Tag Archives: Rand Paul 2016

Rand Paul In For 2016 White House Run

After months of intense preparation, debate and prayer, the big moment for Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has finally arrived.  Via the New York Times, he now joins the hunt for the White House…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky declared himself a candidate for the Republican nomination for president on Tuesday, aiming to upset the political order in Washington and disprove those in his own party who doubt that a fiercely libertarian conservative can be a serious contender.

“I am running for president to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government,” Mr. Paul wrote in a post on his website on Tuesday.

[…]

Mr. Paul, 52, becomes the second Republican to enter the 2016 campaign, following his colleague in the Senate, Ted Cruz of Texas.

It will not remain a small field for long. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, is expected to announce his candidacy next week. Also waiting in the wings are Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, who are expected to declare soon, rounding out what Republicans say is perhaps their most competitive and robust slate of candidates since 1980, when Ronald Reagan faced competition from party heavyweights like George Bush and Howard Baker.

Carrying the torch from his father Ron Paul, son Rand is sure to stir up a lot of passion and dedication, especially from younger Libertarians (who have been noticeably absent from Party politics in recent years).  But if Rand Paul is to be successful in his quest for the Presidency, he has a much bigger task to accomplish than his forbears.  He must challenge GOP conventions enough the next generation of voters will stick with him, yet somehow appeal enough to the mainstream to run a credible race.

On this magnanimous goal, Paul isn’t exactly off to a great start.  For one thing, if a founding principles for his campaign is to limit wasteful spending, then why would he want supporters to waste $1000.00 of their hard-earned money on a signed pocket copy of the US Constitution??  Bit of an oxymoron there.

rand paul constitution

 

For Liberals, the news of Rand Paul’s race is more of a wait and see proposition.  He may not end up with many Left-leaning votes, but his opinions on issues like Criminal Justice Reform will certainly get noticed over the next several months.   For good or ill, Rand Paul will be sticking around for a while.  But it’s up to the GOP to determine just how far he can go.

rand paul

(Photo credit:  Rand Paul youtube video)

Rep. Steve King Confronted by DREAMers, Caught on Tape

Erika Andiola and Cesar Vargas, both members of the Dream Action Coalition, shook hands with the two lawmakers and introduced themselves as beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program — a program King pushed to end through legislation in the House. Paul was quickly whisked away from the table by an aide and even left his food behind as Andiola handed her DACA card to King and offered to let him rip it up.

The Dream Action Coalition posted video of the confrontation to YouTube.

“Stop a minute,” King said as he grabbed Andiola’s wrist. “You’re very good at English. You know what I’m saying.”

“I was raised in the United States,” Andiola said.

King continued to insist that Andiola was misunderstanding him.

“I spoke of drug smugglers. Now, you’re not going to tell me you’re one of them are you?” he asked.

“Do I look like a drug smuggler to you?” she said.

Don’t worry if you missed Senator Rand Paul, or were waiting for him to weigh in on the conversation… he was only there long enough to take one bite of his sandwich, and the second he heard Andiola say the word “DREAMer” he bolted like he stole something.  Talk about a display of Presidential leadership!!

So he leaves Representative King to represent Congressional Republican opinion on the issue, and boy does he.  And that’s part of the problem with this exchange… King isn’t some Joe Blow protester holding up signs at the Capitol.  He carries the responsibility of KNOWING these issues inside and out for the 700,000 constituents we PAY him to represent.  This guy here, telling Andiola that she “speaks good English” and completely ignoring her when she said her mom left her native country originally to flee violence, is on the taxpayer payrolls making $175,000 dollars per year.  If he can’t have a more informed opinion on these sensitive issues, who can?

As ugly as the Congressman’s comments are, at least we have now heard them.  Kudos to Erika Andiola and Cesar Vargas for having the courage to confront these lawmakers, and to the DREAM Action Coalition for posting the video and exposing Steve King’s views to the world.  Hopefully the outcry over things like this will bolster President Obama’s urgency for an Executive Order.  If the President is waiting for people like King to “come around” on Immigration reform (and ripping families apart in the process just to prove he can enforce current law), it ain’t gonna happen.  Republicans have proven once again that they will not behave responsibly on these (or any other) issues, at least not in 2014. Time to act, Mr. President.