Topic: GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist - page 18. (Read 205816 times)

New Iowa PPP poll: Rand at 3% with a 31% favorability rating

Raleigh, N.C. – PPP's newest Iowa poll finds Donald Trump leading the Republican
field in the state even after a weekend of controversy. He's at 19% to 12% for Ben Carson
and Scott Walker, 11% for Jeb Bush, 10% for Carly Fiorina, 9% for Ted Cruz, and 6%
for Mike Huckabee and Marco Rubio.

The other 9 candidates are all clustered between 3% and having no support at all (George
Pataki)- John Kasich and Rand Paul are at 3%, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Rick
Santorum at 2%, Chris Christie at 1%, and Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, and Pataki all
have less than 1%.

“Donald Trump’s public fight with Fox News might hurt him in the long run,” said Dean
Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But for the time being he continues to lead
the pack.”

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_IA_81015.pdf

[Video] Rand Paul on Fox News Sunday w/ Chris Wallace 8/9/15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5VFS6myEc8
~11mins

Mind you, this is the biggest Sunday political talk show that many republican primary voters turn in to view. They owed him this after the pathetic timing they gave him in the debate.

Rand Paul: Trump a 'fake conservative'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in an interview Sunday called Donald Trump, who refused to rule out a third-party run during the first GOP debate, a “fake conservative."

Paul said on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump has "been for all these liberal policies and now because he can stand up and say vulgar things and he’s a truth teller. Well the truth is, what is he for?"

“I don’t think we should reward vulgarity and I don’t think vulgarity equates to insight,” Paul added. “Because you can shout and call people names and call someone 'stupid; or call someone 'fat' is that really what we’re going to make the decision on for who’s going to be our nominee?”

“I have no idea what his real philosophy is other than that he is for promoting himself,” Paul said.

...

http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/250679-rand-paul-trump-could-be-a-liberal

Now that Trump is in the race this comment seems really crazy, as in OF COURSE Paul has a good chance of winning the nomination. All those independents and swing voters only have Rand Paul to vote for!

Rand Paul gets the fight that he’s wanted for a year

CLEVELAND -- No Republican presidential candidate had a rougher week than Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) It started with a doomed vote to defund Planned Parenthood, which the senator had promoted for weeks, as an example of his ability to get things done. It continued with indictments coming down on the leaders of his super PAC -- something Paul argued was "suspiciously" timed, possibly to hurt his campaign. Paul even got slammed with an attack ad, from former UN Ambassador John Bolton's Foundation for American Security and Freedom.


Paul used the first moments of this debate to change this story, and only gained energy from there. After Donald Trump gave a meandering, tautological answer to a question about whether he might run as an independent, Paul jumped the debate queue and attacked him.

"This is what's wrong!" Paul interjected. "He buys and sells politicians of all stripes! He's already hedging his bet on the Clintons, OK? So if he doesn't run as a Republican, maybe he supports Clinton, or maybe he runs as an independent, but I'd say that he's already hedging his bets because he's used to buying politicians."

Video and more...http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/06/rand-paul-gets-the-fight-that-hes-wanted-for-a-year/

[Video] Rand Paul on The O'Reilly Factor w/ Chris Wallace 8/7/15 - The most watched political show in America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egeNS7y4x44
Rand was epic and confident as you'll see by watching. We're just getting started in this GOP nomination process, bitcoiners. Don't forget that Rand accepts bitcoin from US citizens for his campaign.

Rand Paul’s Eye-Roll Marked the End of the 9/11 Era

...

Senator Rand Paul, at that moment engaged with Christie on a debate about mass surveillance, then gave what we’ll unilaterally dub as the most monumental eyeroll in presidential debate history.

Paul’s smirking get-a-load-of-this-guy dismissal of Christie’s ghoulish grandstanding is a nice final line for an important political chapter—-it’s the moment we knew for sure September 11 lost its currency in Republican politics. Paul wasn’t immediately booed, nor shredded by the moderators, nor condemned as a terrorist sympathizer or worse, as certainly would have been the case during the Bush years. In fact, in the Drudge Report’s insta-reaction online poll, Paul finished fifth and Christie was dead last.

http://www.thenation.com/article/rand-pauls-eye-roll-marked-the-end-of-the-911-era/

Rand Paul Got the Least Talk Time of Any Debate Candidate

Which candidate was most shafted by the structure of the Fox News Republican presidential debate on Thursday night? That would be Sen. Rand Paul, who was given vastly less talking time than the rest of the candidates.

