Brian Doherty on Rand Paul: Can Interesting Be Electable?

Rand Paul announced today that he’s definitely running
for re-election to his Kentucky Senate seat. While he has not made
it official, he’s also by all available evidence running
for his party’s presidential nomination. He’s doing well
in the polls so far. 

Paul has a quality that doubtless irks his possible opponents
even as they anticipate it will provide them the weapon with which
to dispatch the troublesome constitutionalist.

As publications from Reason (first!)
to Time have noticed, as a serious national
politician and not merely an amusing/alarming maverick, Rand Paul’s
the most interesting guy in the field. This
peculiar character says and does things fresh and dramatic in
politics, within the context of his party, the context of
presidential politics writ large—on both levels he advocates things
no one else will—and the context of his own political and familial
saga—where he can be examined constantly for flip flops,
apostasy, and the struggle to escape his father Ron Paul’s
allegedly baleful (electorally) shadow.

From his staffing choices to his attempts at nuanced positions
vis a vis ISIS, surveillance, and tech policy, Rand Paul runs the
risk of giving everyone a good reason to eschew him. Senior Editor
Brian Doherty analyzes the risks and possible rewards for
libertarians of a Rand Paul who is now an undeniably serious GOP
player trying to carve an identity that is not only “interesting”
but sufficiently mainstream to win.

View this article.