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http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/222353-in-gop-everybody-wants-rand (http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/222353-in-gop-everybody-wants-rand)
By Alexander Bolton - 10/30/14 01:34 PM EDT
LIVONIA, Mich. — Sen. Rand Paul has been the biggest draw for Republicans in the midterm election campaign, proving beyond a doubt that he’s a serious contender for the White House in 2016.
Paul has traveled to 32 states in the 2014 cycle so far, keeping a jam-packed campaign schedule that, last week, included stops in Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, New York and Georgia.
The senator noted his time on the road, as he stood Wednesday before a crowd of about 50 Republican volunteers in a suburban Detroit field office.
Apologizing for his raspy voice, the junior Republican senator from Kentucky noted his extensive travels to help candidates, such as Terri Lynn Land, who’s running for Senate in Michigan.
"As I've traveled around the country I think the wind is at our back. I've been to 32 different states. People do want a change," he told in the crowd in a voice made raw by dozens of stump speeches.
The day before the Michigan visit, Paul had spent the day campaigning in Kansas for Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who’s locked in a tough reelection fight.
He plans to visit Pennsylvania on Friday before spending the weekend and early next week in Kentucky campaigning with the embattled incumbent who has needed his help the most: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The midterm push has allowed Paul to barnstorm the country, making connections along the way that could serve as a springboard to a presidential run in 2016.
Perhaps even more critically, Paul’s travels have demonstrated he has wide appeal in the GOP — something that was in doubt earlier this year, when some party strategists dismissed him as a fringe candidate in the mold of his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R).
"Everybody wants him. He’s in not just your conservative states; they want him in swing states. Everybody wants Rand there. He can go to Kansas and fire up the base, or he can go to New Hampshire and fire up the independents," said Doug Stafford, executive director of Paul’s RAND PAC.
Paul’s leadership PAC this week launched a six-figure TV buy in Kansas to support Roberts. It will also air spots in Kentucky, New Hampshire, Iowa and North Carolina.
Paul is campaigning hard for Republican candidates but clearly has his eye on 2016 as well.
Iowa and New Hampshire, where he’s focused a lot of attention this year, are the first two contests of the Republican presidential primary.
He has used his campaign appearances around the country to address concerns that the Dick Cheney wing of the Republican Party has with his foreign policy views. Like his father before him, Paul expresses strong skepticism about foreign military engagement, but he’s turned out to be more of a hawk than his dad.
Speaking at a Lincoln Day Dinner in Rochester, Mich., which local officials bill as the nation’s oldest, Paul declared he would support military strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, though he cautioned that the United States should proceed carefully.
The ad his PAC aired in Kansas promoted Paul’s foreign policy outlook by noting that he and Roberts — the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee — agree on cutting off aid to countries such as Pakistan.
Critically for Paul, this election year has shown that his libertarian strain of Republicanism resonates with a broad swathe of the electorate, with campaigns using him to mobilize independents, libertarians and the conservative base.
The senator’s ability to bring more people into the Republican tent could help him convince party leaders and major donors to back a presidential bid, should he choose to launch one.
"His focus is on 2014, but will that help him should he choose to go nationally? The idea that so many people from different parts of the party want to have him out there when they're running for election should send a message. There's pretty broad appeal across the party and among independents," Stafford said.
The Chamber of Commerce has launched a round of ads in Iowa, New Hampshire, Alaska and North Carolina to reach out to swing voters. The added exposure in Iowa and New Hampshire is an especially nice bonus for Paul’s White House ambitions.
“In a number of races, the Chamber is focused on the independent swing vote, and we think Sen. Paul is well positioned to deliver a message that appeals to them,” said Blair Latoff Holmes, a spokeswoman for the Chamber. “These ads also fit into our theme this year of using credible messengers in target races, particularly to help break through the clutter and carry the free enterprise message.”
The Senate race in Michigan has fallen off the map for Republicans, as Democratic candidate Gary Peters has built an 8-to-15-percentage-point lead over Land. But Michigan is an important early primary state in 2016, and if Paul can’t swing the outcome of next week’s election, he could still reap benefits in two years’ time.
Other Republican White House contenders, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have traveled to Michigan this year, according to Bobby Schostak, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
“Michigan is a bellwether state. When it comes to the primary season, it’s a state that all these guys got to stop in and check in with,” he said. “Our primary is going to be early in March, so we’re going to be a difference maker.”
Schostak predicted Paul would be a force in 2016.
“Rand Paul’s got a great conservative message, and the base of our party relates to it very well. He’ll be a very strong candidate if he’s on the ballot,” he said.
