You expect to hear unadulterated lunacy at a Texas Republican convention. After all, the Texas GOP, more than all but a few state branches of that party, has been on a double-time march to the right for some time. But even by those standards, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told a “joke” last night that is outrageously obscene. He actually suggested that five Democrats be sent to Mexico in exchange for a Marine being held in a Mexican jail.
Paul has been one of the most vocal critics of the decision to free five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay in return for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from five years of captivity in a Taliban POW camp. But at yesterday’s gathering in Fort Worth, Paul offered his idea for a trade of his own.
“Mr. President, you love to trade people, so why don’t we set up a trade. But this time instead of five Taliban, how about five Democrats? I’m thinking John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi. Couldn’t we send them to Mexico?”
Paul suggested that they be traded for Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmoorehessi, who has been in a Mexican jail since March when he was caught driving into Tijuana with three guns in his truck. Although the guns were legally registered in the United States, it is illegal to bring guns into Mexico–a charge that could carry as much as 30 years in a Mexican prison. Tahmoorehessi says he had no intention of bringing the guns across the border. He says was trying to go back to San Diego, but made a wrong turn and got funneled into Mexico. The case has garnered enough interest that Kerry himself has spoken with Mexican authorities about Tahmoorehessi’s ordeal.
At a press conference held after the session, Paul fobbed off his comments as a joke, saying tongue-in-cheek that he was only serious about sending Pelosi across the border. The Democratic National Committee didn’t find it at all funny; press secretary Michael Czin issued a statement calling Paul’s remarks “completely out of line.”
Paul is giving serious thought to running for president in 2016. If this is his idea of humor, then he’s even more of a stopped clock than we already knew him to be.
Edited/Published by: SB
Darrell Lucus is a radical lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
