Why we should listen to Rand Paul
It turns out that Republicans in Washington are united on one issue: their hatred of Rand Paul. John McCain says Paul is "the worst possible candidate . . . on the most important issue."
Marco Rubio opines that Paul "has no idea what he's talking about."
Lindsey Graham concludes that it would be "devastating" for the party to nominate him.
Conservative commentators are even more vicious and ad hominem.
The obsession with Paul is striking. In a Post op-ed article last summer, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry mentioned Paul 10 times. I cannot recall an instance in recent decades in which so much vitriol has been directed against a leading political figure by his own party.
-(hit piece ensues)
The attacks are almost entirely focused on Paul's foreign policy, which is routinely characterized as dangerous and isolationist. In fact, the real problem appears to be that Paul is trying to force Republicans and many Democrats to defend what has become a lazy, smug consensus in favor of an ever-expanding national security state.
I have read Paul's proposals and speeches on foreign policy. There are some bloopers, odd comments, and rhetorical broadsides, but for the most part his views are intellectually serious and well within a tradition of what he (correctly) calls conservative realism.
They are also politically courageous. Paul has taken positions and cited authorities that are deeply unpopular with his own party.
Yes, of course, he craves publicity and engages in stunts. What politician doesn't? But what makes his opponents most uncomfortable is the substance, not the style.
Take the most recent example: his opposition to the blanket extension of the Patriot Act, which has resulted in some modest restraint on the vast expansion of government powers since 9/11. (The new checks and balances are close to ones recommended by a panel put together by the Obama administration.)
In defending his position, Paul notes — correctly — that we would not even know of the existence of this system of metadata collection if not for Edward Snowden's revelations, that the FBI has been unable to cite a single terrorist plot disrupted by it, and that the special courts in place have few checks and little transparency.
He cites, glowingly, the 1979 dissenting opinion regarding the dangers of government collection of phone records by Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan, the Supreme Court's two most prominent liberals of the past half-century.
Or consider Paul's views on lifting the embargo on Cuba, on which he writes: "The supporters of the embargo . . . fall strangely silent when asked how trade with Cuba is so different than trade with Russia or China or Vietnam." This is not a path to primary voters' hearts in Florida.
He has raised uncomfortable questions that no other politician dares raise about Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al Qaeda leader who was killed in a car on a road in Yemen by a US drone strike. Paul has pointed out that since Awlaki was a US citizen, this action creates an extraordinary legal precedent — that the president of the United States can execute a US citizen without trial. He cites approvingly the American Civil Liberties Union, which, he writes, has pointed out that "in modern history, a presidential order to kill an American citizen away from a battlefield is unprecedented."
In the Middle East, Paul has called for caution before the next military intervention, suggesting that it is worth learning some lessons from the past decade. US military interventions, he has argued, have destabilized countries and led to perverse consequences. "As secular dictators fell in Libya, Egypt, Iraq, and now Syria, radical jihadists exploited the vacuum," he has noted.
In Afghanistan, he said, President Obama added 50,000 troops to the US force and spent an additional $120 billion on the effort with little effect. Afghanistan today is by some measures as dangerous as ever — after 14 years of continuous US military intervention and $1 trillion spent, by one estimate. Surely this is worth pondering?
I don't agree with Rand Paul on many things, including foreign policy. I think some of his positions on civil rights are historically blind, cruel, and dangerous. But in the arena of national security, he has time and again raised important, inconvenient questions, only to have them ruled out of order and to be told that he is a crank, far outside the mainstream. In fact, it would be useful and important for Republicans — and Democrats — to stop the name-calling and actually discuss and debate his ideas.
...
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-should-listen-to-rand-paul-2015-6
Topic: GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist - page 30. (Read 205816 times)
June 09, 2015, 01:16:40 AM
June 09, 2015, 01:14:21 AM
JON VOIGHT (at Republican Jewish Coalition Gala) on Rand "He’s a little controversial... and that's good too"
...
Voight was honored at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Gala Sunday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel with the Hollywood Visionary Award. He said he’s impressed with the slew of Republicans who have already declared.
“It’s good to have debate — real debate — a difference on issues and different sides of the issues,” Voight said. “It’s an important election. I hope people are paying attention.”
Matthew Brooks, executive director of the RJC, said a possible Republican president is the best choice for the future of Israel’s relationship with the United States.
“It’s going to be very clear between a Hillary Clinton-likely candidacy, which means four more years of Barack Obama’s failed policies that relate to Israel, or it means a radically different Republican policy, which returns Israel back to its rightful place as a true and unwavering ally and a special friend of the United States.”
Voight specifically addressed Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who recently created controversy over his filibuster of the Patriot Act. Paul announced his bid for the presidency on April 7.
“I understand that he’s a little controversial at the moment and he’s using that in some way to get a little attention for his campaign, and that’s good, too,” Voight said.
The Republican Jewish Coalition is an organization of Jewish Republicans, with more than 40,000 members and 45 chapters nationwide.
http://variety.com/2015/scene/news/jon-voight-republican-candidates-election-jewish-coalition-gala-1201514313/
...
