Topic: GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist - page 11. (Read 205829 times)

Lindsey Graham itching to confront Rand Paul

Lindsey Graham has told colleagues he launched his implausible presidential campaign, in part, for two reasons: Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.

The straight-talking South Carolina senator hasn't been able to rebut his two conservative Senate colleagues on a debate stage yet. But he’ll get a chance on the Senate floor later this week when he slugs it out over their hardball legislative tactics to defund Planned Parenthood that have Congress hurtling toward a government shutdown.

...http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/graham-cruz-paul-senate-213985

Rand Paul target shooting a clown at New Hampshire Firing Line
https://www.facebook.com/RandPaul/photos/a.10152070880746107.1073741828.54172246106/10153370877156107/?type=3&theater

Lots of likes piling on on facebook in a short amount of time.

Don’t count Paul out of race

There are a lot of ways to describe Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate. Luckily, two words can do it effectively: It stunk.

Despite being a ratings success for CNN with almost 23 million people tuning in, it was a disaster. Not only was it three hours long, but it was also pure chaos. The moderators lacked complete control, turning what was supposed to be an informative event into a game of which candidate could get the last word.

Nevertheless, a winner did emerge: one candidate who made the most sense and whose campaign will hopefully benefit the most from their performance. Carly Fiorina? No.

The true winner of the second debate was Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning senator from Kentucky. Unlike his fellow 10 candidates, Paul brought up what parts of the Republican agenda needed to change, mainly foreign policy and marijuana policy.

On foreign policy, Paul argued for discussion and patience when facing issues involving our standing overseas, going against the Republican trend of promoting a strong military presence abroad. This includes the previously mentioned Fiorina, who advocated for sending troops abroad and adding more items to our already bloated force.

“I don’t think we need to be rash,” Paul said. “I don’t think we need to be reckless, and I think need to leave lines of communication open.”

...http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/09/column-dont-count-paul-out-of-race

Rand Paul just spoke to 500 students in South Carolina

https://twitter.com/RandPaul?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Students for Rand continue to impress. This followed another speech of hundreds in Rock Hill. Liberty is alive and well on campuses.

Rand Paul brings campaign to Rock Hill, SC, now seeking Scott Walker supporters

GOP Presidential candidate Rand Paul made a campaign stop in Rock Hill Wednesday to gain more supporters and make a big announcement.

Paul has now received his first endorsement from a South Carolina representative, Congressman Mick Mulvaney.

With 15 candidates running for the Republican nomination, a new poll shows Paul is in eighth place at 4% while Donald Trump is in first place with 24%.

We asked him what he thinks about Trump's campaign and if he takes him seriously.

“I do think Donald Trump is a fake conservative and I think he is putting on an act. And he's tricked some people for a while, but you can't trick people for long. I think ultimately people are going to look for somebody more serious,” he said.

...http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/23809121-story

Rand Paul’s Bad Numbers Are Due to the Youth Being Ignored

In the latest CNN poll since last Wednesday’s Republican primary debate, Rand Paul polled just 4% - in eighth place.

Boy, does that sound bad.

Good thing it’s not.

You see, national polls are completely ignoring the youth vote. And we don’t mean “18-24″ youth vote - we mean that they are refusing to poll voters under the age of 50 - or at least refuse to report the crosstabs.

This CNN poll has Rand Paul with 4%, but nobody under 50 years old was polled. This CBS poll didn’t either. Nor this Monmouth poll. Nor this ABC poll.

When polls do show crosstabs that include age, Rand Paul does much better. In this WBUR New Hampshire poll, Rand Paul receives just 2% - but he gets 9% of the youth vote.

It is true that young people vote less than older people do. Nonetheless, about a third to a half of young people vote - and in 2012, our vote was decisive in giving Obama the victory.

Though Rand Paul is middling in the polls right now, that’s largely because the youth vote - which goes heavily for Dr. Paul - is being ignored. Rand Paul is performing much better than the polls show because of this point.

