Rand Paul's Long History of Controversial Views

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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June 23, 2010

Rand Paul's Long History of Controversial Views

Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul (R) "has a long history of making unconventional comments about social programs, housing discrimination, military spending and limiting the role of government," the Louisville Courier-Journal concludes after a review of his public appearances since 1998.

"Paul has condemned Medicare as 'socialism;' denounced seat-belt and anti-smoking laws as 'Nanny-state' paternalism; called for voluntary, rather than mandatory, accommodation of people with disabilities; and suggested using satellites to monitor America's borders for illegal immigrants. Zealously advocating for free-market economics, he also has criticized private health insurance, saying it keeps patents from negotiating lower prices with their doctors."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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June 23, 2010