Voight was honored at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Gala Sunday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel with the Hollywood Visionary Award. He said he’s impressed with the slew of Republicans who have already declared.
“It’s good to have debate — real debate — a difference on issues and different sides of the issues,” Voight said. “It’s an important election. I hope people are paying attention.”
Matthew Brooks, executive director of the RJC, said a possible Republican president is the best choice for the future of Israel’s relationship with the United States.
“It’s going to be very clear between a Hillary Clinton-likely candidacy, which means four more years of Barack Obama’s failed policies that relate to Israel, or it means a radically different Republican policy, which returns Israel back to its rightful place as a true and unwavering ally and a special friend of the United States.”
Voight specifically addressed Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who recently created controversy over his filibuster of the Patriot Act. Paul announced his bid for the presidency on April 7.
“I understand that he’s a little controversial at the moment and he’s using that in some way to get a little attention for his campaign, and that’s good, too,” Voight said.
The Republican Jewish Coalition is an organization of Jewish Republicans, with more than 40,000 members and 45 chapters nationwide.
http://variety.com/2015/scene/news/jon-voight-republican-candidates-election-jewish-coalition-gala-1201514313/
June 09, 2015, 01:08:34 AM
Man cited by Rand Paul in press for criminal justice reform dies
On the campaign trail, Rand Paul often emphasizes two major goals: criminal justice reform and expanding the Republican Party to include more young and minority voters. In particular, the Kentucky senator has pushed the GOP to speak out against policies that lead to the imprisonment of minorities. In doing so, Paul often cites the story of an black New York City man, Kalief Browder, who spent three years of his young life locked up at Rikers Island prison without trial.
The story has ended in tragedy: Browder, now 22, – committed suicide at his home on Saturday.
Late Sunday evening, Paul offered his condolences to the family of the young man whose story he has told many times.
“Kelley and I extend our most heartfelt sorrow and deepest condolences to the family of Kalief Browder. May his soul rest in peace,” Paul wrote on Facebook.
In 2010, Browder was a 16-year-old high school sophomore arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. He insisted he was innocent, but spent the next three years of his life – missing his junior and senior year of high school – locked up, awaiting trial. Browder’s case was eventually dismissed by prosecutors in March of 2013.
...
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/man-cited-rand-paul-press-criminal-justice-reform-dies
On the campaign trail, Rand Paul often emphasizes two major goals: criminal justice reform and expanding the Republican Party to include more young and minority voters. In particular, the Kentucky senator has pushed the GOP to speak out against policies that lead to the imprisonment of minorities. In doing so, Paul often cites the story of an black New York City man, Kalief Browder, who spent three years of his young life locked up at Rikers Island prison without trial.
The story has ended in tragedy: Browder, now 22, – committed suicide at his home on Saturday.
Late Sunday evening, Paul offered his condolences to the family of the young man whose story he has told many times.
“Kelley and I extend our most heartfelt sorrow and deepest condolences to the family of Kalief Browder. May his soul rest in peace,” Paul wrote on Facebook.
In 2010, Browder was a 16-year-old high school sophomore arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. He insisted he was innocent, but spent the next three years of his life – missing his junior and senior year of high school – locked up, awaiting trial. Browder’s case was eventually dismissed by prosecutors in March of 2013.
...
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/man-cited-rand-paul-press-criminal-justice-reform-dies
June 09, 2015, 01:07:27 AM
Breitbart (big right wing website) Presidential Primary - Vote For Rand!
Breitbart is having a "straw poll primary" ...vote and pass it on!
hxxp://www.breitbart.com/primary/ - Unlinked so they don't see legions coming from this site.
Latest results:
Cruz - 31%
Walker - 24%
Paul - 13%
Perry 5%
Carson 5%
Means little but just for fun.
Breitbart is having a "straw poll primary" ...vote and pass it on!
hxxp://www.breitbart.com/primary/ - Unlinked so they don't see legions coming from this site.
Latest results:
Cruz - 31%
Walker - 24%
Paul - 13%
Perry 5%
Carson 5%
Means little but just for fun.
June 09, 2015, 01:01:08 AM
Lindsey (or Flimsy as I call him) Graham comes out against Rand Paul's Kurdistan Idea
Interesting discussion last week on Morning Joe, where Scarbourugh acts unintentionally as a Paul surrogate, suggesting that Iraq be split up, and Graham says no we need to keep the country intact.
MSNBC Video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQawmbwclA
Interesting discussion last week on Morning Joe, where Scarbourugh acts unintentionally as a Paul surrogate, suggesting that Iraq be split up, and Graham says no we need to keep the country intact.
MSNBC Video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQawmbwclA
June 07, 2015, 11:39:33 PM
Rand Paul: Lindsey Graham "doesn't rise beyond middle school kind of rhetoric"
Reason: Lindsey Graham said, as part of his critique of your performance, that you're more scared of the NSA than you are of ISIS. Is that true?
