It was
What is a fiscal conservative?
Naturally, since Paul was the one asking, it was largely ignored by the drones of conventional wisdom and by the other candidates.
But the campaign is about to move into that odd phase where Americans actually, formally, begin to express their preferences in states like
And the heads of Republican voters have been stuffed to bursting with crazed Imperial Donald Trumpisms and Dr.
So the remarks from the senator from
What is a conservative? Hint: With the national bipartisan Combine punching holes in the debt ceiling, a conservative isn't about buying more smart bombs and building more aircraft carriers.
"We're the richest, freest, most humanitarian nation in the history of mankind," Paul said in his closing statement from the
I thought
Sen.
At least if he were the nominee, he'd drive media liberals absolutely insane. Their left thumbs would fall off from Snarky Tweet Syndrome, and they wouldn't be able to button their clothes, so they'd have to go naked in their newsrooms. So, there's that.
Paul was the fiscal conservative on the debate stage, which is probably why he's so pointedly ignored by
And he pegged Rubio's big government initiatives -- the child credits and the military spending -- at about
PAUL: "Marco! Marco! How is it conservative -- how is it conservative to add trillion-dollar expenditure for the federal government that you're not paying for?
RUBIO: "Because ..."
PAUL: "How is it conservative?"
RUBIO: "... are you talking about the military, Rand?"
PAUL: "How is it conservative to add a trillion dollars in military expenditures? You cannot be a conservative if you're going to keep promoting new programs that you're not going to pay for."
RUBIO: "We can't even have an economy if we're not safe ..."
We can't have an economy if we're not safe? Marco, Marco, Marco, is that presidential or panic?
Still, of those on the stage, Paul, Cruz and Rubio were the three most impressive candidates, with Paul out in front because he's the one talking like a grown-up, and because, as one commentator said, he finally "took the lemon out of his mouth."
The other candidates weren't really that impressive. Trump and Carson were playing it too safe to bring much.
It should be obvious now that Trump, the iconic narcissist, is beginning to fade. The more he's required to talk like a potential president rather than some tough guy from
Trump railed against
"Hey Gerard," Paul said. "You know, we might want to point out that
Carson spoke well, albeit briefly, and had a nice, studied, well-written closing statement. But when he discusses foreign policy, don't you get the feeling his supporters are like parents at an ice rink, watching their children skate for the first time, waiting for the kid to fall and bonk his head on the ice?
Bush can't turn this around. Read my lips. No new Bushes. Rubio is the new kid in establishment
And all
Kasich was insufferable. Fiorina seemed so eager for battle with
And it might end badly for Paul, too, if primary voters can't tell the difference between a conservative and a big government Republican.
But Paul won this one too.
Comment by clicking here.
John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune who also hosts a radio show on WLS-AM.