As an eye doctor you'd think Rand Paul would see it. He suffers from TH - Transparent Hypocrisy. It's nothing new. When Richard Nixon declared, "I am not a crook," most people laughed. He wasn't? Aren't they all? Of course all of them aren't. But the ones most loudly proclaiming their innocence... well, watch out for those guys. Join the club, Rand Paul. TH can strike anyone. I'm not a doctor (and I don't play one on TV), but Dr. Paul's diagnosis is easy.
How can a man be a truly dedicated libertarian and still be a doctor? A doctor! Is there a profession more intrinsically entwined with government than medicine?
To become a doctor, Rand Paul had to go to college. No home schooling allowed. He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Space does not permit the full listing of federal monies that flow into the coffers at this institution. But, take away the federal student loans and grants that help pay the bills at Baylor and that school is probably closed up tight. Strip away their tax exemptions - and their donor's write-offs too - and your university becomes an empty shell. After Baylor, Rand Paul went to medical school where his father did, Duke University in North Carolina - known below the Mason-Dixon line as the Princeton of the South. Fine school, but the amount of public money at Duke makes Baylor look like a beggar in a bad neighborhood.
After graduation, Dr. Rand Paul continued his medical training at what was then called Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta. Georgia Baptist's attachment to the government teat was so fierce Duke and Baylor combined would have flinched. That hospital, now known as Atlanta Medical Center, and owned by healthcare giant Tenant, owes it very existence to government money. For 2009, the owners of the hospital that trained Dr. Rand Paul reported that 50.4% of its multi-billion dollar revenue came from these sources: Medicare, Medicaid and Managed Care Government. Employ any diagnostic test you like. You'll find no small government here, doctor. There are no libertarians in Accounts Receivable at Baylor, Duke or Georgia Baptist.
Rand Paul wouldn't be - in fact couldn't be -a doctor without the liberal generosity of the very social institution he is determined to be rid of altogether in America's health care - government. One wonders how much of Dr. Paul's personal income has come from these very same government sources. But, he insists we take him at his word. He's a principled libertarian. So, perhaps, as a matter of principle, Dr. Paul refuses payment from Medicare, Medicaid and Managed Care Government sources. Perhaps also, he rejects any hospital affiliation that receives government funds in any way. Someone might ask him. His answers could be revealing.
Someone might also want to know if Dr. Paul has humbled his libertarian self before the State of Kentucky, accepting this government's authority to license him. Libertarians object - in principle, of course - to all such licensing. You don't suppose he's practicing medicine without a license, do you? Actually, you might go back all the way to Duke. Why bother to attend medical school? Why not just open up shop? Hang out a shingle. Do like a good libertarian would and just call yourself a doctor? When Paul prescribes drugs for his patients does he only use those medicines approved by the FDA? Or does he, in the true libertarian spirit of individual initiative, go with whatever he decides might be safe and effective? And if its not - Hey, "sometimes accidents happen." (He said it, not me)
Many questions arise about how a principled libertarian manages to work as a physician. While opposing The Americans With Disabilities Act, do you suppose Dr. Paul's parking facility has disabled parking spaces, appropriately painted and marked as legally required? Wouldn't that government regulation be intolerable to him - as a matter of principle, of course?
Everything about the life of Rand Paul has involved the government. Without the taxpayer he would have nothing. And now, although he views this government so poorly he's called the President "un-American" he wants - you guessed it - a government job! A clear-cut case of TH. Is there any hope for him?
Should he win in November, Senator Rand Paul can turn away all Congressional perks - probably the best benefits package available to any worker in America. He can refrain from federal medical care for himself and his family. He can buy stamps for all his mailings. He can reject the generous travel expenses available to Senators, not only free trips back and forth to Kentucky, but travel to places worldwide. Senator Paul can say no to government offices and rent his own space. He can be a libertarian too when it comes to staff. The Senate will pay millions for up to 60 staff people. One Kentucky Senator with 60 staff! How's that for small government?
And what to do about the time off Senators get? Have you seen the Senate's work schedule? A libertarian dilemma. Dr. Paul can't go back to Kentucky and practice medicine. One of the few jobs specifically prohibited, as an income source to members of Congress is - medical doctor. He could treat patients for free.
For a man devoted to libertarian principles wouldn't you think Rand Paul might have chosen a more individualistic, less regulated, less government involved education and profession than being a doctor? Can his TH be cured? Is the prognosis grim? The most effective treatment, and possible permanent cure, for Rand Paul's Transparent Hypocrisy is his defeat in November.