Rand Paul: You know, I think there are people who...you have to consider the source. This is a person who said that he would use censorship if he needed to. This is the same person who said, "Well, when people ask for an attorney, you should tell them to shut up." This is the same person who's also said, "If they ask for a judge just drone 'em." I mean, some of the stuff I think doesn't rise beyond middle school kind of rhetoric. So it's hard to know when to respond to people like that.
But I think ultimately if you want to talk among adults about, "Is ISIS a threat to our country?" Yes. "Is NSA a threat sometimes to our liberty?" Yes. I personally don't think you have to trade one for the other. I don't think you have to trade your liberty for security. I think you can have both. I think the Constitution can be a powerful tool. The Constitution never said we wouldn't go after records of criminals or terrorists. The Constitution just says you have to individualize the suspicion; put a person's name on it. I tell people, "I want to collect more records of terrorists, just less records of innocent Americans."
Reason: Lindsey Graham said, as part of his critique of your performance, that you're more scared of the NSA than you are of ISIS. Is that true?
Rand Paul: You know, I think there are people who...you have to consider the source. This is a person who said that he would use censorship if he needed to. This is the same person who said, "Well, when people ask for an attorney, you should tell them to shut up." This is the same person who's also said, "If they ask for a judge just drone 'em." I mean, some of the stuff I think doesn't rise beyond middle school kind of rhetoric. So it's hard to know when to respond to people like that.
But I think ultimately if you want to talk among adults about, "Is ISIS a threat to our country?" Yes. "Is NSA a threat sometimes to our liberty?" Yes. I personally don't think you have to trade one for the other. I don't think you have to trade your liberty for security. I think you can have both. I think the Constitution can be a powerful tool. The Constitution never said we wouldn't go after records of criminals or terrorists. The Constitution just says you have to individualize the suspicion; put a person's name on it. I tell people, "I want to collect more records of terrorists, just less records of innocent Americans."
June 07, 2015, 11:27:34 PM
Republican Peter King (dumbass-neocon) won’t retreat from attack on Sen. Rand Paul
...
The bill passed by the Senate, known as the USA Freedom Act, resumed the collection of bulk phone records but required telecommunications companies, not the NSA, to hold the data. The government now must make specific requests to access the records.
The House had previously approved the USA Freedom Act. President Obama singed it into law shortly after it passed the Senate.
“We can have differences, we can debate them, we can work them out. You can vote against NSA is you want to,” said Mr. King. “But to use your one-person power to unilaterally shut it down, knowing that it is going to be reopened in a couple days — all he was doing was hurting American security at the same time, asking people to send him contributions. That was shameful and disgraceful.”
...
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/7/republican-peter-king-wont-retreat-attack-sen-rand/#ixzz3cRCDSJbJ
...
The bill passed by the Senate, known as the USA Freedom Act, resumed the collection of bulk phone records but required telecommunications companies, not the NSA, to hold the data. The government now must make specific requests to access the records.
The House had previously approved the USA Freedom Act. President Obama singed it into law shortly after it passed the Senate.
“We can have differences, we can debate them, we can work them out. You can vote against NSA is you want to,” said Mr. King. “But to use your one-person power to unilaterally shut it down, knowing that it is going to be reopened in a couple days — all he was doing was hurting American security at the same time, asking people to send him contributions. That was shameful and disgraceful.”
...
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/7/republican-peter-king-wont-retreat-attack-sen-rand/#ixzz3cRCDSJbJ
June 07, 2015, 11:23:57 PM
GOP neocon rep: Rand Paul 'absolutely disgraceful' on NSA
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had acted only in his own interest during the debate over the USA Freedom Act last week.
“What Rand Paul did was absolutely disgraceful,” he told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “It was shameful and disgraceful.”
King took issue with Paul’s attacks on the National Security Agency (NSA) and its intelligence-gathering methods.
“Rand Paul actually wanted to shut down the NSA for several days for no reason other than to raise money for his presidential campaign,” King said of the 2016 contender.
“He was hurting the American peoples’ security,” he added.
The Senate voted last Tuesday to approve the USA Freedom Act.
It ended the NSA’s bulk, warrantless collection of individual phone records while renewing less-controversial counterterrorism and intelligence measures.
King said changing the agency’s powers was too risky, given the threats menacing America.
He cited last Thursday’s news that hackers had exposed the data of 4 million current and former federal employees as an example of what is at stake in the national security fight.
More...http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/244228-gop-rep-rand-paul-absolutely-disgraceful-on-nsa
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had acted only in his own interest during the debate over the USA Freedom Act last week.
“What Rand Paul did was absolutely disgraceful,” he told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “It was shameful and disgraceful.”
King took issue with Paul’s attacks on the National Security Agency (NSA) and its intelligence-gathering methods.
“Rand Paul actually wanted to shut down the NSA for several days for no reason other than to raise money for his presidential campaign,” King said of the 2016 contender.
“He was hurting the American peoples’ security,” he added.
