Can Rand Paul avoid the Neville Chamberlain trap?

Paul is a noted non-interventionist in a modern Republican Party that despises Winston Churchill's predecessor

Rand Paul
(Image credit: (Alex Wong/Getty Images))

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is having a moment. It's not clear if "establishment" Republicans are concerned that the freshman senator with no previous political experience will crash their 2016 presidential primary, but the political press is starting to take Paul's presumed presidential ambitions seriously.

This started before Paul convincingly won the closely watched CPAC straw poll on Sunday — which, as Jon Terbush notes, doesn't mean all that much for 2016, especially since Paul is the son and political heir of frequent CPAC straw poll winner Ron Paul. Rand Paul's biggest obstacle to the GOP nomination probably wasn't an option on the CPAC poll, though: A long-dead British prime minister.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.