Wednesday banner
Thom's blog
Beware Rand Paul's Bait-And-Switch
Thom plus logo
 
Rand Paul is running on the platform that he is not a typical Republican...except that he is with the exception of drugs, drones and spying. And that's something all Americans, especially all progressives, need to remember heading into 2016.
 
Here's why.
 
As veteran Democratic strategist Ed Kilgore points out today in a piece for Talking Points Memo, Rand Paul won't try to win a presidential election the way Ted Cruz will try to win one. He won't just rely on the same old conservative base to boost his popularity; he'll try to attract new voters to the conservative cause, and he'll do this by emphasizing how different he is from other Republicans on key issues like NSA spying, drones, and the drug war.
 
At the same time, though, Rand Paul will stick to his far-right roots on economic issues. By doing this, Kilgore writes, "Paul offers limited-government conservatives an interesting bargain: They can take America right back to the economic and social policies of the Coolidge Administration-if they give up spying on, imprisoning and sending off to war young people and minorities."
 
In other words, Rand Paul is going to give Republicans everything they've ever wanted on economic issues as long as they make a few concessions on national security, foreign policy, and criminal justice.
 
But here's the thing: Paul isn't just offering this bargain to conservatives - he's also offering it to the entire country.
 
By calling himself a "different kind of Republican," and highlighting his supposedly bold stances on drones, drugs, and spying, he's trying to trick everyday Americans into supporting his crazy right-wing economic policies.' And when I say Rand Paul supports some crazy right-wing economic policies, I mean really crazy.
 
Not only does he want to do away with Medicare and Social Security, he also supports going back to the "Lochner era," when the Supreme Court banned child labor laws and basically made life a living hell for the American worker.
 
Read more here.
 
-Thom

 GoToMeeting
The Big Picture (small)
Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Walter Scott's Killing Is Every Black Nightmare (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)
 
Green World Rising Be sure to check out our new videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio
 
Need to Know: Walter Scott's Killing Is Every Black Nightmare
- - Joe Madison, The Joe Madison Show on SiriusXM ch. 126  Twitter
 
Big Picture Rumble:
- Bryan Pruitt, RedState  Twitter  Twitter
- TJ Helmstetter, Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC)  Twitter  Twitter
- Amanda Munoz, Townhall Media  Twitter  Twitter
 
Best of the Rest: Beware of Corporate Science
- Patty Lovera, Food & Water Watch  Twitter
 
Daily Take: Rand Paul Is Trying To Be 50% Reagan & 50% Wellstone
Free Speech TV         stamps.com
Community Square  
video
Angie's List ad   ITM Trading banner 200 x 200
Wednesday's Daily Stack Daily Stack
Hour One: What do Libertarians think of Rand Paul for President?
- C. Edmund Wright, Breitbart / WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost... Again Twitter
Article: "Rand Paul: 'I am running for president'" by Ashley Killough.
 
What white people don't get about 'white privilege'
Article: "A Most American Way to Die" by Paul Solotaroff.
Article: "Shooting of Trayvon Martin" by Wikipedia.
Article: "Shooting of Michael Brown" by Wikipedia.
 
Article: "Stand-your-ground law" by Wikipedia.

Hour Two: REVEALED... The True History of Libertarianism in America
- Mark Ames, Pando Daily Twitter Twitter
Quote: "Less government in business and more business in government" - Warren Harding.
Article: "Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch" by Mark Ames and Mike Elk.
 
Case: "Plessy v. Ferguson", 1896 (separate but equal).
Case: "Brown v. Board Of Education", 1954 (Segregation in public schools) (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson).
Case: "Dred Scott v. Sandford", 1857.
Article: "Martha Stewart's Sentence: The Overview" by Constance L. Hays, July 17, 2004.
Movie: "The Help".
Article: "Huey P. Newton" by Wikipedia.
 
Talk Radio News Segment:
- Bob Ney Twitter
Article: "Watch: Cholene's ThankList" by Ellen Ratner.
Site: Thank List.
Article: "TRNS News Notes- 4/8" by Victoria Jones.
Article: "TRNS News Notes - 4/7" by Victoria Jones.