The Senate voted last Tuesday to approve the USA Freedom Act.
It ended the NSA’s bulk, warrantless collection of individual phone records while renewing less-controversial counterterrorism and intelligence measures.
King said changing the agency’s powers was too risky, given the threats menacing America.
He cited last Thursday’s news that hackers had exposed the data of 4 million current and former federal employees as an example of what is at stake in the national security fight.
More...http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/244228-gop-rep-rand-paul-absolutely-disgraceful-on-nsa
June 07, 2015, 11:07:40 PM
Nevada Stays With Caucus System in Blow to Jeb Bush, Boon to Rand Paul
Nevada is keeping its caucuses for selecting presidential nominees, a blow to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other contenders who hoped to shift the early-voting state to a system of primaries.
Caucuses are considered favorable to candidates who have a network of highly motivated activists, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has met with Bush, backed legislation to change to a primary, but the bill never came up for a vote before the Legislature adjourned Monday night. It was the subject of frantic horse-trading and lobbying in the state capitol in Carson City until the final minutes of the session.
The state's Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, chairman of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign in Nevada, had pushed for the bill.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/nevada-stays-caucus-system-blow-jeb-bush-31475619
Nevada is keeping its caucuses for selecting presidential nominees, a blow to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other contenders who hoped to shift the early-voting state to a system of primaries.
Caucuses are considered favorable to candidates who have a network of highly motivated activists, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has met with Bush, backed legislation to change to a primary, but the bill never came up for a vote before the Legislature adjourned Monday night. It was the subject of frantic horse-trading and lobbying in the state capitol in Carson City until the final minutes of the session.
The state's Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, chairman of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign in Nevada, had pushed for the bill.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/nevada-stays-caucus-system-blow-jeb-bush-31475619
June 07, 2015, 10:57:29 PM
Cato: Rating GOP Candidates on Taxes
Rand Paul posted a detailed plan on his campaign website a couple of months ago, but he has since taken it down amid reports that he is revising it to lower rates even further. As originally posted, Paul’s plan would establish a 17 percent flat tax; however, he is reportedly working with Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and others to bring that rate down to as low as 13 or 14 percent. The plan would also include a personal exemption, unlike most flat-tax plans, thereby lowering the effective tax rate still further. The size of the exemption was not spelled out, but according to some reports it could be as much as 20 percent. Capital gains, interest, and dividends would all be untaxed.
The estate, gift, and alternative minimum taxes would all be eliminated. Paul also plans a payroll-tax exemption for low- and middle-income earners, though he has not provided details, and such a cut could complicate financing for Social Security. And Paul also proposes even larger tax cuts for high-poverty areas. Paul himself estimates that his plan would reduce revenue by about $700 billion per year, though he intends to propose spending cuts to offset the loss. Paul’s foreign policy came under attack recently as “Barack Obama’s third term,” but he certainly isn’t pursuing Obama’s tax policies.
...http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/rating-gop-contenders-taxes
Rand Paul posted a detailed plan on his campaign website a couple of months ago, but he has since taken it down amid reports that he is revising it to lower rates even further. As originally posted, Paul’s plan would establish a 17 percent flat tax; however, he is reportedly working with Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and others to bring that rate down to as low as 13 or 14 percent. The plan would also include a personal exemption, unlike most flat-tax plans, thereby lowering the effective tax rate still further. The size of the exemption was not spelled out, but according to some reports it could be as much as 20 percent. Capital gains, interest, and dividends would all be untaxed.
The estate, gift, and alternative minimum taxes would all be eliminated. Paul also plans a payroll-tax exemption for low- and middle-income earners, though he has not provided details, and such a cut could complicate financing for Social Security. And Paul also proposes even larger tax cuts for high-poverty areas. Paul himself estimates that his plan would reduce revenue by about $700 billion per year, though he intends to propose spending cuts to offset the loss. Paul’s foreign policy came under attack recently as “Barack Obama’s third term,” but he certainly isn’t pursuing Obama’s tax policies.
...http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/rating-gop-contenders-taxes
June 07, 2015, 03:26:37 PM
What Matt Drudge Can Do for Rand Paul
...
Drudge's readership skews almost entirely American, heavily Republican, and older than Internet users who get their news from Facebook. A 2012 study found that 41 percent of Drudge readers identify as Republicans—a higher share of conservatives than other big news sites. That said, people who read Drudge religiously are much more likely to be Republican primary voters. So if Drudge deems one Republican candidate deserving of more positive or negative coverage than the rest of the field, it carries enormous influence on the small subset of the population that determines the Republican presidential nominee.
Drudge Report is the most influential news aggregator on the political Internet. Business Insider has estimated the site to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. With the help of one or two other people, Drudge updates the famously bare-bones site throughout the day with ALL-CAPS headlines and links to news outlets. It receives 2 million daily unique visitors and roughly 700 million monthly page views, according to Intermarkets. The Associated Press website receives more than half of its traffic from Drudge. Aside from search and social, the Drudge Report was the No. 1 traffic referrer to CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Politico, and National Journal.
