Tag Archives: Ron Paul

Politics

Rand Paul In For 2016 White House Run

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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)

Houston Politics

Simple Gifts: Bill Clinton’s DNC2012 Speech

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Regardless of the actual results on November 6th, former President William Jefferson Clinton made history on September 5th. He gave a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention that will be talked about for years to come. The brilliant man that has traversed every corner of the USA and the globe delivered a speech last night that was as down home as an Arkansas watermelon. And yet, he countered the falsehoods of the GOP and Romney/Ryan campaign in one 48-minute swoop. He was able to not only give a speech about policy details (Ezra Klein even referred to him as the “Wonk-In-Chief“), but also that landed on the very pulse of the American people. Simple. Direct. Genius.

But even beyond the budget specifics, perhaps the most effective thing President Clinton’s speech happened in the first 20 minutes. He reminded the American people that bi-partisanship is a two-way street. As many attempts as President Obama made to reach out to the GOP, they would have none of it. He also did something that few Democrats today are willing to do… told us that the GOP of 2012 has been taken over by its extremes. Try as they might, this is not the party of Ronald Reagan, or even Bush 43. They have lost their ability to compromise, and to GOVERN. Time and again this was evidenced through House GOP mutiny from Speaker John Boehner over the debt-ceiling fight, to the incessant repetition of 33 votes to “repeal Obamacare”. The Republican Party in Washington has a real problem.

Of course you don’t need masterful Clintonian rhetoric to figure out that the current iteration of the Republican Party is a mess… just ask a Ron Paul supporter. Ask them why the party went from state to state to change their party rules and ensure that Paul would be flushed out of the primary. Ask them why Mr. Ron Paul got 190 delegates (which even that is up for debate, based on whether the Paul supporters would be willing to sue) but wasn’t even allowed to speak at the Convention. If they can’t unite the inner factions of their party, why should we trust them to be able to unite and govern the country?

Here’s the full video of President Clinton’s speech…

Houston Politics

The ABCs of the GOP: M is for…

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Marginalization

This week’s 2012 Republican National Convention was meant to be a spectacle of all things GOP. It’s the one time of the year when the party’s best and brightest, young and old come together to celebrate what it means to be “Republican”. By all accounts, RNC 2012 was a success as they have now achieved the two most important tasks of a political party… nominate their candidate for President, and define themselves to the American people through the 2012 Republican Party Platform. Undoubtedly, Mitt Romney gave one of the best speeches of his political career, and the party did it’s duty to officially nominate he and Paul as their new leaders. Mission accomplished.

But there was another (if perhaps unwritten and unspoken) task for this year’s Republican Party as well… it’s to form the most important coalition in the history of the GOP. A coalition to marginalize the party’s moderates and Libertarians in favor of the Tea Party and Religious Right.

Last Sunday’s Ron Paul rally was ground zero for Republican marginalization. Drawing record crowds to the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome in Tampa, the Liberty movement’s “counterconvention” was aptly titled We Are The Future. The vast majority of the crowd was of college age and seemingly had enough enthusiasm to get anyone they wanted into the Whitehouse. Speakers sent grossly mixed messages of encouraging support to Republicans while simultaneously scorning the party for their (probably illegal) ouster of Liberty delegates. But amidst all of the excitement, an ugly contradiction was clear… Ron Paul and his supporters lost. Their dream to be the future was yet again a dream deferred. Just like 2008, the Liberty folks will again sit on the margins of the real GOP, and just be exploited for their youth and initiative.

As the GOP charges toward the Religious Right with most social issues, this is quickly isolating party Moderates. Sure, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez gave rousing speeches at the convention. This is not to be overlooked, but having a few representatives to show diversity within the party does not excuse the whole.

