GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul draws packed crowd at GW
GOP presidential candidate focuses on his libertarian views during stop at Foggy Bottom Campus.

Lukas Grund said he has seen Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a Republican presidential candidate, speak a handful of times. Mr. Grund saw Sen. Paul, notably, at the Conservative Political Action Conference and at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, not far from Mr. Grund’s suburban Philly home.

Mr. Grund, a GW sophomore and the president/founder of GW Students for Rand Paul, saw Sen. Paul speak to a crowded Grand Ballroom in the Marvin Center. Mr. Grund said the first-term senator’s message last Thursday afternoon was different.

“He definitely catered toward a crowd of students, as opposed to CPAC, where it’s catered to a crowd of conservatives,” Mr. Grund said. “His libertarian message is very versatile and resonates with a lot of people.”

Sen. Paul, who is polling at around 3 percent, spoke for nearly 22 minutes during a Foggy Bottom campaign stop in which the libertarian-minded senator stayed in his comfort zone. He spent much of his time criticizing the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens, as well as the war on drugs, drawing the most sustained cheers for the latter and the strategic use of a mid-level expletive a few minutes in.

“I don’t think we should be putting you and your friends in jail for marijuana,” said Sen. Paul, elected to the Senate in 2010. “It’s a dumb idea.”

Sen. Paul also talked about shrinking the government—“Government so small, you can barely see it,” he said—and, in the name of second chances, proposed expunging drug records so it is easier for those convicted of drug offenses to get jobs. Sen. Paul blamed former President Bill Clinton and, by extension, Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, for what he views as too-strict drug laws. He used Ferguson, Mo., to sell his point.

“One thing you could figure out from meeting people in the community is for every 100 black women in Ferguson, there are only 60 black men. We’ve incarcerated a whole generation of people,” Sen. Paul said. “Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, they were part of the problem. They were the ones that introduced all this war on drugs and made it worse.”

...http://gwtoday.gwu.edu/rand-paul-draws-packed-crowd-gw

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[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul: Polls underestimate strength of his campaign

CEDAR RAPIDS — Rand Paul’s fourth-place finish in the Iowa secretary of state’s youth caucus — a much better position than in national polling — has the Kentucky senator thinking about a new strategy.

“Yeah, we might be for that,” Paul said with a laugh Saturday when asked if would favor lowering the voting age to 16 before the Feb. 1 first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.

Paul, who tailgated with high school and college students Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, is banking on a strong turnout of younger voters at the caucuses to give him a strong start on his bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. He believes his positions, especially on protecting individuals’ privacy, will appeal to younger voters.

He cited a poll that found 83 percent of voters 40 and younger believe the government went too far in collecting information, such as phone records, without a warrant.

...http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/politics/election/republican-presidential/rand-paul-polls-underestimate-strength-of-his-campaign-20151121

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul to file for presidential caucus

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul plans to file for re-election to the U.S. Senate and to enter Kentucky's Republican presidential caucus following an event Monday in Louisville.

Paul pushed for the state Republican Party to adopt the caucus so that he could run for the GOP nomination for president while at the same time seeking to hold onto his U.S. Senate seat. A law in Kentucky prohibits a candidate from appearing on the ballot for two offices, in most cases.

Paul will be the fifth candidate to pay the $15,000 fee to enter the March 5 presidential caucus. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, businessman Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have already registered to take part.

Paul, who has pushed to expand Republican reach into African-American communities, will sign his registration papers at an event at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Jefferson County Republican Party's West End Office, on Hale Avenue.

...http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/27/rand-paul-file-presidential-caucus/76458044/

[Chef Ramsay]

Rand Paul: ‘If You Want to Help People, Give of Your Own Money’

Addressing the Syrian refugee crisis, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the United States should pause the program as he urged the public to remember the difference between charity and taxation.

“There’s a difference between charity and taxation and, sure, I have a great deal of sympathy and I have helped through our church with helping refugees – that’s charity and something you give voluntarily. But to say, ‘Oh, we are going to bring them here and put them on welfare,’ well, that’s not charity, that’s not humanitarian, that’s you saying, ‘Oh, it’s great to give somebody else’s money.’ Give of your own money. If you want to help people, give of your own money,” he said in response to a question from PJM before a Students for Rand rally at George Washington University.

Paul argued there are problems with the screening process of refugees that needs to be corrected and there are other issues to tackle on U.S. soil such as veteran homelessness.