Paul received just under 5 minutes of talking time, the least of any of the 10 participants in the debate. According to NPR’s Domenico Montanaro, the time totals were as follows:

1 Trump 10:30

2 Bush 8:33

3 Huck 6:32

4 Carsn/Crz 6:28

6 Kasch 6:25

7 Rubio 6:22

8 Chrste 6:03

9 Walkr 5:43

10 Paul 4:51

I thought Paul represented his libertarian views well during his short, testy argument with Chris Christie about NSA snooping. But it must be difficult for the libertarian-leaning senator to fully explain why his dissenting opinions are more intelligent, broadly popular, and in keeping with the Constitution than his opponents realize when he is only given a meager four minutes to make his case. There isn’t much difference—policy-wise, at least—between Huckabee, Carson, Cruz, Rubio, and Walker; why give them all significantly more screen-time than Paul?

https://reason.com/blog/2015/08/07/rand-paul-got-less-talk-time-than-every

Glenn Beck praises Rand Paul's debate performance

Beck said he was impressed by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s performance, saying he did “really, really well” and stuck to his principles on the issues.

“Rand Paul was in the winner section,” Beck said. “Now a lot of people say that he was perceived as angry. I thought he was fact-based. He has a middle-range voice that when he raises his voice, it’s kind of grating. That’s why when he was shouting, it didn’t go over well with some.”

“But I thought he did really, really well last night. And I was pleased with his performance,” Beck concluded, specifically referencing his debate with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie about domestic surveillance programs.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/08/07/best-presidential-debate-i-have-ever-seen-beck-breaks-down-the-gop-debate-candidate-by-candidate/

Rand Just Posted This Awesome Debate Video on Twitter
https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/629804345660276736

[Video] Rand Paul vs. Chris Christie on the 4th amendment during last nights debate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gEW6LRvb4k
Rand ate his dinner for him and schooled him on the 4th plus got in a jab at the end.

Worried About Rand Paul Falling in the Polls? Don't Be.
Numbers this far out mean little under the best of circumstances. And these are not the best of circumstances.

Is Rand Paul's campaign in the midst of a collapse? Everyone from Nate Silver to Politico to the thinkers at Salon has suggested as much. It's fast becoming conventional wisdom that the Kentucky senator is dead in the water.

That's absurd on many levels, as my colleague Brian Doherty outlined beautifully last week. After all, John McCain's campaign struggled mightily in the money game and underwent a pretty serious reorganization during the '08 primary cycle. It didn't stop him from snagging the Republican nomination.

But what to make of the polling? There's no denying that Paul's standing has slipped. His RealClearPolitics average has gone from 17 percent in 2013 to less than 6 percent today. If you're a fan of Rand, should you be concerned?

Hardly.

...

More...http://reason.com/blog/2015/08/03/worried-about-rand-paul-falling-in-the-p

Rand Paul leads Hillary Clinton 45%-43% in latest New Hampshire poll - wins independents by 8%

DURHAM, N.H. —Four of five Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire chosen for a new poll match up strongly against Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. The only Republican she leads by a substantial margin is the GOP frontrunner.

A WMUR Granite State Poll released Wednesday evening shows Clinton leading business executive Donald Trump 50 percent to 40 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

Three other GOP candidates chosen for the poll have 1 or 2 percentage point leads over the Democrat, and one Republican trails her by a single percentage point. All four of those close matchups are well within the poll’s margin of error of 3.6 percentage points, making them statistical ties.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush leads Clinton 46 percent to 45 percent, while U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker both lead her 45 to 43 percent. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida trails Clinton 44 percent to 43 percent.

