Topic: GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist - page 84. (Read 205816 times)

In 2008, Barack Obama was the candidate of change, first for Democrats and then the nation. For 2016, those same political stars, to be the agent of change, appear to be lining up behind Rand Paul, Kentucky’s Republican U.S. senator.

Yes, that Rand Paul, who is more accurately labeled as a shrink-the-government Libertarian and has a long history of questionable statements on race. Just as there are signs that Americans are not enthralled by Hillary Clinton’s likely return to the presidential fold (In June, it was Monica Lewinsky; in July, it’s her book), there are signs that Paul is pulling ahead of better-known Republican rivals.

It’s not just that Paul is the clear frontrunner in a new and credible national poll. He has supporters across every key GOP demographic by age and faction, from Tea Partiers to corporate America to the religious right. Younger men, who aren’t likely to vote for Clinton, find his "maverick" personality new and appealing. Similarly, the millennial generation is superficially embracing the Libertarian idea that the government should leave them alone to do as they please. Marijuana laws are one example.

“This guy can win the nomination,” pollster John Zogby said Friday, adding he did not have that view until he took a deeper look at a June 27-29 nationwide survey he conducted. Paul was not only in first place with 20 percent in a crowded field of 10, he had deeper support than “establishment” Republicans. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and ex-Florida Jeb Bush each polled at 13 percent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had 8 percent, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had 7 percent. Five others had even less support. Other national polls put Paul in the lead, but Zogby has him clearly out front.

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LOL, yep ole stiffy is always trotted out there as some respected voice, usually about foreign affairs, but he's nothing more than a cheerleader for the military industrial complex and more death and destruction. Hence, he's always loaded w/ money for reelection.

it's funny how mccain has been wrong with virtually everything, and yet he still acts like he's some sort of foreign affairs expert.

Read more...http://thehill.com/policy/defense/212078-mccain-paul-a-member-of-fortress-america-wing-of-gop

Much of what I know about Rick Perry is based on his horrible performance in the debates last time around. Since then, he has claimed he was recovering from surgery (on his back?) and that he was affected by prescription drugs during the debates.

Either way, he is the guy who said "I am actually for gun control: Use both hands" (to better control the gun) and that is pretty funny. 

oh man, if he gets the nomination i know where to put all my money in vegas for the 2016 election. it would be hilarious though, so i wouldn't mind it. half of his campaign will be defending his level of intelligence.

McCain: Paul a part of ‘Fortress America’ wing

By Martin Matishak - 07/13/14 10:03 AM EDT

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday waded into a brewing foreign policy debate inside the Republican Party, saying Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) represents a more isolationist outlook.

Paul is “part of a wing of the party that has been there prior to World War I, that is a withdrawal to ‘Fortress America,’” McCain said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

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McCain, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with Paul, acknowledged the freshman senator has a “far different view than mine of the world.”

But, McCain said, he understood Paul’s appeal to Americans “weary of involvement” after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"So I'm not particularly interested in getting between Senator Paul and Governor Perry, but I do believe that the things we're seeing in the world today, in greater turmoil than at any time in my lifetime, is a direct result of an absence of American leadership," McCain said. "And we are paying a very, very heavy price now, and we will in the future, until we decide to understand that America is an essential role in maintaining peace and stability throughout the world, and that does not mean sending combat troops everywhere."

rick perry must be one of the dumbest politicians in america (outside maybe michelle bachmann, or sarah palin when she was one)... why are we even giving his voice credence?

"Isolationism" is a propaganda/BS word. Rand is for peaceful trade with other nations, not 'isolation' from the world.

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) slams Rand Paul's 'isolationist policies' in Washington Post op-ed


More...htxp://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rick-perry-isolationist-policies-make-the-threat-of-terrorism-even-greater/2014/07/11/6dbfba4a-06f0-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html
hit pieces get no linkage

Rick Perry, a Republican, is governor of Texas.

As a veteran, and as a governor who has supported Texas National Guard deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I can understand the emotions behind isolationism. Many people are tired of war, and the urge to pull back is a natural, human reaction. Unfortunately, we live in a world where isolationist policies would only endanger our national security even further.

That’s why it’s disheartening to hear fellow Republicans, such as Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), suggest that our nation should ignore what’s happening in Iraq. The main problem with this argument is that it means ignoring the profound threat that the group now calling itself the Islamic State poses to the United States and the world.