...
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/what-matt-drudge-can-do-for-rand-paul-20150604
...
Drudge's readership skews almost entirely American, heavily Republican, and older than Internet users who get their news from Facebook. A 2012 study found that 41 percent of Drudge readers identify as Republicans—a higher share of conservatives than other big news sites. That said, people who read Drudge religiously are much more likely to be Republican primary voters. So if Drudge deems one Republican candidate deserving of more positive or negative coverage than the rest of the field, it carries enormous influence on the small subset of the population that determines the Republican presidential nominee.
Drudge Report is the most influential news aggregator on the political Internet. Business Insider has estimated the site to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. With the help of one or two other people, Drudge updates the famously bare-bones site throughout the day with ALL-CAPS headlines and links to news outlets. It receives 2 million daily unique visitors and roughly 700 million monthly page views, according to Intermarkets. The Associated Press website receives more than half of its traffic from Drudge. Aside from search and social, the Drudge Report was the No. 1 traffic referrer to CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Politico, and National Journal.
...
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/what-matt-drudge-can-do-for-rand-paul-20150604
June 07, 2015, 03:19:58 PM
Barron's Cover Story has Rand in Top Tier, but thinks he is "isolationist libertarian rerun"
Loath to be outdone by Fox’s winnowing, we’ve narrowed the field further, to seven we think will still be in the running for the nomination next March, after 57% of the 2,470 GOP delegates have been selected. They include Jeb Bush, a former two-term Florida governor who hasn’t campaigned since 2002, and who, we are told, will try branding himself merely as “Jeb”; former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who had a second career on Fox News; and first-term Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative hero noted for his debating skill and his support from the conservative billionaire Koch brothers.
Also in the running are crusty two-term Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who also spent 18 years in Congress and is the most experienced candidate; first-term Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, an isolationist libertarian rerun of his father, former Rep. Ron Paul; and first-term Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the most charismatic candidate and a brilliant campaigner, who has billionaire Miami auto dealer Norman Braman in his camp.
http://online.barrons.com/articles/who-will-win-the-gop-nomination-1433557143?mod=BOL_hp_highlight_1
Not highlighting link considering it's a major hitpiece on Rand while glorifying Jeb and Rubio. The writer is a major DC establishment hack.
Loath to be outdone by Fox’s winnowing, we’ve narrowed the field further, to seven we think will still be in the running for the nomination next March, after 57% of the 2,470 GOP delegates have been selected. They include Jeb Bush, a former two-term Florida governor who hasn’t campaigned since 2002, and who, we are told, will try branding himself merely as “Jeb”; former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who had a second career on Fox News; and first-term Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative hero noted for his debating skill and his support from the conservative billionaire Koch brothers.
Also in the running are crusty two-term Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who also spent 18 years in Congress and is the most experienced candidate; first-term Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, an isolationist libertarian rerun of his father, former Rep. Ron Paul; and first-term Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the most charismatic candidate and a brilliant campaigner, who has billionaire Miami auto dealer Norman Braman in his camp.
http://online.barrons.com/articles/who-will-win-the-gop-nomination-1433557143?mod=BOL_hp_highlight_1
Not highlighting link considering it's a major hitpiece on Rand while glorifying Jeb and Rubio. The writer is a major DC establishment hack.
June 07, 2015, 12:41:45 AM
Rene Plummer hosted dinner for Rand in NH tonight
Portsmouth power broker who seems to know just about everybody, and it was her ability to leverage those connections that helped her to fill the office buildings at Pease when it was an up-and-coming business park.
Plummer is vice president of marketing for Two Interna- tional Group, a commercial real estate development firm that was one of the driving forces leading the successful transformation of Pease International Tradeport from a shuttered Air Force base into a thriving business and industrial park.
Since 1997, Two International Group has built 16 buildings with 850,000 rentable square feet and developed more than 70 acres at the tradeport, which is widely lauded as one of the most successful military base redevelopment projects in the country. The company also owns One and Two Harbour Place in downtown Portsmouth.
When Two International Group was breaking ground on its first tower at Pease, it faced a daunting task: they were building on spec without any tenant commitments, not to mention pessimism from some observers that the base wouldn’t be able to attract businesses. So Plummer had an idea – she phoned a Wall Street Journal reporter, and was able to convince him to write an article on the redevelopment at Pease. The article created a buzz, tenants began to show interest “and the rest is history,” said Plummer.
Of course, the many high-powered contacts that Plummer had made through her numerous volunteer pursuits and political activities didn’t hurt, either. For years, she had been involved with Exeter Hospital’s Fashions by the Sea fundraiser, through which she met many corporate executives (who would ask Plummer to secure good seats for their wives).
more...http://www.nhbr.com/February-21-2014/Renee-Plummer-2014-Outstanding-Woman-in-Business/
Portsmouth power broker who seems to know just about everybody, and it was her ability to leverage those connections that helped her to fill the office buildings at Pease when it was an up-and-coming business park.