...http://www.youthforrandpaul.com/post/129573342508/rand-pauls-bad-numbers-are-due-to-the-youth-being

Rand Paul and 10 Heedless Hawks

The Kentucky senator offers a desperately needed alternative to the GOP's mindless militarism

At a Q&A session in Dallas a year ago, Rand Paul expressed skepticism about whether the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) posed "a threat to our national security." Hours later at another event in Dallas, the Kentucky senator said that if he were president he "would lay out the reasoning of why ISIS is a threat to our national security and seek congressional authorization to destroy ISIS militarily."

Paul's sudden conversion on the merits of war with ISIS made me worry that, in catering to Republican primary voters, he would lose his distinctive voice on foreign policy, which urges caution and modesty instead of the heedless interventionism advocated by his rivals. But last week's Republican presidential debate showed that Paul still offers a desperately needed alternative to the mindless militarism favored by the GOP.

"We have a world that grows increasingly dangerous," Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida declared, "and we are eviscerating our military spending." It is so eviscerated that the U.S. spends more on the military than the next seven countries combined.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson nevertheless agreed with Rubio that U.S. military spending is dangerously low. "We need the strongest military on the face of the planet," Fiorina said, "and everyone has to know it." Although we and they already do, Fiorina still wants to boost spending on the Army, Navy, and Marines.

...https://reason.com/archives/2015/09/23/rand-paul-and-10-heedless-hawks

[VIDEO] Rand Vs Sanders SS reform

Rand is making a case for liberty against socialism at the recent Heritage action forum. Pretty good watch and listen. Rand kills it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=40&v=TLCxZDJOx-o

Rand Paul on Face the Nation w/ John Dickerson 9/20/15/
Great interview of Rand on one of the major free cable channels in the US that alot of americans view daily, Sundays of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4jDJhpLUqQ

Rand Paul: Here’s How the GOP Can Stop Government Dysfunction

When I ran for office, I ran in opposition to the establishment and the politicians in both parties. Bank bailouts, Obamacare, and a failure to stand up and fight were among my main complaints, and these were many of the same frustrations that moved people to start the Tea Party.

Frankly, I just got sick of throwing things at my television and decided to do something about it by running for office. I took on the special interests and Washington Machine, and I won.

Since I’ve been in Washington, let me tell you, it is every bit as bad as I feared. It’s why so many people—myself included—are angry and challenging the status quo.

At first, we were told that we couldn’t fight for change because we didn’t control the Senate. Now we are told we can’t take a stand until we win the Presidency. I’m tired of waiting—it’s time to stand and fight for the principles of limited government that voters sent us to office to defend.

This week will be a crucial test. Putting forward a “continuing resolution” is simply more of the status quo: More debt, more Obamacare, more funding of Planned Parenthood.

I won’t vote to continue borrowing and spending a million dollars a minute. I urge the leaders of my party to do something different: to take the offensive for our beliefs rather than surrendering before the battle begins.

...http://time.com/4043506/rand-paul-heres-how-the-gop-can-stop-government-dysfunction/?xid=tcoshare

Rand Paul gets endorsement from conservative SC  US Representative Mulvaney

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney says he's supporting Rand Paul's bid for president.

The South Carolina congressman told The Associated Press on Monday that he's backing Paul because he believes voters will embrace a Republican candidate who breaks with the party's establishment and supports less government involvement in their lives.

Mulvaney says he's not discouraged by Paul's low-single-digit poll numbers. The third-term congressman said he believes the U.S. senator from Kentucky has a campaign strategy in many early voting states that will serve him well in the long haul.

Mulvaney and Paul are slated to make several stops together in early voting South Carolina this week.

...http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=oPfUbIXd

Rand Paul to Ben Carson: There’s no religious test in politics

Fresh off a surprise win in a Michigan straw poll, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized former neurosurgeon Ben Carson's argument that a Muslim could not be "in charge of this nation."

"Article VI of the Constitution says there won’t be a religious test," Paul said in an interview. "I think the answer is that simple."

Carson made the remarks first in an interview with Meet the Press. Asked by host Chuck Todd if Islam was "consistent with the Constitution," Carson said it wasn't. In a subsequent interview with The Hill's Jon Easley, Carson explained that he didn't think "Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country."

