Jacob Sullum notes that Senator Paul has gone over the span of a few weeks from explicitly defending judicial activism to taking “a cheap shot at judges who dare to second-guess the work of legislators.” Sullum suggests that Paul is engaged in “blatant pandering to Republican primary voters.” On this issue, I like the allegedly pandering Paul better than the libertarian one. But I’d note that Paul has also, prior to the judicial activism comments, endorsed congressional moves to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over abortion. So it may be that Paul is genuinely of two minds about judicial power, or to put it less charitably, hasn’t completely thought the question through.
My take on the senator, and the difficulty of remaking a political party, is here. (Disclosure.)
