If you recall, last November Senator Rand Paul was attacked by neighbor Rene Boucher:
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Federal prosecutors will seek a 21-month prison sentence for the man accused of tackling U.S. Sen. Rand Paul in the Kentucky lawmaker’s yard, according to a court document that says the man “had enough” when he saw the Republican stacking more brush onto an existing pile.
The court document filed by federal prosecutors underscored that the motive behind the attack stemmed from a dispute about yard maintenance between the two Kentucky neighbors.
In comments to police, neighbor Rene Boucher indicated the attack was not politically motivated, the court document said. Instead, it had to do with a property dispute that boiled over, it said.
Boucher has been charged with assaulting a member of Congress as part of a federal plea agreement that surfaced last Friday.
Boucher’s attorney maintains that the attack was not politically motivated and if Paul weren’t a famous lawmaker, no federal court would be hearing this case.
And yet, look what we have here:
o A Facebook account that appears to be Boucher’s contains multiple anti-President Donald Trump postings
o Boucher shared posts from Occupy Democrats, a popular Facebook page for liberals and progressives
o Though there were no negative comments about Paul on Boucher’s Facebook page, Boucher did write negatively about many other Republicans and the GOP in general
Two things have bugged me about this case since it occurred, one has been stewing for a bit and one is simply “up in my grill.”
The first is the What Aboutism factor, that of knowing what 24-hour coverage we’d still be peppered with if Boucher were anything but a Democrat and Paul were on the left. I can hear the hypothetical screams when I hypothetically turn on CNN. What Aboutism has become a proverb in politics, so no need to point how unfair it is not to be a leftist. I get it. I’ll suck it up.
But the other factor that bothers me about this story is more on principle, and it points an accusing finger at Rand Paul, his dad, the lauded Libertarian Dr. Ron Paul, and all Libertarians who don’t see the need for a strong military presence throughout the globe.
What’s the connection, you ask?
Think of Rand Paul as the United States, and Boucher is our sworn enemy (North Korea, Iran, Russia, Islamism). Sometimes, neighbors just don’t get along, but for the most part we’re civil to one another. Like Paul, the US is imperfect, but we mostly go about our business. And then one day, while no one is looking, one of those enemies, filled with so much rage it could only be derived from a godless political and world view (like that on the left), attacks and causes a number of direct injuries.
Wouldn’t it have been better if Paul had seen this guy coming? Wouldn’t it have been better if he had good information to give him some kind of warning that such an attack was imminent? Wouldn’t it have been better if there were an impenetrable wall around his property? Would it have been better if he were armed? Senator, ask your multiple broken ribs and pneumonia-laden lungs what they would have preferred.
I don’t want any of my fellow Americans to suffer through another 9/11, Fort Hood, Las Vegas, Columbine, or any attack of any kind. I don’t want Senator Rand Paul to be tackled or hurt ever again. Unfortunately, evil exists and we can’t predict what will happen. What we can do is first acknowledge we live in dangerous times. And while we should all pray for the best, we must always prepare for the worst.
Build up yourselves, and build up our military.
photo credit: Excerpted from: Gage Skidmore Rand Paul via photopin (license)