The biggest issues in Michigan are jobs, education and healthcare, and Paul addressed each of them during his visit to Detroit.
At an informal discussion with voters in Sherwood Forest, a predominantly middle-class African-American enclave, Paul talked about the need to give charter schools more freedom to expand, making participation in ObamaCare voluntary and setting up personal health savings accounts. He also discussed turning all of Detroit into an economic enterprise zone with special tax breaks.
Paul said his visit in the final week to a state that is no longer in the thick of the battle for control of the Senate is all about showing “the Republican Party will compete for every vote, including every African-American vote, every vote in Detroit.”
“We want to win,” he said of his leadership PAC and its ambitions for the party.
“We have a unique perspective sometimes. In Kansas, that’s where we purchased most of our ads, We wanted to show that Pat Roberts and I were aligned on not wanting to send money to countries that are burning our flag and appear to hate us,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues want to tell voters they “realize there are needs here at home that need to be met.”
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Really? I sure as heck don't. He's as nutty as his father.
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Love Rand Paul as do many many republicans this is being shown across the country. I could care less who you like probably some Rhino we don't need or want anymore.
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Love Rand Paul as do many many republicans this is being shown across the country. I could care less who you like probably some Rhino we don't need or want anymore.
And do you have to be a jackass simply because I do not like him?
You have no clue who I like or would like to see run, so stop being a jerk.
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Love Rand Paul as do many many republicans this is being shown across the country. I could care less who you like probably some Rhino we don't need or want anymore.
What the heck was that? Based on what I can see, AC did not deserve such a shot.
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In GOP, 'everybody wants Rand'
I'm in the GOP and I sure as HELL do not want Rand!
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I think he's less nutty than his father, but he's far from being my first choice.
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I would have no trouble at all voting for Rand Paul if he is the candidate. He's on my top three list.
Happy Halloween To All!
(http://www.blackcatantiques.com/halloweenthreadkidsfence.jpg)
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I think Rand Paul is valuable, and useful. He can instruct the center-right coalition, to include varied points of view.
In Europe that is accomplished through the multi-party system, whereby coalitions are usually needed, to win, hold and use political power.
Since our system is essentially a two party system now, it takes coalitions inside the parties, to win, hold and use political power.
A sincere interest in giving voice to Paul's positions, will attract many libertarian oriented independents.
I have studied polls and have concluded that the small "l" orientation is very significant among independents; eg libertarian on social issues, but conservative on fiscal issues.
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I think Rand Paul is valuable, and useful. He can instruct the center-right coalition, to include varied points of view.
In Europe that is accomplished through the multi-party system, whereby coalitions are usually needed, to win, hold and use political power.
Since our system is essentially a two party system now, it takes coalitions inside the parties, to win, hold and use political power.
A sincere interest in giving voice to Paul's positions, will attract many libertarian oriented independents.
I have studied polls and have concluded that the small "l" orientation is very significant among independents; eg libertarian on social issues, but conservative on fiscal issues.
You make some good points, but getting that intra-party coalition won't be easy, as this tiny thread reflects.
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I think Rand Paul is valuable, and useful. He can instruct the center-right coalition, to include varied points of view.
In Europe that is accomplished through the multi-party system, whereby coalitions are usually needed, to win, hold and use political power.
Since our system is essentially a two party system now, it takes coalitions inside the parties, to win, hold and use political power.
A sincere interest in giving voice to Paul's positions, will attract many libertarian oriented independents.
I have studied polls and have concluded that the small "l" orientation is very significant among independents; eg libertarian on social issues, but conservative on fiscal issues.
You have described me TS, as I consider myself to be small "l" libertarian for the reasons you give.
I agree with what you said about Rand Paul and coalitions.
Happy Halloween To All!
(http://www.blackcatantiques.com/halloweenthreadkidsfence.jpg)
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Wow! And to think we're not even at the mid-terms yet...almost a year and a half BEFORE the GOP convention.
It's going to get ugly...given the desperation many of us are feeling.
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Wow! And to think we're not even at the mid-terms yet...almost a year and a half BEFORE the GOP convention.
It's going to get ugly...given the desperation many of us are feeling.
We're going to get so sick of it.
:2barf:
Happy Halloween To All!
(http://www.blackcatantiques.com/halloweenthreadkidsfence.jpg)
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Just to make sure no one misunderstands my earlier comment, let me say that there several other potential candidates I would like to see get the nomination before Rand and will work to help that happen but if Rand winds up the nominee he has my vote.
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Wow! And to think we're not even at the mid-terms yet...almost a year and a half BEFORE the GOP convention.
It's going to get ugly...given the desperation many of us are feeling.
