COVID-19: Senate Coronavirus Vote Delayed After Rand Paul Pushes Doomed Amendment
One of the oldest jokes in American politics is that if pro is the opposite of con, then Congress must be the opposite of progress. On Tuesday, this saying became reality yet again as Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) proposed an amendment to the government’s coronavirus relief policies that introduced frivolous, tangential policies.
Paul, the Republican Party’s sole representative of the libertarian wing, moved to add additional riders to the Senate’s COVID-19 response bill, a piece of legislation that would include provisions for virus testing, sick leave, and state Medicaid funding. Not satisfied with delaying the reaction to the spread of this virus pandemic (which his father Ron Paul, a multiple failed presidential candidate, calls a “hoax“), Paul proposed that this bill should also include provisions to require Social Security numbers for child tax credits on federal income tax returns, as well as an immediate halt to all military and diplomatic spending in Afghanistan.
It would be one thing if Paul, like his father, feared for constitutional liberties in the wake of this virus. Having seen the draconian quarantine measures put in place by China, the Republican Party’s strongest libertarian voice has the duty to ask whether we will protect our own rights even in a time of crisis. However, Paul’s amendment betrays a disappointing political bend for his two favorite priorities, tax reform and ending American military efforts overseas — two issues that most Republicans see as far less important than addressing the virus, let alone managing border security and projecting strength around the globe.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted it as a “colossal waste of time”, a notable attack because if there is anyone in Washington qualified to know what a waste of time entails, it’s Chuck Schumer (remember just a few months ago that Paul criticized Schumer for his attacks on President Trump).
While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky’s senior senator, did his constitutional duty by allowing a vote on the amendment, it is not expected to pass. McConnell himself criticized aspects of the House’s bill but suggested that his colleagues and constituents swallow their individual nitpicks in order to pass the bill in a time of national crisis.
It remains to be seen what blowback Paul’s antics will have. Paul won the 2016 senate election in Kentucky by a wide margin, winning all but seven counties; he will not face re-election for another two years, and it is doubtful most voters will remember, or ultimately even care, about this particular instance.
The greater threat may be to McConnell himself, who faces re-election this year. According to the most recent poll, McConnell leads Democratic challenger Amy McGrath by just one percentage point. If his achievements are challenged by Paul’s determination to champion failed causes, it may reflect poorly at the ballot box in Kentucky.
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