Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the quiet part out loud during an interview he gave to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, admitting that he is indeed afraid of any federal legislation that would help ensure the integrity of U.S. elections.

Paul was asked by Bartiromo about what she said was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) “number one priority”: To allow voting by mail across the country:

“Are you worried in any way of future elections being fair?”

The Kentucky senator responded:

“I’m terrified of election integrity, and I’m all for election integrity but the opposite of what Nancy Pelosi thinks that is.”

He’s terrified of it but he’s all for it? That’s some big league double talking.

Paul then continued:

“I think we need to have in-person voting and it needs to remain in control of the states. So I’ve been going around to each of the states, including my state, and trying to get election law reformed. I think you need to vote in person.”

What if you’re disabled, frail, elderly, or don’t have transportation that would allow you to vote in person, Senator Paul? Are those people just supposed to forfeit a right guaranteed to them in the Constitution?

The senator also told Bartiromo that he was very opposed to “using taxpayer money to go to your house with ballots and applications to vote.

“This idea of harvesting votes — that’s what Nancy Pelosi wants to do — is wrong. And we need to make sure we stop that.”

Ah yes: The old ballot harvesting canard. It’s a favorite talking point for Republicans who are hell-bent on keeping turnout low because that benefits them. However, there’s never been any proof that such a thing takes place on any widespread scale, as the Brennan Center explained in May of last year:

“Most states allow certain individuals — especially family members, health-care providers, and legal guardians — to assist voters by collecting and submitting their absentee ballots. Many states allow a broader array of individuals to provide ballot assistance. Where allowed, ballot collection is not indicative of any malfeasance or fraud.”

Oh, and while he was at it, Paul also made it clear that he doesn’t believe workers should receive a living wage, saying he doesn’t support legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour:

“The government shouldn’t be in this. And the people that get hurt the worst are those most disadvantaged. Black teenagers — unemployment goes through the roof when you set minimum wage. And the most important thing for any teenager, white or black, is that first job and they don’t get it if you set the wage higher than what the market will set it at.

“It’s a disservice to our youth.”

What about the parents working minimum wage jobs who are trying to raise their “youth” and make sure they have a better future? Does Rand Paul give a diddly damn about them? Of course not. And the real reason he’s opposed to a higher minimum wage is that he takes large campaign donations from multinational corporations that don’t want to pay their workers enough to live.

Rand Paul, like so many Republicans, is only concerned with himself. The rest of us are expendable.

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