Plummer is vice president of marketing for Two Interna- tional Group, a commercial real estate development firm that was one of the driving forces leading the successful transformation of Pease International Tradeport from a shuttered Air Force base into a thriving business and industrial park.
Since 1997, Two International Group has built 16 buildings with 850,000 rentable square feet and developed more than 70 acres at the tradeport, which is widely lauded as one of the most successful military base redevelopment projects in the country. The company also owns One and Two Harbour Place in downtown Portsmouth.
When Two International Group was breaking ground on its first tower at Pease, it faced a daunting task: they were building on spec without any tenant commitments, not to mention pessimism from some observers that the base wouldn’t be able to attract businesses. So Plummer had an idea – she phoned a Wall Street Journal reporter, and was able to convince him to write an article on the redevelopment at Pease. The article created a buzz, tenants began to show interest “and the rest is history,” said Plummer.
Of course, the many high-powered contacts that Plummer had made through her numerous volunteer pursuits and political activities didn’t hurt, either. For years, she had been involved with Exeter Hospital’s Fashions by the Sea fundraiser, through which she met many corporate executives (who would ask Plummer to secure good seats for their wives).
more...http://www.nhbr.com/February-21-2014/Renee-Plummer-2014-Outstanding-Woman-in-Business/
June 07, 2015, 12:36:05 AM
19 Things in Rand Paul’s New Book No Other GOP A-Lister Would Be Caught Dead Saying
One of the main selling proposition in the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) is that he's "a new kind of Republican." In fact, that's the title of Chapter 5 in his new book Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America, which continuously makes the argument that the GOP needs to attract several new constituencies if it is to ever again win a national election.
As Paul puts it in a chapter about his outreach to inner-city voters:
Right now, the Republican brand sucks. I promised Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, that I would stop saying the GOP sucks, and I will (except for this last time). But both Reince and I know that the same old begets the same old. I believe the Republican Party and minorities have common ground. The Republican Party can rightly serve minority communities if we stay true to our core, be open to new ideas, and boldly profess what we believe in.
https://reason.com/blog/2015/06/05/19-things-in-rand-pauls-new-book-no-othe
One of the main selling proposition in the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) is that he's "a new kind of Republican." In fact, that's the title of Chapter 5 in his new book Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America, which continuously makes the argument that the GOP needs to attract several new constituencies if it is to ever again win a national election.
As Paul puts it in a chapter about his outreach to inner-city voters:
Right now, the Republican brand sucks. I promised Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, that I would stop saying the GOP sucks, and I will (except for this last time). But both Reince and I know that the same old begets the same old. I believe the Republican Party and minorities have common ground. The Republican Party can rightly serve minority communities if we stay true to our core, be open to new ideas, and boldly profess what we believe in.
https://reason.com/blog/2015/06/05/19-things-in-rand-pauls-new-book-no-othe
June 07, 2015, 12:33:23 AM
How Harry Reid just helped out Rand Paul
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) might have just done Rand Paul a solid.
Allow us to explain.
Reid's home state, Nevada, has the chance to be a major player in the 2016 presidential nominating contest. That's because in 2008, then-Majority Leader Reid successfully maneuvered to make Nevada one of four early nominating states for Democrats. Not to be left out, Republicans followed suit.
There was one catch: Nevada's parties would hold a caucus -- the better to not upset New Hampshire, which understandably waned to maintain its status is the first state to hold a primary. (Nevada was originally scheduled ahead of New Hampshire, though today it holds its caucuses after the Granite State.)
The problem: A caucus is more difficult to put on than a primary and has lower turnout. It's also much more unpredictable. Across the nation, caucuses generally draw 5 percent of voters, while primaries can draw anywhere from 15 percent to 25 percent, Darrell West, an elections expert with the Brookings Institution, told me this spring.
[How Rand Paul may have just gotten lucky in Vegas]
In 2012, just about 8 percent of the state's Republican voters participated in the Nevada caucus, the AP's Nicholas Riccardi reported. That's higher than your average caucus, but Nevada is supposed to be a crucial state, where one would expect higher turnout.
...more...http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/03/how-harry-reid-just-helped-out-rand-paul/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) might have just done Rand Paul a solid.
Allow us to explain.
Reid's home state, Nevada, has the chance to be a major player in the 2016 presidential nominating contest. That's because in 2008, then-Majority Leader Reid successfully maneuvered to make Nevada one of four early nominating states for Democrats. Not to be left out, Republicans followed suit.
There was one catch: Nevada's parties would hold a caucus -- the better to not upset New Hampshire, which understandably waned to maintain its status is the first state to hold a primary. (Nevada was originally scheduled ahead of New Hampshire, though today it holds its caucuses after the Granite State.)
The problem: A caucus is more difficult to put on than a primary and has lower turnout. It's also much more unpredictable. Across the nation, caucuses generally draw 5 percent of voters, while primaries can draw anywhere from 15 percent to 25 percent, Darrell West, an elections expert with the Brookings Institution, told me this spring.
