Here’s Paul’s political problem in two easy steps.<\/p>\n
1) He was trying to make a theoretical argument about what role the government does (or should) have telling private businesses what to do.<\/p>\n
2) Theoretical arguments are stone cold losers in the context of political campaigns.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But here’s the thing about modern conservatism, and the tea party movement in particular:\u00a0 It’s about ideas.<\/p>\n
Candidates like Rand Paul — and Doug Hoffman, for that matter — aren’t just another batch of off-the-shelf politicians.<\/p>\n
They have thought a lot about modern American society, moral values, and our political culture.\u00a0 And they want to make big, profound changes.<\/p>\n
Because many of their conclusions are well outside the mainstream\u00a0 conservatives often keep those ideas to themselves.<\/p>\n
When it was revealed that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell\u00a0 wrote in his masters thesis that working women were “detrimental” to the family (also questioning the value of legal contraception) it startled people.<\/p>\n
When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich explained in detail how American progressives are more dangerous to the future of our culture than Nazism and Communism, people were taken aback.<\/p>\n
But in fact those statement — and Mr. Paul’s arguments about the Civil Rights Act — reflect a fully realized body of theory and thinking that many conservatives embrace.<\/p>\n
Watch Mr. Paul’s interview with Maddow and you’ll see that, while his views are surprising and controversial, they are clearly well thought out and nuanced.<\/p>\n
Obviously, it’s up to voters to decide whether they want to be led by these particular people, and see their government guided by these particular ideas.<\/p>\n
But it’s up to journalists to investigate those ideas, honestly, fairly and fully.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many reporters are nervous about doing so.\u00a0 Some think the ideas are so nutty that they’re not worth giving credence to — a form of bias in itself.<\/p>\n
And others are, in fact, just out for the quick gotcha moment.\u00a0 They don’t really care about Mr. Paul’s views, even though he may soon emerge as one of the most powerful men in the U.S.<\/p>\n
But clearly the time has come for a real national conversation about conservative ideas.\u00a0 Not looking for gaffes or fumbles, but also not shying from issues that make people uncomfortable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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