Having some libertarian leanings myself, I am always skeptical of people who claim to be pro-life and libertarian. I’m not saying that those positions are necessarily contradictory - it’s that personal vs public policy thing, one can be uncomfortable with abortion on a personal level but still recognize that banning it is terrible policy. But those who call themselves libertarians and then actively campaign to use the force of government to ban abortion are in an interesting position. I’m sure some came to that position in an honest way, but it is still striking to me because it seems to run counter to the general disposition of libertarianism.

And I could even understand a libertarian supporting defunding Planned Parenthood because they take the view that almost everything should be defunded. But this feels much more opportunistic rather than a libertarian purity dance move.

I’m also trying to figure out how Rand Paul got the libertarian tag anyway… he’s opposed to gay marriage, he wants to use government to ban abortion, he’s not particularly in favor of immigration reform and wants “border security” (a more “pure” libertarian view would be closer to an open border policy), he doesn’t even appear to be in favor of decriminalizing marijuana (let alone other drugs).