In the Islamic State, which came to prominence in Syria and now controls ample territory, weapons and cash in both that country and Iraq, the world is confronting an even more radicalized version of Islamic extremism than al-Qaeda. This group is well-trained, technologically sophisticated and adept at recruitment, with thousands of people with European passports fighting on its side, as well as some Americans.

This represents a real threat to our national security — to which Paul seems curiously blind — because any of these passport carriers can simply buy a plane ticket and show up in the United States without even a visa. It’s particularly chilling when you consider that one American has already carried out a suicide bombing and a terrorist-trained European allegedly killed four at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

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Rand Paul is a man of conviction. His reputation for acting on principle is the foundation on which he has begun to build the infrastructure of a presidential campaign. It is very difficult, however, for a man of conviction to adjust his image without compromising his reputation for integrity.

In the realm of foreign policy, Senator Paul faces the challenge of dispelling perceptions that he shares the isolationist tendencies of his father, former congressman Ron Paul of Texas. He wants to convince conservative voters that he has been mislabeled and misunderstood. His approach to foreign affairs has not changed, yet Senator Paul now presents his views as applications of Ronald Reagan’s firm but cautious approach to national security.

The Achilles’ heel of this rebranding effort has been Paul’s own candor. When speaking off the cuff, he has made observations that seem to reflect the worldview of President Reagan’s left-wing and isolationist critics. In that vein, Paul suggested that the United States provoked Japan before Pearl Harbor and that Dick Cheney supported the invasion of Iraq in order to make a profit for his former employer Halliburton.

Now there is the strange case of Paul’s reading list for students, which can be found on his official Senate website. The foreign policy section of the list consists entirely of works that blame the United States for the rise of Islamic extremism while offering solutions that verge on isolationism. Most of the books also express a sharp hostility toward Israel and toward those who believe that U.S. foreign policy should serve the cause of human freedom. Reagan, to put it mildly, was a friend of Israel and advocate of freedom.

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The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich A. Hayek

The Conscience of a Conservative, Barry Goldwater

Human Action, Ludwig von Mises

Conceived in Liberty, Murray N. Rothbard

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

The Revolution: A Manifesto, Ron Paul

End the Fed, Ron Paul

A Foreign Policy of Freedom, Ron Paul

Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, Thomas E. Woods Jr.

by Rand Paul
July 11, 2014

A friend of mine's brother was convicted of a felony for growing marijuana plants in his college dorm. Thirty years later he still can't vote and his felony record prevents him from getting a good job.

Because of his story and others like it, I introduced bipartisan legislation to restore federal voting rights for non-violent offenders upon release from prison.

This week, I introduced another piece of legislation with Senator Cory Booker to make some reforms to the criminal justice system that will help non-violent individuals reintegrate into society and secure employment.

Both of these bills will reform existing federal law to allow low-level offenders a second chance. These ideas will both allow the restoration of the right to vote and the opportunity to remove a permanent blot preventing employment for those released after non-violent punishment.

First, we should restore voting rights to non-violent ex-offenders upon release, so they can vote in federal elections. This is an issue that I feel strongly about.

This past February, I testified before the Kentucky Senate to urge a Kentucky constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to many ex-offenders upon release.

The war on drugs has disproportionately affected men and women of color; minorities are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for certain nonviolent drug offenses, like drug possession, even though surveys show that white Americans use drugs at the similar rate. This is a travesty.

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They tried getting that law changed but believe it or not, democrats run the state house and they didn't go for it obviously. My guess is, Rand and co will know what kind of shot they have over the first handful of primaries or caucuses and if the steam is gathering they'll go for broke or otherwise pull out and stay in the Senate.

Hey, does anyone know the answer to this?

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i'm not sure we live in the same world.. take a look here http://www.nationalreview.com/article/347151/rand-paul-and-israel.
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Zogby national poll: Rand Paul 20%, Christie 13%, Bush 13%, Walker 8%, Rubio 7%

More...http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnzogby/2014/07/09/rand-paul-leads-the-gop-pack-for-2016-and-not-by-a-little/
Note that Cruz and Huck aren't in this one which they were when I pointed it out in the last one.

Rand is a huge asset in the Senate. Is it true he will lose his seat if he enters the Pres race, since in Kentucky he cannot run in both races?