Rand Paul ready to join 2016 US presidential campaign

[webfact]

Rand Paul ready to join 2016 presidential campaign
By PHILIP ELLIOTT and ADAM BEAM

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party favorite and frequent antagonist of leaders of his Republican Party, is ready to test how much change voters want, both for their government and for the GOP.

Paul is set to begin his White House campaign on Tuesday, kicking off the presidential run with a rally in downtown Louisville, then jetting to early nominating states with a pitch aimed at the libertarian corners of the GOP. Paul begins the 2016 race as the second fully declared candidate, behind Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, but he could face as many as 20 rivals for the nomination before the lead-off Iowa caucuses early next year.

Along the way, the first-term senator is likely to challenge his fellow Republicans' views on both foreign and domestic policy, as well as the nuts and bolts of how campaigns are run. Tech savvy and youth-focused, Paul is expected to be an Internet juggernaut his competitors will be forced to chase.

After his speech in Louisville, Paul was set to answer questions from voters on his Facebook page.

On the eve of his launch, Paul was a frequent poster on Twitter.

"On April 7, one leader will stand up to defeat the Washington machine and unleash the American dream," Paul's political committee announced in a Web video before Tuesday's event.

Embedded in the video: an opportunity for supporters to donate.

It's unclear how much support Paul can muster in the Republican mainstream.

Paul, the son of former Rep. Ron Paul, is a frequent contrarian against his party's orthodoxy, questioning the size of the U.S. military and proposing relaxation of some drug laws that imprison offenders at a high cost to taxpayers. He also challenges the GOP's support for surveillance programs, drone policies and sanctions on Iran and Cuba.

"The issue on Sen. Paul and national security issues is where he comes down in the continuing conflict between his principles and his ambition," said John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations and a potential Paul rival for the GOP nomination.

In an interview, Bolton cited Paul's shifting views on military spending.

In Paul's proposal for the 2012 budget, he called for reducing military spending and for fewer troops at the Department of Defense. "The DOD should not be treated sacrosanct with regard to the treatment of taxpayer dollars," Paul wrote in a plan that would balance the federal budget in five years.

But as a presidential campaign came closer, Paul last month proposed a 16 percent increase in the Pentagon's budget.

"On any given day, it's hard to know where he will be," Bolton said. "I believe in redemption, and I hope he comes all the way over. But I just don't know what's at work in his mind."

Perhaps reflecting the challenges he faces in convincing his critics he deserves the nomination, Paul is also leaving open the door to a second term in the Senate. With the backing of his state's senior senator, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paul is likely to seek the White House and the Senate seat at the same time.

One of his likely presidential rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, has said he would not double-dip on the ballot. He is expected to announce next week that he will skip a Senate re-election bid in 2016 in favor of putting everything into a presidential campaign.
___

Elliott reported from Washington.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-07

[bob4you]

Who is he?

Not really a candidate.

[Chicog]

Well he's announced. That's two muppets.

[Jingthing]

Rubio has caught my eye.

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[CNXBKKMAN]

Got to be better than jeb bush!! And Hilary. Audit the fed as they say in America.

[Jingthing]

Please don't groan but there really is a strong Israel connection to the Rand Paul candidacy.

Rand Paul is perceived as the least friendly to Israel likely republican candidate.

Why is that?

A long history of isolationism.

He has recently walked back from that stance in the face of ISIS but I doubt people will fully believe him on that, and his base actually remains strongly isolationist.

So he's screwed either way ... people will never believe he's changed that much from his isolationism, the majority do not support isolationism in the current political climate, and those that do support isolationism will be turned off by his new political BS acting like he doesn't anymore.

Also his father has correctly been accused of being tainted with antisemitism as he published a newsletter in his name riddled with rabidly anti-semitic rhetoric.

Rand Paul would have never been famous if it wasn't for his even more famous father, Ron Paul.

Quite unfortunately, because of PM Israel Bibi's recent antics, support of Israel from the U.S. has become much more of a republican issue even though American Jews largely vote democratic.

So Paul is out of step with this recent trend as well.

Yes right winger billionaire Sheldon Adelson will be pushing a republican big time ... and you can bet it will not be Rand Paul!

Of course there are plenty of republicans who are anti-Israel and many of them will probably support Rand Paul ... but he won't be able to explicitly speak to their bias as that would be political suicide for any hopes of winning in the general in the unlikely event that he is nominated.

I know it amazes Europeans, but American voters overall are still strongly pro Israel.

All in all, I seriously doubt this is his year.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Jingthing

[Pinot]

Please don't groan but there really is a strong Israel connection to the Rand Paul candidacy.

Rand Paul is perceived as the least friendly to Israel likely republican candidate.

Why is that?

A long history of isolationism.

He has recently walked back from that stance in the face of ISIS but I doubt people will fully believe him on that, and his base actually remains strongly isolationist.

So he's screwed either way ... people will never believe he's changed that much from his isolationism, the majority do not support isolationism in the current political climate, and those that do support isolationism will be turned off by his new political BS acting like he doesn't anymore.

Also his father has correctly been accused of being tainted with antisemitism as he published a newsletter in his name riddled with rabidly anti-semitic rhetoric.

Rand Paul would have never been famous if it wasn't for his even more famous father, Ron Paul.

Quite unfortunately, because of PM Israel Bibi's recent antics, support of Israel from the U.S. has become much more of a republican issue even though American Jews largely vote democratic.

