The Sins of the Father

It seems as though the acorn does in fact fall close to the tree. Rand Paul, fresh off a victory in the Kentucky Republican Senate Primary race, has put his foot squarely in his mouth by addressing an issue which should not be an issue in the 2010 elections. He suggested in an interview with National Public Radio that he does not agree with at least part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Bad move, and poor judgment, which are exactly the reasons why the more libertarian among us cannot make greater electoral gains in the United States.

While a systematic and rational philosophy are important, indeed paramount, for the formation of good people and good law, libertarians tend to be far too unyielding when it comes to compromise. This does little more than keep them on the periphery, dismissed by conservative and liberal alike as marginal.

Mr. Paul had to know that the interviewer was attempting to paint him into a corner; he's surely intelligent to realize that. So why let it happen? Because he felt very strongly that the issue needed to be addressed, even as he conceded that it was an intellectual rather than political argument and would be used against him.

He could have and should have side-stepped it. He might have pointed out that such laws help business owners open their doors to everyone without any fear of private sanction against them: "Sorry, folks, the law is the law and I have to serve everyone." Instead he finds no concession on the matter, and rips open the proverbial worm can.

The whole incident is reminiscent of the diatribe his father Ron went on during the 2008 election season, about the North provoking the South into the Civil War. Not only was the elder Paul wrong in fact, but he allowed the creation of an issue centered on him which reduced his effectiveness as a counterweight to the status quo. It served no purpose to his candidacy, and could have been easily avoided.

Rand Paul is doing the same thing. He is letting a weak strand of his philosophy potentially torpedo his fledgling Senate campaign. He needs to remember that there is nothing wrong with small concessions, even if they taste bad (hint: they're going to). He needs to realize that concession is part of political life, and there's no point fighting battles you cannot win.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. So long as Rand Paul and his libertarian allies stick to such axioms, they cannot become the majority among the electorate. That's truly a shame, because so much of what they espouse is right. They merely need to learn to adapt, or at least shut up about what can only harm them. Especially when it's not all that wrong to begin with.