When Rand Paul makes Marco Rubio sound sane, you know it's bad. Candy Crowley's theme of the day was the American Dream, and Rand's idea of it is, well...Randian. Actually, it's pretty dystopian.
Here's the transcript, via CNN:
CROWLEY: We leave you with a last set of thoughts on the fundamentals of the American dream. Capitol Hill, we found out, remains full of dreamers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: For me the American dream is the ability of people, no matter what their ethnicity, their religion, their background, their sexual orientation, to live up to their full potential.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: The American dream is more than just about people that made millions of dollars or own a jet airplane or yacht. It's about the hard-working people that service our lunch at restaurants or clean our offices at night who are working hard so that one day their kids can do all the things they themselves could not.
SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: We can't guarantee everyone in America that they're going to be successful, but we sure as heck ought to be able to guarantee that everybody gets a fair shot.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: It's not that we will have equal outcome. In fact, the American dream is that those who work harder and those who merit it will have unequal outcomes, that they will gain more of whatever the American dream is.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: The American dream means to me that a young girl who grew up going to public schools in a very modest household and who worked her way through college and law school someday has the incredible opportunity to be a United States senator.
In the overall spectrum of remarks clipped in this segment, Rand Paul's stand out like a big black thumbprint on an otherwise gradient landscape. "Those who work harder and those who merit it..." What exactly does that mean? Is there some formula for preordination for some in this country to 'merit it'? Is it a dogwhistle or just simple-minded meanness? What I heard in this segment was a United States Senator arguing for inequality, which squares exactly with his political philosophy of returning us to pre-Civil War era times.
As for Marco Rubio, what did he say, exactly? Not a whole lot, but most of it contradicts his actions. He voted for the Ryan plan, won't vote to raise the debt limit, and supports draconian cuts to services and assistance that would help those hard workers out there who want life to be better for their kids. So thanks Marco for the platitudes but next time back up your pretty words with some action, okay?
