You have probably seen all of the ridiculous speculating about the GOP nomination in 2016. This is still speculating, but my sincere hope is you don’t think it’s ridiculous too.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is laying the foundation for his presidential bid in concrete and steel.
First, forget about Jeb Bush unless you want to hand Hillary eight years in the White House. The latest Rasmussen poll shows her leading Jeb in a general election 47 percent to 33. His name is Bush and to the general public the specifics of how smart he is doesn’t matter one iota.
Then there’s Ted Cruz, he’s nothing but a hack. There’s no substance to what he says. He only cares about adulation and applause. When he speaks, it’s contrived and inauthentic. Matt Lewis’s recent piece on Ted Cruz’ strategy illustrated this, pointing out that Ted Cruz is trying to get close to Paul, while sticking to the mainstream GOP foreign policy to not seem to far out there.
Even before Chris Christie’s troubles with the George Washington Bridge and being exposed at the very least for hiring a petty, inept staff he was a poor fit for the Republican party base. His disdain for the second amendment is a major obstacle. Governor Christie has done nothing to restore the gun rights of the people of New Jersey and doesn’t care to. Whether intentional or not, Christie helped Barack Obama get re-elected through his endorsements and photo ops after Hurricane Sandy. In a recent interview with S.E. Cupp on CNN, Glenn Beck said Christie was “a fat nightmare.” Judge for yourself whether he was proven right.
At CPAC, Texas Governor and bad George W. Bush caricature Rick Perry gave a raucous speech that resembled a Southern Baptist preacher rather than a politician. It got big applause, but had nothing but platitudes and researched crowd-pleasing lines written by spin doctors. If you have the delusion that Perry could somehow gain fifty IQ points and be ready to stand on stage to debate men of great intellect, you’re sorely mistaken.
Rand Paul relies on his philosophy and personal convictions. It’s the reason that every single time you hear him speak it sounds more authentic. This cannot be taught, and much of it probably comes from his father. Senator Paul tells you what you need to hear, not always what you want to hear.
There’s no GOP candidate that will be able to stand on stage with Rand Paul and talk about spending cuts. The spending cuts that Rand Paul constantly proposes would make a real difference, they’re not just cuts to future growth called spending cuts. That’s the illusion that traditional Republicans use, hoping you’re not paying attention. Rand will draw this contrast and it will be powerful.
Rand Paul’s positive message of getting government out of your way so you can reach your full potential is one that is resonating with young people far more than the progressive puritanism behind today’s e-cigarette bans. Paul is the antithesis of this mentality.
His father, Dr. Ron Paul had a presidential campaign in 2008 that caught fire, although a little too late. In the 2012 campaign, Paul.
By 2016, when Obamacare has completely devastated the health care in this country, Paul fils’ message will be that much stronger. His call to repeal both the nanny state and the security state enacted by the last two presidents will not only seem like a good idea, but the only idea.
Supporting Rand Paul in the primary and general election is going to be synonymous with supporting freedom. It sounds crazy but it’s true. Over 20 years in radio, I’ve learned that when your cause is thought to be cool, it catches fire very rapidly. Rand Paul’s core supporters are resolute, and freedom is very cool.
What about the general election? Politically, the Clinton machine again appears to be unstoppable. The donkeys will fall in line like they’re supposed to, dissent will not be tolerated. Just like in the primary race with Obama, her hubris is going to be her downfall.
In the general election people who are truly against war and U.S. intervention in other nation’s sovereign affairs will gladly vote for Rand Paul. He’s going to be able to stand on the stage with Hillary and point out her vote for the failed Iraq War, her ongoing support the debacle in Afghanistan as a real weakness. And it is.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will have cost you, the American taxpayer, over six trillion dollars, when all is said and done. The country is tired of building bridges in Afghanistan while ours crumble in America killing our citizens.
Rand Paul has more credibility supporting real issues for women than Hillary does, or other female Democrats for that matter. The Kentucky senator is one of the main supporters of a bill that would have taken the investigation of sexual assaults in the military out of the hands of commanding officers.
This is just common sense for anyone who’s been in the military and is being honest. Your commanding officer is like your dad and he wants nothing but the best for you. Any criminal investigation should be and appear to be unbiased. Our brave women who have the fortitude to serve this great nation are not being protected, Rand is on their side. Hillary has been nowhere to be found on this issue.
Rand Paul has also joined the movement to end human trafficking, a very real issue for women and girls around the globe. This is another issue that Hillary has said little about and is mostly silent on.
Of course, you remember Rand Paul’s epic filibuster of National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA in November of 2012. This event cements his commitment to wanting to keep you out of jail. The NDAA wanted to authorize the military to arrest you in the United States. Rand stood alone filibustering this tyranny.
A big reason Rand Paul will win the general election in 2016 is his message resonates with more than just conservatives or libertarians. Even apolitical young people who have traditionally voted for Democrats will respond to the message of liberty as Obamacare’s generational theft kicks into high gear.
The individual mandate was where the democrats overplayed their hand. After two years of escalating fines for not buying a crappy product, Rand’s promise to repeal this unconstitutional giveaway to insurance companies and lobbyists will sound like he’s releasing them from another financial obligation, one that they never agreed to in the first place.
As Newt Gingrich astutely pointed out, right- or left-wing social engineering makes people ill. Whether it’s religious conservatism or progressive puritanism, forcing people to adhere to your moral code kills liberty and it robs those who don’t agree with you of their constitutionally protected freedoms.
The marijuana debate is over. After November, it appears that over half the states in this great country will have some form of legalized marijuana. If you look at the polls in Florida, a purple state, you will see close to 80 percent support for it. Watch Florida’s November election demographics closely. Young people are going to show up in droves, to vote not just for getting high, but keeping themselves out of jail, court or a permanent record for something that in no way should be a crime. Hillary has consistently stood firmly with the prohibitionists.
When Rand Paul offers the alternative to purity tests or vice shaming, he will have a message that actually means something and he has years of stating the same philosophy to prove he’s not just a snake oil salesman.
Hillary Clinton is going to offer you the same tired liberal edicts that they’ve been pushing for decades. It’s time to trust true liberty and the free market. It’s not perfect, but we know for a fact that government deciding winners and losers in your business or personal life ends in disaster no matter the promise or how good it sounds.
Liberty appeals to both genders, enough voters of all political stripes, enough voters in all races and will be seen as the answer to the last 16 years of war and government overreach. This is not to say that you should or do agree with Rand on every single issue. It’s to say that his mentality is not to punish you or outlaw what you don’t have in common with him.
In the end, it’s the idea that’s going to win not the man. An idea that spawned the greatest nation in history, and could restore it too.