By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
"Heritage wanted young tigers, not old lions, who were excited about engaging in the war of ideas, eager to go into battle, and optimistic about the prospect for victory." Ed Feulner.
Political wise guys would have you believe that conservatives these days have but two options: either assisted living in a senior community or a bed in a hospice. We are headed for the ash heap of history, where we will be buried without honors — a footnote, at best, to 20th-century politics.
Fiscally sensible, check. Limited government, check. Pro-life, check. Leadership qualities, check. Thrilled conservatives and contented Republicans have tweeted their delight over South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's decision to appoint Rep. Tim Scott to replace Sen. Jim DeMint next month.
The heat is being turned up to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOST) ("No time to get LOST," Commentary, Tuesday). It is apparent to members of both political parties, academia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the media, the Pentagon and many others that it's the right thing to do.
Thoughtful analysis, straight reporting, maybe an appreciation? Sen. Jim DeMint had no press honeymoon upon announcing his bold career switch from U.S. senator to incoming president of the Heritage Foundation.
Politics, they say, is the art of compromise. You give something to get something. Everyone ends up with half a loaf. You don't get everything you want, but everyone comes out ahead.
"We have tried negotiation with the [Obama] administration and legislation with the Congress - and we'll keep at it - but there's still no fix. Time is running out."
In a recent Washington Times Op-Ed, Ed Feulner notes that 10 years after withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT), the United States still lacks an adequate missile defense system ("Decade after the ABM Treaty's end," Commentary, Tuesday). Mr. Feulner is correct, but the situation is more complex and more important than he outlined.
A recent op-ed in The Washington Times by Ed Feulner ("Onerous effects of overregulation," Commentary, Feb. 21) urges Congress to cut the excessive, bureaucratic red tape that undermines our economy. Members in the House of Representatives agree with Mr. Feulner, and that's why we passed three House Judiciary Committee bills in December to help rein in federal regulations and restore accountability to our regulatory process.
Ed Feulner's opinion column of Sept. 13 on limited government was well worth reading ("The challenge of Constitution Day").
Last April 15, Tea Party groups across the nation held tax day rallies protesting Washington's profligate spending and the wild unchecked growth of government. President Obama, speaking at a Miami fundraiser that same day said, "I've been a little amused over the last couple of days, where people have been having these rallies about taxes. You would think they would be saying 'thank you.' "
As Mr. Feulner pointed out in his forward to "Mandate for Leadership III," "We've taken what ten years ago was called unthinkable and shown that it's workable when given a chance the intellectual battles we've won over the last decade have established the premises for formulating public policy well into the next century."
If we do that, he says, paraphrasing Reagan, the people will remind Washington and its elected officials that we are not a government with a people.