Take the Conservative LGBT group GOProud… so far the only LGBT Conservative group to fully endorse the Romney/Ryan ticket. Despite their continued attempts to play by the GOP’s constantly-changing rule book, GOProud was marginalized at this year’s RNC in favor of the Far-Right. Once again, the Republican Party committed to “traditional marriage” 100 percent by adopting it as the party platform. But according to GOProud founding member Christopher Barron, that doesn’t matter…

When asked if he could clarify GOProud’s position on the Republican Party platform, this was his response…

Then I asked if GOProud also supports DOMA like the rest of the GOP…

So apparently there’s a disconnect here. The party platform is supposed to be a statement of what that political party believes. It steers the ship towards legislative priorities of the party, and to select candidates for national, state and local offices. Despite Mr. Barron’s claims that “no one reads it”, the GOP 2012 platform will travel home with every delegate, and be given to every campaign chair across the country. The document certainly is important. After all, if the entirety of GOP did NOT support DOMA it wouldn’t be law today. Democrats are the ones fighting against it, NOT Republicans. GOProud can claim what they want, but their party is actively fighting against them. Just as Republicans are fighting against Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Sarah Palin and any other figure that threatens the delicate alliances holding the “big tent” party together. As more Conservatives and Moderates get left out in the cold, is the GOP really a “big tent” party at all? And how long are these growing Conservative forces willing to play a game at which they always lose? How long can sit on the party’s political outskirts before there’s a real revolt?

As RNC 2012 is now in the history books, Mitt Rommey and Reince Priebus can breathe a sigh of relief. But the tense forces within the GOP haven’t lessened… If anything they may be heightened. It’s going to take every bit of strategic intellect to make it through November 6th. And the margin of error couldn’t possibly be any thinner.

Houston Politics

The ABCs of the GOP… H is for

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HYSTERIA

In the 2008 election, it was Jeremiah Wright. In 2009 and 2010 it was Death Panels. 2011 it was the debt ceiling. And so far in 2012, it’s been Keystone XL and Fast and Furious. Oh, and that little thing we call the election that’s happening in November. What do all of these things have in common? Carefully crafted and managed hysteria that was started by the GOP. Of course by now, we’re used to this. We expect Republicans to be the loudest voice in the room and to weave a cloud of confusion over our nation’s issues. We also expect them to reject all solutions put forth by Democrats, but not produce any alternatives. It really is the glue that holds their Game Plan together. As long as Republicans continue to throw flames on the fire, they will light their pitchforks and unite against a common cause.

But does one ever wonder why all of this hype and rage is necessary? If these people are looking for real solutions to our government’s issues, then why aren’t they offerring them? Why devote so much time (and a WHOLE LOT of money) creating distractions and stoking fear?

The answer is quite simple… to hold the party together at all costs. The Republican Party is experiencing absolute inner turmoil the likes of which haven’t been seen for generations. Though it seems long ago, the Republcan Primaries revealed some terrible disorder and chaos. The GOP’s fissures started with the Tea Party, but in 2012 have developed into all-out fault lines that could shift the political continent at any second. The two words Republicans fear the most are not “Barack Obama”, but RON PAUL.

With each state convention, Ron Paul adds to his impressive delegate total. And per the official RNC rules, if Mr. Paul wins a plurality of the delegates in just 5 states, he can legally challenge Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination. So far, Mr. Paul has officially won that plurality in 4 states… Iowa, Minnesota, Maine and Louisiana. Oh, wait… and then there’s Massachusetts, were Ron Paul technically won a majority of delegates at the state convention. At first, Massachusetts party officials honored the win, but later changed their stripes. They disqualified 16 of Massachusetts delegates to the GOP national convention, after they were elected by RNC rules. This is both immoral and illegal… the state party knows it. But right now, they’re fighting dirty to hold on to any party they can salvage. Take it from Evan Kenney, one young Paul supporter and the LEGAL delegate winner… the establishment is doing more harm than good in their abuse of this powerful movement.

Even in the midst of these shady dealings, the Paul team still has one more shot to win 5th state “free and clear”… this weekend’s convention in Nebraska. Left, right and center, all eyes will be watching to see how it turns out.

Despite what the Republican establishment wants us to believe, Ron Paul is still a very viable candidate for the GOP nomination. The establishment wing of the party is in a real bind right now. Any move that they make will alienate one major faction of their voters, but going against the Ron Paul movement could be dangerous for years to come by abolishing the youth vote. Believe it or not, the GOP the real hysteria has yet to begin. They can shut their eyes and ears all the want, but the real REVOLUTION is not ready to make nice.