Scary ain't it. *hmmmm*
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Just to make sure no one misunderstands my earlier comment, let me say that there several other potential candidates I would like to see get the nomination before Rand and will work to help that happen but if Rand winds up the nominee he has my vote.
I'm with you on that one, though our short lists probably won't be real close, lol.
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Just to make sure no one misunderstands my earlier comment, let me say that there several other potential candidates I would like to see get the nomination before Rand and will work to help that happen but if Rand winds up the nominee he has my vote.
Understood you completely, Bigun! No clarification needed here. :beer:
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I like Rand Paul a whole lot. But, I'm done with senator presidents.
Following Obama we need a tough manager, a fixer. Ideology will matter less than managing skills and competence — hell, just someone with a 9-to-5 work ethic would be a vast improvement.
They won't accomplish all, but they'll have eight years to at least begin undoing the damage.
Realistically, under the best of scenarios, and even with multiple libertarian conservative administrations and congresses, it will take generations of reform.
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You make some good points, but getting that intra-party coalition won't be easy, as this tiny thread reflects.
The inability/unwillingness to cooperate/compromise yields worse results for all of the center-right factions.
Reagan somehow managed it. Maybe the first step is to admit the loss of our (GOP's) institutional memory, and a recognition things will be better for relearning it.
There was a time when mention of Reagan's 11th Commandment brought positive remarks. But sometime through the months and years, it fell into question and then was discarded outright.
Got to get it back.
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The inability/unwillingness to cooperate/compromise yields worse results for all of the center-right factions.
Reagan somehow managed it. Maybe the first step is to admit the loss of our (GOP's) institutional memory, and a recognition things will be better for relearning it.
There was a time when mention of Reagan's 11th Commandment brought positive remarks. But sometime through the months and years, it fell into question and then was discarded outright.
Got to get it back.
truth_seeker....that's wishful thinking, IMO.
'That' country is long gone.
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I do not think the GOP can win in 2016 without Rand Paul in the veep spot. For that reason, I am supporting him in the primaries. I just don't think Paul can get on the ticket unless he shows a strong capability to garner votes in the primaries. Ideally, I think a Walker/Paul ticket would be a nice blend of executive capability with ideological purity. Walker can run on his record and Paul can educate the low info crowd as to the purpose of our constitution.
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I do not think the GOP can win in 2016 without Rand Paul in the veep spot. For that reason, I am supporting him in the primaries. I just don't think Paul can get on the ticket unless he shows a strong capability to garner votes in the primaries. Ideally, I think a Walker/Paul ticket would be a nice blend of executive capability with ideological purity. Walker can run on his record and Paul can educate the low info crowd as to the purpose of our constitution.
I wouldn't exactly call Dr. James Dobson "low info crowd" but he (and his type) need schooling as to the origins of our nation, the proper place for faith and for civil laws, etc.
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I wouldn't exactly call Dr. James Dobson "low info crowd" but he (and his type) need schooling as to the origins of our nation, the proper place for faith and for civil laws, etc.
The low info crowd I was referring to is young voters who have become very disenchanted with liberalism.
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After everything that happened the last two Presidential cycles I'm taking a long hard look at anarchism.
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After everything that happened the last tow Presidential cycles I'm taking a long hard look at anarchism.
Me too....wish I was 30 years younger.
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Thank God I'm not in the GOP, because I sure as Hell don't want him. Apple. Tree. Gravity.
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The low info crowd I was referring to is young voters who have become very disenchanted with liberalism.
That works, too.
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Me too....wish I was 30 years younger.
It would be supremely difficult to form a political party based on the principles of anarchism, wouldn't it?
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It would be supremely difficult to form a political party based on the principles of anarchism, wouldn't it?
Apparently not....the Obama administration accomplished it in no time at all.
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Apparently not....the Obama administration accomplished it in no time at all.
:silly:
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I wouldn't exactly call Dr. James Dobson "low info crowd" but he (and his type) need schooling as to the origins of our nation, the proper place for faith and for civil laws, etc.
Oh, I would. With his face in the center of star (a la lounge singer poster). He's a wannabe kingmaker with an adoring crowd of beet-stained chin harpies more concerned with instructing others to live their lives.
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beet-stained chin harpies
That is so elegant it is beyond describing. :beer:
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I wouldn't exactly call Dr. James Dobson "low info crowd" but he (and his type) need schooling as to the origins of our nation, the proper place for faith and for civil laws, etc.
How did James Dobson get into this discussion? And what is "his type"? Christian?
Perhaps you're unaware that he no longer heads Focus on the Family. :shrug: