A Rand Paul run will be interesting
The Republican establishment is going crazy. They are attacking their own. Even before Rand Paul announced, there are million dollar ad campaigns attempting to bring him down. If they really believed Rand Paul was not a real threat they would not be spending this type of cash against him.
To be clear, all of the following are Rand Paul facts.
- Opposes Same-Sex Marriage
- Opposes Abortion Rights
- Opposes Gun Control Legislation
- Opposes Bipartisan Campaign Reform
- Supports Cutting Government Spending
- Supports a “Balanced Budget Amendment”
- Supports Massive Increases in Defense Spending
- Supports Extensive Use of Drones at Home and Abroad
- Supports School Vouchers
- Suggested Putting People In Prison For Listening To ‘Radical Political Speeches’
- Doesn’t support raising the minimum wage
- Believes private businesses should have the right to discriminate
- Thinks vaccines should be voluntary
- Wants to repeal the “Affordable Care Act” known as Obamacare
- In foreign affairs considers himself an “isolationist”
- Would like “less government” and we all know what that means
- Has said the science behind climate change is not conclusive
- Is a practicing ophthalmologist though not board certified
Rand Paul released the following teaser.
“A Different Kind of Republican Leader?”
Democrats just as well need to be aware of Rand Paul’s strategy. This was covered in the piece “Don’t laugh but Rand Paul could be our next president” where Rand Paul’s strategy was explored. In that piece it was noted that Rand Paul was taking on issues that affected Blacks, Browns, and other traditionally Democratic demographics. The following snippet in the piece is probative.
Anyone who reads DailyKOS and other liberal and progressive blogs cannot be fooled by Rand Paul. Rand Paul is a true Republican Libertarian with a touch of ‘Dixiecratocracy’. The problem is that most voting Americans are not the well informed. Most of the traditional media are lazy or programmed to misinform by the plutocracy.
Rand Paul does not need to blow up the Obama coalition to win. He simply needs to skim the fat. His little excursions into the liberal base can do just that. His base is much more committed to winning and voting than our base. The Florida-13 election was probative.
It would be irresponsible if liberals do not start taking serious steps now to be inoculated on the populous flank. This will help not only in the presidential race but in every district.
The biggest fear is that if there is a coronation of a select few, many potential candidates remain undeveloped. Worse is the inability to recover from an unknown. The fact that Ronald Reagan and George Bush were elected presidents of the United States means it is not farfetched that Rand Paul could be our next president.
The 2016 election is wide open. Anyone who believes Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are shoo-ins are dreaming. The American electorate has had binary choices and are either fed-up, apathetic, or simply disinterested. Rand Paul is trying to run as a different option more detached from his or any other party. It is an experiment whose possibility of winning is much north of zero.