[How Rand Paul may have just gotten lucky in Vegas]
In 2012, just about 8 percent of the state's Republican voters participated in the Nevada caucus, the AP's Nicholas Riccardi reported. That's higher than your average caucus, but Nevada is supposed to be a crucial state, where one would expect higher turnout.
...more...http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/03/how-harry-reid-just-helped-out-rand-paul/
June 07, 2015, 12:28:36 AM
Meet Rand Paul’s Nerd Army: Like Mathletes, but for Liberty
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/03/meet-rand-paul-s-nerd-army-like-mathletes-but-for-liberty.html
Behind every good liberty-loving crusader is a liberty-loving posse.
When Senator Rand Paul left the Capitol on Sunday evening, after successfully causing the temporary death of several provisions in the PATRIOT Act, he and Congressman Justin Amash piled into a shiny, black Tesla, driven by Congressman Thomas Massie.
With his opposition to mass government surveillance on the American people, Paul stands alone in the wilderness among his Republican colleagues in the Senate. In the House, however, Paul has a band of cheerleaders—and they seem to follow him everywhere.
Amash and Massie had spent the duration of Paul’s lengthy speech observing from the benches in the back of the Senate chamber and out in the hallway, promising to block any measure the Senate sent to the House in the event that they were able to get something passed before the PATRIOT Act expired at midnight. Amash said he and Massie—along with members of the Liberty Caucus—had remained in D.C. last week to “guard the House” from any leadership attempts to pass the renewals.
More...http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/03/meet-rand-paul-s-nerd-army-like-mathletes-but-for-liberty.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/03/meet-rand-paul-s-nerd-army-like-mathletes-but-for-liberty.html
Behind every good liberty-loving crusader is a liberty-loving posse.
When Senator Rand Paul left the Capitol on Sunday evening, after successfully causing the temporary death of several provisions in the PATRIOT Act, he and Congressman Justin Amash piled into a shiny, black Tesla, driven by Congressman Thomas Massie.
With his opposition to mass government surveillance on the American people, Paul stands alone in the wilderness among his Republican colleagues in the Senate. In the House, however, Paul has a band of cheerleaders—and they seem to follow him everywhere.
Amash and Massie had spent the duration of Paul’s lengthy speech observing from the benches in the back of the Senate chamber and out in the hallway, promising to block any measure the Senate sent to the House in the event that they were able to get something passed before the PATRIOT Act expired at midnight. Amash said he and Massie—along with members of the Liberty Caucus—had remained in D.C. last week to “guard the House” from any leadership attempts to pass the renewals.
More...http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/03/meet-rand-paul-s-nerd-army-like-mathletes-but-for-liberty.html
June 07, 2015, 12:17:41 AM
Ron talks about Rand on CNN w/ Michael Smerconish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVNlTTzSCms
Ron tells it like it is like he always has. Very supportive of Rand, his son.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVNlTTzSCms
Ron tells it like it is like he always has. Very supportive of Rand, his son.
June 07, 2015, 12:12:27 AM
HUNDREDS PACK MANCHESTER OFFICE TO HEAR RAND PAUL BASH ‘ARROGANT WASHINGTON MACHINE’: ‘THEY DON’T READ THE BILLS’
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — At least two hundred people packed into a tiny office space in downtown Manchester to hear 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)93%
bash the “Washington machine” and hammer both parties in Congress for failing to read legislation like Obamatrade before voting on it.
He also touted his big victory this past week against the National Security Agency (NSA) bulk data collection program, and the PATRIOT Act—which he forced to expire. Paul said as the crowd of hundreds—which started arriving more than an hour before the senator came—cheered:
Tonight we’ve got a message, a message for the Washington machine: We’ve come to take our liberty back. Some in Washington say that you have to trade your liberty for security so we had a big grand debate, 10 and a half hours on one day then we came back for a few more hours. Now some in the Washington machine didn’t want me to be there and they didn’t want to be there. They wanted to be on vacation. We caused them to give a little bit of their vacation up to have a very important debate: Can you have your liberty, can you keep your liberty and can you also have security?
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/05/hundreds-pack-manchester-office-to-hear-rand-paul-bash-arrogant-washington-machine-they-dont-read-the-bills/
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — At least two hundred people packed into a tiny office space in downtown Manchester to hear 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)93%
bash the “Washington machine” and hammer both parties in Congress for failing to read legislation like Obamatrade before voting on it.
He also touted his big victory this past week against the National Security Agency (NSA) bulk data collection program, and the PATRIOT Act—which he forced to expire. Paul said as the crowd of hundreds—which started arriving more than an hour before the senator came—cheered:
Tonight we’ve got a message, a message for the Washington machine: We’ve come to take our liberty back. Some in Washington say that you have to trade your liberty for security so we had a big grand debate, 10 and a half hours on one day then we came back for a few more hours. Now some in the Washington machine didn’t want me to be there and they didn’t want to be there. They wanted to be on vacation. We caused them to give a little bit of their vacation up to have a very important debate: Can you have your liberty, can you keep your liberty and can you also have security?