...http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/21/rand-paul-to-ben-carson-theres-no-religious-test-in-politics/

Campaign Manager Chip Englander on Rand's Iowa strategy

Start around 26:08. This is a very important part of Rand's strategy, and is something that I've been trying to reassure people of for a while. If you look at most of Rand's top staff, it's all focused on ground game. Especially in a caucus, this is incredibly important. Chip Englander was campaign manager for Bruce Rauner, who was elected Governor of a blue state, Illinois, in the 2014 election, primarily because of ground game. Several others from this campaign are in top positions in the campaign.

If you also add in Concerned American Voters, headed by Frazee and Kibbe, which is focused solely on door to door, phone from home, get out the vote efforts, it's clear that Rand Paul has the best ground game out of any of the candidates. Students for Rand's operations as well will play a crucial role in getting young people to the caucus.

Just look at the straw poll in Mackinac last week, it's a clear example of ground game and flooding the vote with support when it actually matters. Summer before the election does not matter (polling) except for building infrastructure and ground game for when it does matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4q8qqZQDbs

Opinion: Paul building broader, bolder GOP

It’s no secret that the Republican Party is in need of revitalization. For too long there are too many voters that have been overlooked by many Republican candidates as “unwinnable.” This is an attitude that will lead to our demise if left uncorrected. And while a number of candidates talk a good game about building a “big tent” party, it has been largely empty rhetoric. Everyone agrees that we need to do more — but I only see one candidate for president who is actually doing it. And that is Rand Paul.

In the two years since Gov. Chris Christie talked about Republicans going to places that make us uncomfortable, Rand Paul has been the only Republican who has already gone there. He is the only Republican candidate to meet with community leaders in places like Detroit, Chicago and Ferguson. And he is winning support in these places that have been devastated by crime and poverty after years of single-party Democrat control. Many people that have never voted for a Republican before are realizing that Democrats are taking them for granted, and are now seriously listening to what Paul has to say. Rand’s positions on criminal justice reform especially are winning support from minorities.

...http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/my-turn/2015/09/18/opinion-paul-building-broader-bolder-gop/72422968/

CNN post-debate national poll: Rand in 8th

Carly Fiorina shot into second place in the Republican presidential field on the heels of another strong debate performance, and Donald Trump has lost some support, a new national CNN/ORC poll shows.

The survey, conducted in the three days after 23 million people tuned in to Wednesday night's GOP debate on CNN, shows that Trump is still the party's front-runner with 24% support. That, though, is an 8 percentage point decrease from earlier in the month when a similar poll had him at 32%.

Fiorina ranks second with 15% support -- up from 3% in early September. She's just ahead of Ben Carson's 14%, though Carson's support has also declined from 19% in the previous poll.

Driving Trump's drop and Fiorina's rise: a debate in which 31% of Republicans who watched said Trump was the loser, and 52% identified Fiorina as the winner.

During the CNN debate, Fiorina clashed with Trump over his personal attacks and their business records and scored points for her condemnation of Planned Parenthood.

The top three contenders underscore a key theme in the 2016 race: In a jampacked GOP presidential field, the leading candidates are the only ones who have never held political office.

But one established politician has seen his standing rise after flashing foreign policy chops on the debate stage. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- identified as Wednesday's winner by 14% of Republicans, putting him second behind Fiorina -- is now in fourth place with 11% support, up from 3% in a previous poll.

In fifth place is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at 9%. He's followed by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 6% each, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky at 4%, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3%, Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 2% and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at 1%.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/20/politics/carly-fiorina-donald-trump-republican-2016-poll/index.html

Here’s how drastically different Rand Paul is on foreign policy from every other candidate

For some time now, it has been said that one of Rand Paul’s current campaign problems is that he no longer distinguishes himself on one of the most important issues that helped his father stand out—foreign policy.

The left says this. The right says this. Libertarians say this. Perception being reality, it might very well be a campaign problem.

But it’s not true. It’s not even close to true.

At the same time, some liberals, conservatives and even libertarians also say Paul has foreign policy views that are too far outside the mainstream of his own party and Americans in general to get anywhere near the Republican nomination.

This isn’t true either.