More...http://www.wmur.com/politics/wmur-poll-clinton-leads-gop-frontrunner-trump-but-trails-three-others/34556254

Rand Paul’s Harsh Words for Planned Parenthood: ‘I Don’t Know How They…Live With Themselves’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iobT-2r-iNo
Great interview that yall should check out.

Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul on Tuesday said he doesn’t know how the abortionists at Planned Parenthood, and those who are seemingly involved in the harvesting and selling of the aborted babies’ organs, live with themselves.

“The videos are incredibly disturbing,” Paul said on The Glenn Beck Program. “When I heard about them using ultrasounds to manipulate the baby into a position so it could be removed a little bit at a time so they could get at the baby’s organs — kidneys, livers. And the sort of the callous disregard by the doctor saying, ‘Oh yeah, livers are popular.’ It’s hard to hear that.”

Paul said rarely is the debate framed “in such sharp relief.”

“We often have the debate where the other side wants to call it ’tissue.’ But when we’re talking about lungs, brains, hearts, livers, I think it … should make all people shudder that we’re doing this,” he said. “I don’t know how anyone could do that day in and day out, knowing that you’re pulling out the pieces of a baby. I mean, I don’t know how they do it and how they live with themselves.”

...More...http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/08/04/rand-pauls-harsh-words-for-planned-parenthood-i-dont-know-how-they-live-with-themselves/

[Video] Rand Paul at NH Voters First Forum 8/3/15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKoMRBIlPHY 5mins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRo18kr8tU 2+mins

Rand did so good on these questions and popped up as a savior of the religious right by his statements on the newer abortion topic.

Hillary 43, Rand 42 in Minnesota

Walker, Clinton lead in Minnesota- General Looks Like 2004

Donald Trump may be running the table in national polls these days, but PPP's new Minnesota poll finds that Scott Walker is continuing to hold his own in the Midwest. Walker narrowly leads the GOP field in the state with 19% to 18% for Trump, 15% for Jeb Bush, 11% for Ben Carson, 7% for Ted Cruz, 6% for Mike Huckabee, 5% each for Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, 4% for Chris Christie, and 3% each for Carly Fiorina and John Kasich. Rounding out the GOP field with minimal support are Bobby Jindal at 1%, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Rick Santorum with less than 1%, and Rick Perry with literally no supporters.

Walker's lead in the horse race is narrow, but he has a wide advantage when it comes to which candidates are the most broadly liked by Republican voters in the state. 68% have a favorable opinion of Walker to only 16% with a negative one. That puts him 10 points ahead of the next most popular candidate, which is Rubio at 58/16. Others over 50% are Huckabee at 55/28, Trump at 55/32, Carson at 53/18, and Paul at 51/24.

On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton leads with 50% to 32% for Bernie Sanders, 4% for Martin O'Malley, 3% for Lincoln Chafee, and 2% for Jim Webb. This is the most support we've found for Sanders in any state so far this year. It's not surprising that would come in Minnesota for him- he has tended to do much better with white voters than African Americans or Hispanics, and the Democratic electorate in Minnesota is far whiter than in the country as a whole.

Clinton dominates Sanders with seniors (66/14), women (56/27), and voters identifying themselves as either 'somewhat liberal' (54/29), or moderates (50/27). But Sanders is keeping things pretty competitive with young voters (44/38), men (40/39), and voters identifying themselves as 'very liberal' (46/42).

Barack Obama won Minnesota easily in both of his elections- by 10 points in 2008 and then by 8 points in 2012. Our early general election polling in the state finds things looking more like 2004 when John Kerry beat George W. Bush by 3 points in the state- Hillary Clinton does lead the entire Republican field, but most of the match ups are pretty closely contested.
Paul comes the closest to Clinton, trailing by just a single point at 43/42. Bush (44/42), Huckabee (44/42 also), and Rubio (42/40) all do similarly well, with deficits of only 2 points to Clinton. With the exception of Fiorina who's down by 11 points at 44/33, all the other GOP hopefuls trail Clinton by 4 or 5 points. It's 46/42 for Walker, 44/39 for Carson, Cruz, and Trump, and 43/38 for Christie.