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/05/hundreds-pack-manchester-office-to-hear-rand-paul-bash-arrogant-washington-machine-they-dont-read-the-bills/
June 07, 2015, 12:04:28 AM
Rand Paul seeks to tie Pentagon funding to release of classified 9/11 docs
The Kentucky Senator and GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul filed an amendment to a military funding bill, demanding the release of 28 pages from the 9/11 report that have been classified since 2002 and allegedly link Saudi Arabia to the attacks.
Paul originally submitted a separate bill, titled the “Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Act” (S.1471), earlier this week, with the backing of Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York). On Friday afternoon, however, he said there would also be an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – a bill funding military operations for the next fiscal year.
“For over 13 years, the family members of the victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have been deprived of the details surrounding the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry,” Paul said. ”I firmly believe the American people deserve a government that instills trust and a restoration of their sense of security, and think my amendment is a step in the right direction.”
While the wording of the amendment is not known, Paul says it would “require” the President to declassify the pages within 60 days of the NDAA’s adoption.
More...http://rt.com/usa/265375-rand-paul-28-pages-pentagon/
The Kentucky Senator and GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul filed an amendment to a military funding bill, demanding the release of 28 pages from the 9/11 report that have been classified since 2002 and allegedly link Saudi Arabia to the attacks.
Paul originally submitted a separate bill, titled the “Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Act” (S.1471), earlier this week, with the backing of Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York). On Friday afternoon, however, he said there would also be an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – a bill funding military operations for the next fiscal year.
“For over 13 years, the family members of the victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have been deprived of the details surrounding the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry,” Paul said. ”I firmly believe the American people deserve a government that instills trust and a restoration of their sense of security, and think my amendment is a step in the right direction.”
While the wording of the amendment is not known, Paul says it would “require” the President to declassify the pages within 60 days of the NDAA’s adoption.
More...http://rt.com/usa/265375-rand-paul-28-pages-pentagon/
June 07, 2015, 12:02:23 AM
EXCLUSIVE — RAND PAUL SLAMS RUBIO OVER OBAMATRADE: ‘WE SHOULD READ LEGISLATION BEFORE WE VOTE ON IT’
MERRIMACK, New Hampshire — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is opening fire on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and everyone else who backed or is backing Obamatrade without reading the text of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) would fast track.
In an interview on Saturday morning, when asked about the revelation that Rubio and others in the Republican Party voted to fast-track the TPP in the Senate—and many in the House GOP leadership have been pushing it—without reading the text of the TPP in the secret room inside the Capitol, Paul went ballistic.
“The American people are frustrated by Congress—Congress has about a 10 percent approval rating,” Paul said. “I think part of that is that they don’t think we’re taking the amount of time to do an adequate job to read the legislation. It’s sort of twofold: They don’t give us enough time, and they also make the bills too long. I have a bill called Read The Bills Act, and in it there’s a requirement that you have to wait one day for every 20 pages of legislation. So 800-page legislation [like Obamatrade] would wait 40 days. You’d wait 40 days so we’d have adequate time to read it. Yeah, I’m a believer that we should read legislation before we vote on it.”
Paul’s interview with Breitbart News came inside Joey’s Diner, where several presidential candidates campaign. Paul gave brief remarks to kick off an event with local conservatives, then shook hands, talked with patrons, and took pictures with them.
Paul also said that “absolutely” President Barack Obama should immediately release the TPP text, instead of keeping it hidden from the public.
...
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/06/exclusive-rand-paul-slams-rubio-over-obamatrade-we-should-read-legislation-before-we-vote-on-it/
MERRIMACK, New Hampshire — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is opening fire on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and everyone else who backed or is backing Obamatrade without reading the text of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) would fast track.
In an interview on Saturday morning, when asked about the revelation that Rubio and others in the Republican Party voted to fast-track the TPP in the Senate—and many in the House GOP leadership have been pushing it—without reading the text of the TPP in the secret room inside the Capitol, Paul went ballistic.
“The American people are frustrated by Congress—Congress has about a 10 percent approval rating,” Paul said. “I think part of that is that they don’t think we’re taking the amount of time to do an adequate job to read the legislation. It’s sort of twofold: They don’t give us enough time, and they also make the bills too long. I have a bill called Read The Bills Act, and in it there’s a requirement that you have to wait one day for every 20 pages of legislation. So 800-page legislation [like Obamatrade] would wait 40 days. You’d wait 40 days so we’d have adequate time to read it. Yeah, I’m a believer that we should read legislation before we vote on it.”
Paul’s interview with Breitbart News came inside Joey’s Diner, where several presidential candidates campaign. Paul gave brief remarks to kick off an event with local conservatives, then shook hands, talked with patrons, and took pictures with them.
Paul also said that “absolutely” President Barack Obama should immediately release the TPP text, instead of keeping it hidden from the public.
...
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/06/exclusive-rand-paul-slams-rubio-over-obamatrade-we-should-read-legislation-before-we-vote-on-it/
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