So Paul is out of step with this recent trend as well.

Yes right winger billionaire Sheldon Adelson will be pushing a republican big time ... and you can bet it will not be Rand Paul!

Of course there are plenty of republicans who are anti-Israel and many of them will probably support Rand Paul ... but he won't be able to explicitly speak to their bias as that would be political suicide for any hopes of winning in the general in the unlikely event that he is nominated.

I know it amazes Europeans, but American voters overall are still strongly pro Israel.

All in all, I seriously doubt this is his year.

I seriously doubt he'll ever have a year. Rand "Vaccines cause mental disorders" Paul is a dimwitted nutter. Every time he opens his mouth, the stupid comes out.

Here are a few of his hall of shame quotes:

"With regard to the idea of whether you have a right to health care, you have realize what that implies. It’s not an abstraction. I’m a physician. That means you have a right to come to my house and conscript me. It means you believe in slavery. It means that you’re going to enslave not only me, but the janitor at my hospital, the person who cleans my office, the assistants who work in my office, the nurses."

or

"The fundamental reason why Medicare is failing is why the Soviet Union failed -- socialism doesn't work. You have ... no price fluctuation."

or

"We all are interconnected in the economy. You remember a few years ago, when they tried to tax the yachts, that didn’t work. You know who lost their jobs? The people making the boats, the guys making 50,000 and 60,000 dollars a year lost their jobs. We all either work for rich people or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone. Let’s not punish anyone."

and finally

"I would rather the local schools decide things. I don’t like the idea of somebody in Washington deciding that Susie has two mommies is an appropriate family situation and should be taught to my kindergardener at school. That’s what happens when we let things get to a federal level. I think I would rather have local school boards, teachers, parents, people in Paduka deciding about your schools and not have it in Washington."

???

[klauskunkel]

just another dynastic heir among the Political Aristocracy of America (PAA, sounds catchy - I just made it up!), eager to promote 'Democracy'

[Chicog]

He lost me at "I'm a physician".

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/11/08/rand-paul-has-another-problem/

[Grouse]

Hard to take America seriously when they elect nut cases like this!

Fortunately, the republicans stand no chance

[NeverSure]

Ron Paul reminds of the same thing on the other side of the aisle as Hillary. No personality, divisive, and a proven loser as a candidate for POTUS. A perennial hopeful. That same old face again.

He has some good but woefully misplaced ideas. Western governments have gotten top heavy, wasteful, inefficient and so expensive they can't pay their bills. I agree with him on that but not on where he puts his priorities.

People could calm down because he doesn't have a chance.

[Jingthing]

I wouldn't say no chance for the republican nomination anyway. It is very open contest and he has a defined base / brand developed by his Daddy for decades.

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[Steely Dan]

I hope it's John Bolton, the world needs him to undo the mess Obama has created.

[losworld]

The U.S. really needs a third party but Rand Paul is the best one at present to shake things up. But he will not be elected because the media will totally ignore him as they ignored his father who was a strong frontrunner and offered real change. You see they don't want change and the American political system is hijacked and you will be given the candidates and you can choose between the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately that is the way it works. And to make it even more ridiculous you may just have a Bush and Clinton running against each other. Only in America.

[chuckd]

I hope it's John Bolton, the world needs him to undo the mess Obama has created.

Your post will have liberal left heads exploding all over the world.

[bendejo]

Paul makes for great entertainment. Give him enough rope and watch what he does. He won't survive the primaries beyond March 2016, if that. I would really like to see him become the candidate, but that would have to be over Rove's dead body. Actually that too is something, oh, never mind.

Bolton? Can he run? I thought he was under the Witness Protection Program.

That rug, the glasses, the oversized moustache and the fake jowls, you'd expect a better job from those guys.

[Jingthing]

Bolton isn't running.

One to watch out for is Carly Fiorina.

I think she is running.

If nominated, what a contrast she would make to Hillary.

Yes, she has no government experience.

That's the point!

Also, she's originally a TEXAN.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Jingthing

[Chicog]

I hope it's John Bolton, the world needs him to undo the mess Obama has created.

Speaking for the world, I think he's done a great job cleaning up Bush's messes and putting Israel in their place.

[Chicog]

Bolton isn't running.

One to watch out for is Carly Fiorina.

I think she is running.

If nominated, what a contrast she would make to Hillary.

Yes, she has no government experience.

That's the point!

Also, she's originally a TEXAN.

You must like these Palin types

[notmyself]

Rubio has caught my eye.

Which would make it a Trifecta with the winner being determined upon who is the least insane. All this is lip service really because the eventual Presidential candidate will be decided by the Koch brothers.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

[bendejo]

Carly has hinted at running, probably wouldn't survive New Hampshire, just another in the clown car. She couldn't even handle Bill Maher. Expect more of these. Meg Whitman?

I'm expecting Team Clinton to come up with a shill opponent simply for the sake of giving Hillary someone to campaign against, like what Team W did in 2000 with McCain. The Dems also need an alternate in the event of Hillary encountering her silver bullet.

I like when Paul does his thing talking over interviewers and telling them how they are supposed to do their jobs. He's cruisin' for a bruisin'. Piers Morgan may have been a jerk, but he was one of the few who had the guts to stand up to this stuff -- when he stood up to Scalia he earned my respect. Put Paul up against Der Obermann! Or Larry King: I'll never forget that glare he gave Palin when he interviewed her, where instead of answering his question she just prattled off into her schtick.