paul, laid out what he’d do differently in an address to the Heritage Foundation on Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican argued the need for a foreign policy that balances restraint with the need for a strong national defense. This is a more moderate approach than the one taken by his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican.
Building solid foreign-policy credentials can be the key to higher office. Should the younger Mr. Paul give it a go in the 2016 GOP primary, he would have a platform to advance a long-overdue debate on national priorities. Mr. Paul is an advocate of free trade, economic growth and limited government. For many conservatives, however, the notion of limited government ends at our shores as those on the right are often among the strongest advocates of government intervention, foreign entanglement and the ultimate extension of governmental power — war. Mr. Paul suggests an approach he sees as more consistent and closer to Ronald Reagan’s vision.
“I am convinced that what we need is a foreign policy that works within these two constraints, a foreign policy that works within the confines of the Constitution and the realities of our fiscal crisis,” said Mr. Paul. “Today in Congress, there is no such nuance, no such moderation of dollars or executive power.”
America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, by the Congressional Budget Office’s reckoning, cost taxpayers $1.5 trillion, and will cost an additional $240 billion in the next four years. That’s a bill of about $13,000 for every American who files with the Internal Revenue Service. The the price could rise as a number of senators advocate more intervention, proxy wars and airstrikes in countries such as Syria, Libya and Iran.
The GOP’s isolationist wing, led by the elder Mr. Paul, takes the other extreme and seeks the recall of our overseas troops so other countries can deal with their own problems. It would mean European nations would have to start picking up the tab for their own defense, but it would also leave allies like Taiwan and Israel out in the cold.
The younger Mr. Paul claims a middle ground that is neither isolationist nor interventionist. It is, he says, “a policy that is not rash or reckless. A foreign policy that is reluctant, restrained by constitutional checks and balances, but does not appease.”
The Senate has not been particularly receptive to this point of view. In September, Mr. Paul tried to persuade his colleagues to cut off U.S. aid to Egypt, Libya and Pakistan over attacks on our embassies and for Pakistan’s jailing of Dr. Shakil Afridi, the man who helped us find Osama bin Laden. More recently, he has attempted to stop the shipment of U.S. F-16 fighter jets and M-1 Abrams tanks to the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt.
In the world’s most exclusive country club, these proposals gathered a handful of votes. Out in the heartland, though, they would likely resonate. To take back the White House, Republicans will have to be at the top of their game in 2016. The renewed focus on the proper role of government in foreign affairs is a good start.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/8/rand-pauls-foreign-policy-vision/#ixzz2KLD95ri0
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

[cajuncocoa]

Wow! Can you imagine Ron ever getting a weekly column in a major newspaper??
Given the amount of respect I have for the typical "major newspaper" (little to none) I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

[PatriotOne]

Wow! Can you imagine Ron ever getting a weekly column in a major newspaper??

Actually I can now. 1 yr ago I couldn't, but there's definately a slow shift happening in our favor and those type of entities are either going to have to go under or start accomodating the shift. I wonder if history will recognize what Ron has done.

[K466]

Wow! Can you imagine Ron ever getting a weekly column in a major newspaper??

I'm sure it's possible he could, if he wanted.

[alucard13mmfmj]

Deporting 11-15million illegal immigrants is impossible.

I'd like to know how they would secure our borders. It seems all vague. Rand needs to put forth a little bit more detail in terms of securing our borders and not allowing ANY more illegals coming in.

Move military bases from overseas and put them along our borders?
Use drones (ewwwww) to fly along our border and report people crossing to the authorities?
Static defenses like mines, sensors, walls, razor wire, fences?

There should be penalties for giving them amnesty... can't let them become citizens easy peasy.

[Brett85]

Great column by Rand. I'm glad that he's a strong supporter of border security.

[BlackTerrel]

I really like that Rand is taking on the key issues head-on rather than sticking to safe subjects like most politicians do.

Me too. Very refreshing to see.

[liveandletlive]

good rand....glad he's not an open borders UtopianTerian nut

[american.swan]

Hey. I'm for much more open borders. Then we could far more easily leave this jobless nation and go get a job elsewhere far easier.

After enough people left to work in Asia those who are left here don't have to deal with so many voters.

[matt0611]

Wow, Rand is everywhere lately! :)

[nayjevin]

I'm for private property owners deciding their own border policies.

[DylanWaco]

Very likely that Jack Hunter will write some if not all of these

[Matt Collins]

Too bad he can't be paid for it (I don't think?)

[itshappening]

Too bad he can't be paid for it (I don't think?)

No, he can't.

[itshappening]

I wonder what happens to $$$ from book sales? is he allowed to benefit from that?

[erowe1]

soo many people I know came on tourist visas and just ended up staying, this needs to be addressed.


Addressed how? Should people not be able to do that?

[NOVALibertarian]

Given the amount of respect I have for the typical "major newspaper" (little to none) I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

It would be a good thing since Ron would have been able to get his message out to an extremely large group of people.

This is phenomenal that Rand is getting a column in this big of a paper. The Washington Times is pretty Conservative as well so he has the opportunity to win over some Neo-Cons as well.