A few weeks
ago, on the floor of Congress, the bill extending healthcare to 9/11 First
Responders was to be voted on. The Senator from New York asked for a unanimous
vote, however, Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) asked for an amendment to offset
costs. Considering this would be a fund that would continue for nearly a
century, discussing what can be done to offset it seems like a logical idea;
and it would be if politics weren’t completely dominated by emotional uproar.
Senator
Paul’s suggestion for an amendment to offset the costs quickly exploded into a
fire storm of anger and disgust. Though one would agree that perhaps now wasn’t
the time to bring up this subject, considering the controversial nature that
surrounds it, especially after Jon Stewart’s fiery rant in front of Congress
and the death of the 9/11 first responder who joined; but that doesn’t make it
anti-American or hate filled idea. Well not according to twitter where the tag
“#RandPaulHatesAmerica” is trending, being roasted by throngs of reactionary
people.
This goes
into issues with Politics in the age of Social Media, instead of a more
thoughtful process of reviewing what happened, it is easier to simply react
than to think and especially to join the crowd that has already grabbed their
pitch forks. A sheepish mentality wrapped in the white cloak of moral
self-righteousness with a pat on the back from the elites. It is an age-old model in the history of
political discourse, and so easily used to galvanize people against the other
side.
Rand Paul’s
record isn’t perfect, the controversial Tax Cuts he voted for in 2017 and the
increase in military spending in 2016 are a few blemishes on his record. Though
the Tax Cut Bill, he voted in favor while a provision known as “Pay-Go” (info
linked below) was in the bill, and later removed in a subsequent bill. This
little detail is often left out, skewing his image and pushing a narrative of
him as a servant of billionaires; recent Twitter trends have even tried to push
the idea that he is a Russian asset in our modern version of “McCarthyism”.
Most of his record, however, shows
him as a defender of Constitutional Rights, ant-war and interventionalism, and
a fiscal conservative who has given numerous rants on the wasteful spending by
Congress. When Jon Stewart says Sen. Paul is hated by other members Congress,
this is the reason why, he is one who actively stands against waste, and stands
for our rights.
On a final
note, the central part of this narrative is that Senator Paul “Blocked” the
bill, he didn’t, and this where I have to discuss how language is best weapon
of them all. Headlines after this story broke should have read “Rand Paul seeks
to add spending Amendment to 9/11 bill”; however, that’s not sexy enough, it’s
sensational. Using the word “Block” is enough to stir up controversy and
increase click count. And while the press has the right to use such language,
it’s dishonest and clouds the truth that they say they so profoundly defend.
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