The time is now for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to run for president on a freedom agenda. Paul can bring the Republican Party back to its small-government and free-market roots. The public did not vote in the midterm elections for Democrats — it voted against Republicans. Voters are unhappy with rising prices and the specter of an endless war in Iran.
Now that the midterm elections went into a flaming political dumpster for Republicans, it is time for a major reboot. There are more members than you think in the Republican Party who have championed a liberty and freedom agenda and can march into 2027 promoting a positive message that will bring Americans home.
Restoring economic and personal liberty is popular.
If you thought the last few months were exhausting, get ready for more. In the coming days, politicians of both parties will turn their focus to a run for the White House. The public will be saturated with two more years of a 24/7 focus on who is going to be the respective nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties.
With Democrats flirting with big-government ideas, now is the time for high-profile Republicans in Congress to get focused on shrinking government and allowing more liberty for citizens. Freedom-loving members of the Senate and House, such as Paul and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), have a unique opportunity to push ideas that forward the ball on more freedom.
The first element of a freedom agenda is on the economic side of the ledger. The primary issue for most people today is inflation. They are paying more for gas and groceries. Those two economic challenges are a proxy for the feeling that inflation is hammering families. Republicans need to champion the idea of economic freedom at a time when Democrats are lurching toward a government-controlled economy. Lower taxes, ending the Iran war, and ditching tariffs would be a good start.
One issue that hammers families is the fact that our dollar is worth less every day thanks to a growing federal government. Federal spending is out of control. The deficit for the last fiscal year breached $2 trillion, and the national debt is well north of $40 trillion. That translates into more inflation, because the government creates money. Dan Mitchell, the president of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, points out that the United States needs to move toward a small-sized welfare state such as Singapore rather than the socialist version we see today in much of Europe. Mitchell argues, “The debate in D.C. is about whether the U.S. should expand the burden of government (per-child handouts, Medicare-for-all, green new deal, etc) and become more like Europe” when we should become more like Singapore.
One idea on the table to downsize the federal government is Paul’s Six Penny Plan: “a federal budget resolution that will balance on-budget outlays and revenues within five years by cutting six cents off every dollar projected to be spent over the next five fiscal years.” Davidson introduced amendments to the fiscal 2027 budget resolution that would “require Congress to cut waste, fraud, and abuse and achieve substantial deficit reduction as part of a proposed third reconciliation package.” These are a good start and need to be at the top of the Republican agenda in 2027.
Republicans need to get away from protectionism and get back to ideas that promote more free trade. Scott Lincicome and Alfredo Carillo Obregon wrote for the Cato Institute back in 2022 that “free trade is a critical foreign policy tool that promotes peace and cooperation, and it remains a pillar of the liberal international order.” A proven poverty program is unrestricted trade that enriches and empowers people who benefit from free markets. Trade policy needs to be configured to address causes of inflation triggered by government interference in free commerce.
DEMOCRATS RAN RADICALS AND STILL WON. DON’T BLAME THE CANDIDATES — TRUMP OWNS THIS BLOODBATH
Individual freedom needs to be a pillar of a liberty-centered agenda. States are now using something called “Flock cameras” to monitor every movement of citizens. Our Bill of Rights and Constitution, as the late Justice Antonin Scalia once noted, are words written on paper that recognize pre-existing rights of all Americans. If politicians ignore those words, they are empty promises. When politicians don’t champion the rights to free speech, self-defense, and privacy, the public will choose different politicians who will protect those natural, God-given rights.
My hope is that Paul runs for president to champion a liberty agenda. The midterm elections were a train wreck for the Republican Party, because people feel like government is devaluing the dollar, engaging in unnecessary foreign wars, and not standing up for personal freedoms.
Brian Darling is a former counsel for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