We also tested Bernie Sanders in head to heads with some of the leading Republicans- he trails Bush 41/40, but leads Walker 41/40, Rubio 39/37, and Trump 45/37. In some places we've found Sanders doing substantially worse than Clinton in match ups against the leading Republicans, but in Minnesota his average performance is only about one point worse than hers.

'Deez Nuts' filed as an independent candidate for President recently so for the sake of entertainment we tested him(?) as a candidate in a three way contest with Clinton and Trump. Deez Nuts haven't had much exposure to the American public- 89% say they have no opinion about them either way. Among those few who are familiar with Deez Nuts, only 3% rate them favorably to 8% who have an unfavorable opinion. Nevertheless 8% say they would support Deez Nuts for President, to 41% for Hillary Clinton and 36% for Donald Trump. When you look at how supporters of Deez Nuts split in a head to head between Clinton and Trump 25% are for Clinton, 15% are for Trump, and 60% are undecided. So Deez Nuts are largely providing an outlet for voters to express their frustration with the other candidates.

More...http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/08/walker-clinton-lead-in-minnesota-general-looks-like-2004.html#more

Rand returned $1.8 million to US Treasury

It seems the fiscally conservative Senator from Kentucky is making a statement about his politics as he returns another $480,000 in unused monies to the Treasury, bringing Rand Paul’s total to around $1.8 million of Uncle Sam’s budgetary “cash-ola”.  A point, I’m certain, the Republican presidential hopeful will not forget to highlight during his campaign to gain the Republican nomination.

Here’s the press release his office sent out:

Sen. Paul Announces Taxpayer Savings: Returns $480,000 to U.S. Treasury from Office Budget

Has returned $1.8 million since taking office

 
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Sen. Rand Paul today announced that he has returned $480,000 to the United States Treasury – money unspent from his official operating budget in 2014. He made the announcement while speaking to young professionals this morning in Louisville, Ky.

Since taking office in January 2011, from his Senate office budget, Sen. Paul has returned:

— $1.8 million to the U.S. Treasury in cumulative yearly operating budget savings

— $170,000 more through sequester cuts in 2013

 
— 17% of his total budget to taxpayers

 
“Washington has put out-of-control and reckless spending on autopilot and I have pledged to Kentuckians that I will do everything I can to stop it,” said Sen. Paul. “I will continue to lead the fight to rein in government spending, both in my own office budget and my votes in the U.S. Senate.”

Sen. Paul has achieved the savings by asking his staff to do more with less and by taking advantage of technology. Even with the savings, he maintains one of the most active offices on Capitol Hill.

More...http://www.noozsaurus.com/rand-paul-returns-1-8-million-unused-senate-office-money/

My time for politics is near zero, but I check in once in a while. Clearly it is too early to call it "over", since the main events are just getting started soon. Rand will still have a solid base of real support when others start dropping out, and we need Cruz to make a quick exit.

Rand Paul Is Getting Some Big Support From Silicon Valley

http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/a-new-super-pac-filing-reveals-rand-paul-is-getting-some-big-support-from-silicon-valley-20150729

The "Rand Paul is Over" Wave is Cresting

In the campaign season, lots of writers have a lot of space to fill and have to have something convincingly and interestingly synthetic to say about the fact that a politician is raising money, going to events, and random people across the country are being asked on the phone whether they'd vote for him.

A combination of low numbers in the first and last of those, combined with the usual array of "that other guy involved in this team process sucks" that anyone who can get anonymous interviews with anyone involved in any campaign (or any team process) will find, leads this week to Rand Paul's campaign being declared, once again!, and still nearly a half year before any vote is case, over, man, over. (The Atlantic did the same seven weeks ago, and I thought they were being silly then.)

Let's start with Politico. They've got a couple of discouraging facts as they take us deep inside the Paul campaign's "downward spiral."

Paul has taken in just $13 million, a fraction of what all his major rivals for the Republican nomination have raised and far less than Paul hoped" and he's been dropping in polls lately in the Age of Trump.

Then it just becomes an attempt to paint a vaguely sketched picture of a campaign riddled with personal issues, dueling would-be bosses, and a lackadaisical candidate.

...

More...http://reason.com/blog/2015/07/28/the-rand-paul-is-over-wave-is-cresting