Paul’s foreign policy is actually where most Americans and even Republican primary voters are on the subject, if his positions are explained honestly and not mislabeled as “isolationism” by hawks eager to do so.


Read more at http://rare.us/story/heres-how-drastically-different-rand-paul-is-on-foreign-policy-from-every-other-candidate/#1bdHlZDqR6wkCFCu.99

Rand Paul calls for term limits, says Trump has peaked

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — The federal government never gets any smaller because Americans leave members of Congress in Washington too long, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Saturday in calling for federal term limits.

"We should term limit them all, fumigate the place and bring them home," said Paul, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president.

Paul said in an after-dinner speech at the Grand Hotel that both Republicans and Democrats stay in Congress too long and become part of a system they can't shrink.
Paul also hammered Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, for her handling of security at the embassy in Benghazi, Libya, prior to a 2012 attack and for putting sensitive and potentially classified emails on a private server that was not secure.

...http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/19/sen-rand-paul-says-donald-trump-has-peaked/72486434/

Rand Paul wins Mackinac Isle (MI) Confab's Strawpoll

Mackinac Island — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the presidential straw poll at this weekend’s Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, capturing 22 percent of the vote among a field of 16 candidates.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina came in second with 15 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich in third place with 13.8 percent and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in fourth with 13 percent in The Detroit News/MIRS presidential straw poll.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush finished fifth in the straw poll with 9.7 percent of the 785 registered conference attendees who voted.

The Paul campaign celebrated the straw poll victory as a sign that the libertarian-minded senator’s presidential bid remains alive, despite registering single-digit numbers in national polls.

...http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/19/straw-poll-rand-paul-tops-among-mich-gop-activists/72504936/

Ignoring Rand Paul

Desperately searching for an establishment Republican who can block Donald Trump, many observers are ignoring the strong and politically astute performance of Rand Paul in Wednesday night’s Republican debate. A classic example this morning is Michael Gerson, the big-government Republican who has written for George W. Bush and the Washington Post and is the most anti-libertarian pundit this side of Salon. Recognizing the need for the Republican party to reach new audiences, especially “with minorities, with women, with younger voters, with working-class voters in key states,” Gerson writes:

The relatively rare moments of economic analysis and political outreach in the second Republican debate — Chris Christie talking about income stagnation, or Marco Rubio lamenting the “millions of people in this country living paycheck to paycheck,” or Ben Carson admitting the minimum wage might require increasing and fixing, or Jeb Bush setting out the necessary goal of accelerated economic growth, or John Kasich calling for a “sense of hope, sense of purpose, a sense of unity” — served only to highlight the opportunity cost of the Trump summer.

What’s missing? Well, Rand Paul talked about marijuana reform, an issue that is far more popular than the Republican Party, especially among younger voters. And criminal justice and incarceration, an issue of special concern to minorities. And especially about our endless wars in the Middle East, at a time when 63 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of independents say that the Iraq war was not worth the costs, and when 52 percent of Americans say the United States “should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own.” (Not the best formulation, as noninterventionists are not opposed to international activity, just to imprudent military action. But you go to print with the polls you have, not the polls you wish you had.) Those are attempts to reach new audiences that a fair-minded debate watcher would have noticed.

...http://www.cato.org/blog/ignoring-rand-paul

Rand Paul Found His Voice: Can He Find Noninterventionist Voters?

Rand Paul found his voice last night. He’s a sincere noninterventionist in foreign policy. If he can get that message across, there’s a Republican constituency for it, and even broader support among independents.

Coincidentally or not, Paul’s standing in the polls has fallen as he seemed to move away from the noninterventionist positions associated with his father, congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. He called for a declaration of war with ISIS, more military spending, and rejection of President Obama’s Iran deal.

Meanwhile, hawkish conservative pundits consistently underestimate the extent of non interventionist and war-weary sentiment in the Republican party.

In the debate Paul came out swinging on the risks of war and the failures of military intervention. He declared, “I’ve made my career as being an opponent of the Iraq War. I was opposed to the Syria war. I was opposed to arming people who are our enemies.”

...http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/rand-paul-found-voice-can-he-find-noninterventionist-voters