You all know Rand Paul, the "Libertarian" who's in favor of government spending a ton more money on defense, stopping Gay Marriage and Abortion, keeping marijuana illegal and sending people to prison for listening to radical political speeches. He used to not have some of those views but in his quest for the G.O.P. presidential nomination, he's trying hard to blend in with the herd.
When you claim to be a Libertarian and real Libertarian groups start disowning you, how do you get a little of that label back? Easy: You introduce a new flat-tax proposal. But since you are, after all, seeking the Republican nomination, it has to be one that slashes taxes for the rich, shifts the burden to the poor and middle class and promises this will be great for all. Yeah, like it's working so well in Kansas. Here's Jonathan Chait to explain why this is a bad plan.
*Another Candidate Who'll Get The Same Number Of Electoral Votes As Me.