RUSH: Rand Paul went to Howard University. It’s a black college. He made a speech there this morning, actually, and it’s in the Washington Examiner. It says that Rand Paul “reached out to blacks, arguing that the Democrats and President Obama has failed African Americans, but admitting that the GOP has a long way to go before blacks see Republicans as their guide to success.” No, they don’t. That’s just a matter of opening their eyes. What do the Republicans have to do?
Prove a negative? Prove they’re not racist?
How do you do that? It’s not possible. Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, there’s all kinds of role models. What do you mean the Republicans have a long way to go? I know why he said it, but they don’t have a long way to go. To me the onus is on black people to get it straight. The onus is on the black population to see the truth. The onus is always on Republicans or always on conservatives to somehow prove that they’re not what the Democrats accuse them of being.
How in the world can you ever do that? How can you go to Howard University and say, “I’m not a racist”? How do you show up the NAACP and say, “I’m not a racist”? You can’t! It’s a lose-lose proposition. Rand Paul said, “I come to Howard today, not to preach, or prescribe some special formula for you but to say I want a government that leaves you alone, that encourages you to write the book that becomes your unique future.”
He basically went to the students at Howard University and said, “We want you to be who you are. We want you to be the best you can be, and we’re gonna get out of your way. We believe in you fulfilling your destiny, potential, all that.” It was actually very good. And he at the same time told them how Obama has failed them and how the Democrat Party has failed them, and he got it exactly right.
And now there is a companion story. This first story, I got it around 11:30 this morning. Here’s the latest dispatch on the Rand Paul story. Same paper, Washington Examiner. “During the Q&A session after Senator Paul’s speech Wednesday at Howard, one student explained that he didn’t agree with Rand Paul’s view of government. The student stood up and said to Senator Paul, “You say you want to provide a government that leaves us alone; quite frankly, I donÂ’t want that. I want a government that is going to help me.”
The student insisted that he wanted assistance for his college education, and he wanted assistance from the government in other things, and asked Senator Paul if he supported a culture change within the nation. “Do you, Sen. Rand Paul, have a formulated solution to come up with new American values so that the citizens of this nation have a worth more than dead presidents and Ben Franklin?” I don’t know what that means. But that was the question.
So basically Paul goes up there, he tries to tell them, “Look, the Democrats are a failure. They’re holding you back. They’re limiting your potential. We want just the opposite for you. We want you to be the best people you can be. We want you to maximize your potential. We want you to have all the freedom in the world. We don’t want you being dependent.” The kid stands up, “I want to be dependent. I want the government in my life.”
Well, what are you gonna do? Why should we be surprised? That’s how that’s kid been raised, right? It’s exactly how he’s been raised. The government is his only hope. The Democrat Party is his own opportunity. The only thing this kid’s got is the Democrat Party and government. Lord knows what he’s been told about the Republicans.