Following today’s announcement from Sen. Rand Paul that, yes, he is running for president, here’s an initial round-up of seven interesting takes on his candidacy, in no particular order:
1. Rand Paul’s views, from tax cuts to Iran talks
In late March, Paul co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to create a pilot program that would help state and local police purchase or lease body cameras.
In some ways, the measure encapsulates Paul’s bid to link traditional Republican positions — strong support for the police — with his more libertarian social policies and his campaign to protect civil liberties.
2. What Rand Paul would need to do to win
New York Times
Mr. Paul likes to say he is beholden to no party, and he criticizes Republicans almost as often as he does President Obama. Both parties, he says, have led the country down a ruinous path that has deprived Americans of their civil liberties and jeopardized future generations’ financial and personal security. To younger, less staunchly Republican crowds, he often says, “What you do on your cellphone is none of the government’s damn business” – a line that sharply distinguishes him from his rivals. To conservatives, he laments the growth in federal spending and what he calls an unprecedented power grab by the Obama administration in bypassing Congress to issue regulations on everything from the environment to national security.
3. The Rand Paul reading list
Rand Paul’s speeches and writings are liberally sprinkled with literary references—and in many cases, he seems to have actually read the books. He has a student’s enthusiasm for broad learning—what other senator would cite Milan Kundera’s "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting?" But in some cases, forgetting is necessary. The below reading list for students, on his Senate website, was removed last July.
4. 7 things you need to know about presidential candidate Rand Paul
Paul likes to tweet — a lot. He (or at least, his account) also likes to troll people.
5. Rand Paul’s challenge: Libertarians are still a small minority
New York Times
The easiest explanation is age: A staggering 38 percent of the consistently libertarian voters are ages 18 to 34. This isn't any surprise, as Ron Paul's strongest support came from young voters in 2012, and early polls suggest this will be Rand's base of support as well. A recent CNN poll found Mr. Paul at 17 percent of the under-50 vote, but at just 7 percent among those over 50. Similarly, a Washington Post poll gave Mr. Paul 15 percent of the under-50 vote and just 4 percent of those over 50.
6. Rand Paul is losing his father’s base
Paul is one of the few candidates who is attracting opponents to jump into the presidential race just to stop him. Lindsey Graham — and potentially John Bolton — might waste half a year or more of their lives campaigning in large part because they disagree with Paul on foreign policy.
As it has been noted previously, it’s very difficult to win a party’s nomination when party officials don’t like you. In primaries, voters tend to take their cues from party actors because the ideological differences between candidates are significantly smaller than they are in a general election. And for the GOP establishment, it’s easy to find a deal-breaker in Paul’s portfolio.
7. Hawks will hit Rand Paul in $1 million TV blitz
Shortly after announcing a presidential bid, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul moved aggressively to counter a $1 million ad campaign — launched by a group calling for a hawkish foreign policy toward Iran — that criticized Paul as weak and aligned with President Barack Obama.
“The Washington machine is worried that our message is resonating across all 50 states. These attacks are false,” said senior Paul adviser Doug Stafford.
Bonnie Kristian is a columnist at Rare, a contributing writer at The Week, and a communications consultant for Young Americans for Liberty. You can find more of her work at www.bonniekristian.com or follow her on Twitter @bonniekristian
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