Is Rand Paul the future of the GOP?
posted at 2:01 pm on November 20, 2012 by Ed Morrissey
He’s certainly part of it, and an important part as the Republican Party tries to reach out to libertarian-leaning voters. His father found ways to excite and energize younger voters, a skill that the last few elections have shown the GOP sorely needs, as well as a message that matches up with their leave-me-alone mindset. But is Rand Paul ready to lead the party toward a resurgence of limited-government conservatism with his blend of devolved powers and social conservatism? “That’s classified,” he jokes to ABC’s Jonathan Karl, but doesn’t deny an interest in a presidential run:
“I’m not going to deny that I’m interested,” Sen. Paul tells ABC’s Jonathan Karl about his presidential aspirations. While Paul is quick to add that he isn’t ready to make a decision about a presidential bid yet, he is not hesitant to say that the Republican Party needs a new message.
“I think we have to go a different direction because we’re just not winning and we have to think about some different ideas,” says the senator.
What are the different “directions” Paul suggests? Decriminalization of marijuana is one place to start, but Paul wants a change of emphasis on immigration as well:
“We’re getting an ever dwindling percent of the Hispanic vote,” Paul says. “We have to let people know, Hispanics in particular, we’re not putting you on a bus and shipping you home.” Paul emphasizes that border security is still his top priority but adds that he wouldn’t “rule out” a conditional path to citizenship for those who have been living in the United States illegally for an extended period of time.
Paul rejects a tax hike entirely, but also says that the GOP has to articulate the actual structural problems in spending better, which a tax increase won’t help:
On the issue of the impending fiscal cliff, Paul says the president’s successful reelection does not give him a mandate to raise taxes, as some within the Republican Party have conceded. Paul says he will not vote to raise taxes and suggests that there are other paths to compromise that don’t include tax increases.
“How about another compromise?” Paul asks. “Republicans who think military spending, myself, who think national defense is important, should compromise and say, you know what, not every dollar spent on the military’s sacred, we can reduce the military spending, that’s a compromise. Democrats should compromise also — entitlements and welfare, the spending can come.”
Jennifer Rubin warns Republicans to keep an open mind about Rand, who is not “a clone of his father,” even though Rand has had a couple moments of “nuttiness” during his brief political career:
My point on these issues is that conservatives should persuade and discuss areas of difference, but it is a mistake to treat Paul as a clone of his father or a man incapable of maturation. And at a time when thoughtful hawks are revisiting issues like aid to Egypt, his views seem, even to those of us who disagree with his general bent, less wacky.
Moreover, he’s talking sense — a lot of sense — on issues of federalism and immigration reform. On gay marriage and abortion, he’s taken a principled stand (one that I’ve frequently suggested on the marriage issue) that these are matters ideally handled by the states. “We have to let people know, Hispanics in particular, we’re not putting you on a bus and shipping you home. I’m still right there with a lot of the hardcore immigration people who want border troop security. I will insist that border security is first. But I’m also not going to rule out that we can’t figure out an eventual way if you’ve been living here for 10 or 20 years that you can’t become like the rest of us.”
Rand Paul, like many in the Republican Party, has decisions to make about his own role and where the party should go. Will he eschew nuttiness ( his campaign comments on the 1964 Civil Rights Act), become a principled but effective leader and help expand the party in ways that are more likely to attract young and nonwhite voters? If so, fellow conservatives should engage him and heed the positive aspects of his message.
Too often, I think, conservatives jump way ahead (But we wouldn’t want him as commander in chief!) rather than consider where the party sits now, namely in desperate need of innovation and thoughtful conversation. If the party is going to be more inclusive with voters, it can start by recognizing areas of agreement with those on the right (especially those who correctly assess the party’s political challenges and who speak in respectful terms) rather than seek to marginalize them. To do otherwise is to ensure decades of Democrats in the White House.
Paul the Younger has always seemed to have a better grasp on reality than Paul the Elder, and so far has managed to shed the disturbing connections to the fringe that his father courted. I don’t think that Paul will have enough of a following by 2016 to make a serious run for the Presidency, but his talents might be better used in the Senate to build a conservative wing along with Jim DeMint that can stop the excesses of Washington and fight for fiscal sanity. The presidency will always be critical to that fight, but it can’t be won without having solid players in the legislative branch as well.
Paul is an element of the future of the Republican Party, and if he works wisely, he could be a driving force for a deeper commitment to limited government and large-scale reform. That would be good news for everyone.
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Cruz is my new favorite.
nobar on May 22, 2013 at 5:24 PM
Can we clone Ted Cruz?
geojed on May 22, 2013 at 5:25 PM
I’m liking me some Cruz!
CTSherman on May 22, 2013 at 5:27 PM
“He’s such a bully. Why can’t he just get along? WAAAAAAAAAH!”
