{"id":3678,"date":"2013-06-03T15:26:37","date_gmt":"2013-06-03T19:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=3678"},"modified":"2018-12-28T15:58:56","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:58:56","slug":"senator-rand-pauls-self-discovery-tour-kicks-into-high-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2013\/06\/03\/senator-rand-pauls-self-discovery-tour-kicks-into-high-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Rand Paul\u2019s Self-Discovery Tour Kicks into High Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

As he seeks to position himself for a 2016 Presidential run, it is difficult to guess what Senator Rand Paul will say, or what position he will hold, from one day to the next. On immigration, Paul was against<\/a> amnesty before<\/a> he was for \u201ccomprehensive immigration reform\u201d before<\/a> he had serious reservations about the Gang of Eight bill before<\/a> he decided he just might vote for it. <\/p>\n

Anyone who is following Rand Paul\u2019s political career understands that he walks a fine line between being a Tea Party rebel and an establishment Republican who can win the financial support of multinational corporations whose backing can be decisive for a serious run at the Presidency.<\/p>\n

This was evident in his <\/span>defense<\/a> of Apple\u2019s tax dodge, in which Paul tried to portray the expectation that a company that earns billions of dollars in profit in America should pay taxes in America as government \u201cbullying\u201d. The very next week, the Senator jetted off to Silicon Valley on a fundraising tour.\u00a0Paul has vigorously supported increasing the number of foreign tech workers the computer industry uses to displace American workers and drive down wages.\u00a0Paul\u2019s defense of tax havens and his call for huge increases in guest workers sells<\/a> quite well in Silicon Valley, where industry titans have traditionally been more generous to Democratic<\/a> politicians.<\/p>\n

It also appears that Paul recognizes that conservation is an issue that resonates with voters, unlike many of his Republican colleagues, who only use the word \u201cenvironmentalism\u201d as a pejorative. Speaking at the Reagan Library<\/a> in Simi Valley, California, Paul said that Republicans \u201ccare just as deeply about the environment as Democrats,\u201d and that \u201cI am a libertarian-conservative who spends most of my free time outdoors\u2026I compost, I plant trees.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n

It is great that Paul does these things, but as a U.S. Senator he has the opportunity and the responsibility to do much more to protect the environment, starting with supporting the enactment of a sustainable<\/a> immigration system.\u00a0 If he continues to ignore the environmental and ecological consequences of adding over 50 million people to the U.S. population through the immigration system over the next ten years he is espousing the Al Gore brand of environmentalism \u2013 otherwise known as hypocrisy.