A moderately sympathetic story about Rand Paul, who is running as the anti-establishment candidate in Kentucky. My bias, such that I have, is to look positively upon Paul’s run for Senate, mostly because I know that when I agree with a Paul they’ll actually stick to the stance they’re taking because they actually believe deeply in the position as a matter of principle. That being said, unlike Ron Paul his son has to cater to the needs of a whole state, so he’s trimming his sails appropriately in regards to his libertarianism. I don’t know if Rand Paul will be able to manage the trick of balancing the pragmatism needed to be a bearer of a major party nomination with the ideological purity of libertarianism. Last I checked Kentucky was one of those states which was on the socially conservative side, but fiscally moderate (like West Virginia). This might explain the persistence of high Democratic registration despite the state’s bias toward Republicans nationally; local politics is a matter of disbursement of monies, something Democrats have no philosophical issues with.
Note: Last week Sarah Palin endorsed Rand Paul. Of course, she also endorsed John McCain, who is not much of a libertarian as far as his Republicanism goes. Though I think the second endorsement was a matter of personal courtesy due to their shared history.