Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released a satirical phone recording this week purporting to depict Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush talking to each other about their presidential ambitions.
Paul’s RAND PAC, which is almost certainly going to help him run for president, scored some jabs at Hillary for wanting to get the White House back so she has someplace to live in the midst of her stated financial struggles, and at Bush for his dynastic family ties and alienation from grassroots conservatives.
But here’s something interesting that the “Hillary” character said to “Jeb”: “Well, you’re right — maybe we can work something out. We both agree on so many issues: bigger government, Common Core and amnesty for illegal immigrants.”
The line stands out. Although Paul’s RAND PAC is running a petition against Common Core, Paul has not positioned himself as an anti-amnesty politician like the kind that would bash “amnesty for illegal immigrants.”
In fact, Paul discouraged use of the word “amnesty” in June when he backed immigration reform in a conference call, saying, “amnesty is a word that’s trapped us.” Paul’s stated position has been that Republicans should get “beyond deportation.”
Paul is an interesting potential candidate with tremendous appeal to grassroots conservatives and libertarians on many issues. But he’s been criticized by non-conservative supporters for appearing to hedge on some issues, like supporting limited military intervention to attack ISIS. In the next two years, it will be interesting to watch if Paul tries to appeal to grassroots conservatives by subtly sending out messages that seem to contradict some of his non-conservative stands.