...https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/2015/11/28/rand-paul-if-you-want-to-help-people-give-of-your-own-money

[vokain]

Rand Paul: ‘If You Want to Help People, Give of Your Own Money’

Addressing the Syrian refugee crisis, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the United States should pause the program as he urged the public to remember the difference between charity and taxation.

“There’s a difference between charity and taxation and, sure, I have a great deal of sympathy and I have helped through our church with helping refugees – that’s charity and something you give voluntarily. But to say, ‘Oh, we are going to bring them here and put them on welfare,’ well, that’s not charity, that’s not humanitarian, that’s you saying, ‘Oh, it’s great to give somebody else’s money.’ Give of your own money. If you want to help people, give of your own money,” he said in response to a question from PJM before a Students for Rand rally at George Washington University.

Paul argued there are problems with the screening process of refugees that needs to be corrected and there are other issues to tackle on U.S. soil such as veteran homelessness.

...https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/2015/11/28/rand-paul-if-you-want-to-help-people-give-of-your-own-money

Trump-Paul would be a dream team. Drive and direction.

[bryant.coleman]

Trump-Paul would be a dream team. Drive and direction.

Yes. They will be a dream team, but the chances are near Zero. There are serious differences between the two in many of the policies. But teaming up with Paul can genuinely help Trump, as it would give him advantage over a particular demographic group, which has so far refrained from supporting him. Imagine Trump-Paul against Hitlery-Weiner! That will be epic!

[tvbcof]

Trump-Paul would be a dream team. Drive and direction.

Yes. They will be a dream team, but the chances are near Zero. There are serious differences between the two in many of the policies. But teaming up with Paul can genuinely help Trump, as it would give him advantage over a particular demographic group, which has so far refrained from supporting him. Imagine Trump-Paul against Hitlery-Weiner! That will be epic!

A logical strategy would be to have one's vice-prez be even less desirable then oneself so as to partially mitigate the risk of meeting an untimely end.  Trump/Paul could achieve that in the most likely threat profile environment of today.  Hitlery/Weiner, not so much.

Anyway, it doesn't seem that a candidate has a lot of choice in his/her VP.  These choices are made by the candidate's sponsors so it seems.  I don't really vote in national elections except as a joke these days, but if someone came along who made a credible case for not being a puppet, I would possibly legitimately vote for him/her regardless of their politics.  Not staying up nights waiting for this however.

[aardvark15]

I would expect Trump/Palin possibly.  Also, I heard that there is a news guy on MSNBC that is a potential running mate.  I can't remember his name though.

[aardvark15]

Also, Chris Christie could be a running mate since he has now announced his endorsement of Trump.  They both have similar personalities so I don't know if that would work or not.

[tvbcof]

Also, Chris Christie could be a running mate since he has now announced his endorsement of Trump.  They both have similar personalities so I don't know if that would work or not.

It is not particularly necessary for the prez and the VP to get along well since their responsibilities and roles have modest overlap.  These days the VP is chosen primarily to make elections more believable in cases where it might be close.  In the case of Kennedy/Johnson, the two could not stand one another (so I've read) and TPTB told Kennedy straight up that he was to 'choose' Johnson.  In the case of Bush/Cheney, Cheney was (self-)selected and took an unusually active role in order to get shit done because the titular president was an imbecile who suffered from brain damage from drug abuse.

Initially it was the design to have the loser of the presidential race become the VP.  That makes a certain amount of sense to me except that it produces pressure for assassinations.  Not that it always works out that way though...

[aardvark15]

Also, Chris Christie could be a running mate since he has now announced his endorsement of Trump.  They both have similar personalities so I don't know if that would work or not.

It is not particularly necessary for the prez and the VP to get along well since their responsibilities and roles have modest overlap.  These days the VP is chosen primarily to make elections more believable in cases where it might be close.  In the case of Kennedy/Johnson, the two could not stand one another (so I've read) and TPTB told Kennedy straight up that he was to 'choose' Johnson.  In the case of Bush/Cheney, Cheney was (self-)selected and took an unusually active role in order to get shit done because the titular president was an imbecile who suffered from brain damage from drug abuse.

Initially it was the design to have the loser of the presidential race become the VP.  That makes a certain amount of sense to me except that it produces pressure for assassinations.  Not that it always works out that way though...

I guess I was thinking about it from the point of view that sometimes you want a running mate that appeals to a different set of voters.  A less abrasive running mate might appeal to those that aren't sure about Trump, or a female running mate might appeal to female voters, etc.