Presidential contender and pop culture maven Rand Paul on Wednesday begged voters not to vote for Donald Trump, whom Paul compared to Gollum. Gollum is, of course, a character from The Lord of the Rings novels. Gollum's lust for the One Ring, an artifact of unimaginable power crafted by Sauron, the Lord of Barad-dûr, twisted him into a foul, distrustful and generally unpleasant creature:
One candidate on this national stage wants you to give him power. He tells you he is rich, so he must be smart. If you give him power he claims he will fix America, but there is another tradition in America. A tradition that believes that power corrupts, and that our goal should be not to gain power but to contain power or limit Presidential power. Our founding fathers feared centralization of power. This race should not be about who can grasp the ring. Electing Gollum should not be our objective. This race should be about which candidate will best protect you from an overbearing government. I am the only one on this national stage who really doesn't want power or dominion over you. I want to set you free, I want to leave you alone, and I want a government so small you can barely see it.
In truth, Paul's characterization of Trump more closely resembles Sauron, a truly evil being and master manipulator, than Gollum, a weak-minded dope ensorceled by the power of the Ring.
Paul is far from the only Republican to lay into Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who recently suspended his own campaign and endorsed former governor Jeb Bush of Florida, called Trump "beyond crazy" in a radio interview Tuesday. And Bush has called Trump a "jerk" and a "junkyard dog."
Trump is currently beating his nearest challengers 2-to-1 in national polls. Paul, his poll numbers slipping, was not onstage at the most recent debate.