Hour Three: Is America 'rejecting moral boundaries'?
- Dr. Alex McFarland, Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics Twitter
Book: Works of Fisher Ames: With a selection from his speeches and correspondence by Fisher Ames (includes an Eulogy of George Washington).
Article: "The Jefferson Bible" by Thomas Jefferson.
Quote: "I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you. " Lyndon B. Johnson.
Article: "Sally Hemings" by Wikipedia.
Letter: "Letter to Thomas Cooper" by Thomas Jefferson, February 10, 1814.
Letter: "Letter to Major John Cartwrigt" by Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, June 5, 1824. "We had no occasion to search into musty records, to hunt up royal parchments, or to investigate the laws and institutions of a semi-barbarous ancestry. We appealed to those of nature, and found them engraved on our hearts"
Site: Tim Wise.
Article: "Darren Wilson will not face federal charges in Michael Brown shooting" by Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland.
Case: "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby", 2014.
Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET 
 
I'll be talking with America's Lawyer Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio about the issues of the day...
 
And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
 
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"
 
And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
Best of Thom Hartmann audio
Order the new"Unequal Protection" now!
Chateau Veronique 2011
The Thom Hartmann Program is a Charity Wine Partner with the Organic Wine Company. Purchase any wines and they will donate a portion of the proceeds to The Hunter School for children with autism, ADHD, and other learning challenges.
 
One of my favorite wines is CHATEAU VERONIQUE 2011 - The wine that started the Organic Wine Company. Subtle and sophisticated, this wine will complement any table.
 
Purchase your next bottle of organic wine here - www.ecowine.com
 
Thom
Hunter School Please support the Hunter School, a unique therapeutic boarding school for young children diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety, Sensory, Mood and related conditions...
Thank you for being part of our ever growing community for News, Debate and Opinion on the Thom Hartmann Program.
 
Click here to subscribe to the Thom Hartmann Newsletter.
 
Sincerely,
The Thom Hartmann Program
Thom's Poll
Should Democrats view Rand Paul as a serious candidate?

Vote here!
Death in the Pines
Order Thom's latest book, Death in the Pines: An Oakley Tyler Novel, at Amazon or Barnes & Noble now!
Carbonite ad
Watch & Listen to Thom

How About Some Chemical Waste With Your Fish?
How About Some Chemical Waste With Your Fish?

Should Jeb Bush go to jail for voter fraud?
Should Jeb Bush go to jail for voter fraud?

Libertarians...How the Rich Bring in the Suckers
Libertarians...How the Rich Bring in the Suckers

Politics Panel:  Is it even possible to be Christian and a Republican?
Politics Panel: Is it even possible to be Christian and a Republican?

Politics Panel: Young Voters Shouldn't Vote for Rand...
Politics Panel: Young Voters Shouldn't Vote for Rand...

Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...

Full Show 4/7/15: The 2016 Field Gets Randy
Full Show 4/7/15: The 2016 Field Gets Randy

Thom talks Rand Paul's presidential announcement with the Campaign for America's Future Richard Eskow and whether Jeb Bush will be prosecuted for committing voter fraud with Townhall's Neil McCabe. Tonight's "Politics Panel" discusses why young voters shouldn't vote for Rand Paul, Rick Scott's flip-flop on Medicaid, and Louisiana's push to legalize discrimination. In tonight's "Daily Take" Thom discusses how our government is failing us when it comes to inspecting our food.

Is Rand Paul a serious candidate?
Is Rand Paul a serious candidate?

Should Jeb Bush be prosecuted for voter fraud???
Should Jeb Bush be prosecuted for voter fraud???

Republicans aren't interested in peace with Iran!
Republicans aren't interested in peace with Iran!

Hey Sam Brownback, the food on cruise ships is FREE!
Hey Sam Brownback, the food on cruise ships is FREE!
Thom Hartmann app
The American Revolution of 1800
Order The American Revolution of 1800 by Dan Sisson with Thom Hartmann at Amazon or Barnes & Noble now!
Subscribe to Thom Hartmann on YouTube
Thom TV
Podcast Banner ad 120
Show Info
Call Thom on the show at 1-866-987-THOM (8466) (0870 974 9686 from the UK).

Sign up for Thom's podcasts.

Come on over to the free chat room, where Thom hangs out during the show.

Join in the discussions on Thom's free message board.

Blog or upload videos or audios at Thom's community.
Listen Live

Social Networks...