/now both republicans and democrats
Ward Cleaver on May 22, 2013 at 5:27 PM
W. Churchill
tom daschle concerned on May 22, 2013 at 5:27 PM
That’s funny.
Me too. Or maybe Rand Paul, they’re both keeping me from going over the edge into complete cynicism.
Fenris on May 22, 2013 at 5:27 PM
No, but I think there’s others like Ted out there, we’ve just got to get them elected.
Ward Cleaver on May 22, 2013 at 5:28 PM
Isn’t it time to quit calling it a ceiling? It’s more of a budget elevator. One of those space elevators that go all the way into low earth orbit.
Lily on May 22, 2013 at 5:29 PM
Ted Cruz may be the only Republican I’ll ever vote for again. I have never and will never vote for a Democrat.
txhsmom on May 22, 2013 at 5:30 PM
I think it’s funny that you think it matters worth a tinker’s dam who gets elected.
gryphon202 on May 22, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Love Ted Cruz.
But would never soil my honor by abstaining from an election and giving it to a donk by default. Never.
When people say the Tea Party sat out the election because of Romney, they are now mistaken. They sat out because they were kneecapped by the donks
clnurnberg on May 22, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Damn McCain.
I really despise him.
portlandon on May 22, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Balls.
GodDAMN.
MadisonConservative on May 22, 2013 at 5:34 PM
OT
This story is gaining traction. Hehehehe.
The first lady may have once dated the Internal Revenue Service’s top watchdog, Inspector General J. Russell George.
The two crossed paths in the late ’80s, when they were both students at Harvard Law School.
In between working for Republican Sen. Bob Dole and President George H.W. Bush, George attended Harvard, according to a profile published in National Journal on Wednesday.
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/22/michelle-obama-may-have-dated-irs-inspector-general-in-law-school/
wyntre9 on May 22, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Love Cruz almost as much as Trey the Platinum Fox.
wyntre9 on May 22, 2013 at 5:35 PM
Pols get the elevator,
We get the shaft
clnurnberg on May 22, 2013 at 5:35 PM
CRUZ RULES! This is why I voted for him in TX.
TX-96 on May 22, 2013 at 5:35 PM
Cruz has obviously been paying attention.
John McCain is “Exhibit A” to the argument of why nobody should trust Republicans to do what is best for the nation.
AZCoyote on May 22, 2013 at 5:35 PM
I’ll trade you a Collins and a King for Cruz
aceinstall on May 22, 2013 at 5:37 PM
Come on, the fiscal house of cards can surely hold a few more right there on top; it won’t fall over, promise.
Bishop on May 22, 2013 at 5:37 PM
I’ve gone over into complete cynicism. Only because there are so few Congress Critters that make sense. It’s like a tiny insignificant 3rd party.
kirkill on May 22, 2013 at 5:38 PM
love this guy!
crrr6 on May 22, 2013 at 5:38 PM
Yes, I definitely like the cut of this Cruz fellow’s jib.
rbj on May 22, 2013 at 5:39 PM
My Cruz votes* are ones that I’m sooo glad that I cast!
(Primary, run-off, general)
annoyinglittletwerp on May 22, 2013 at 5:39 PM
Outstanding. I like the cut of his jib.
RadClown on May 22, 2013 at 5:40 PM
sesqui, is that you too?
DanMan on May 22, 2013 at 5:41 PM
U.S. Admits for First Time Drones Killed 4 Americans
Resist We Much on May 22, 2013 at 5:44 PM
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Fenris on May 22, 2013 at 5:44 PM
Wish we had more out there with cajones…
Debt ceiling shenanigans got us that whole “sequester” nonsense.
We are way past enough is enough.
Meanwhile…the GOP is joining hands, singing Kumbaya with the Dems, and ushering in the age of totally awesome immigration…
coldwarrior on May 22, 2013 at 5:46 PM
Cruz to McCain:
“You are a liar to the people.”
peski on May 22, 2013 at 5:48 PM
Meh. I’ve (heard) read many impassioned statements here that are just as good as what Cruz says on a regular basis.
I guess the fact that he says them in a room of dim bulbs is enough to get us all going but really, aren’t you just thinking to yourself,
“finally someone there says what I’ve been thinking for years!”
I guess one or two guys like him will have to do for now though.
can_con on May 22, 2013 at 5:49 PM
Ted Cruz will not back down.
I will not back down.
Millions and Millions of we Americans will not back down.
We will have Ted Cruz’s back and back him up too.
Push
APACHEWHOKNOWS on May 22, 2013 at 5:50 PM
Nothing will get fixed until we have 99 more
Ted Cruz’s in the Senate.
redguy on May 22, 2013 at 5:51 PM
Ha! +1
GWB on May 22, 2013 at 5:57 PM
He’s all we got.
echosyst on May 22, 2013 at 5:58 PM
Cruz – so much of what Rubio is not.
VorDaj on May 22, 2013 at 5:59 PM
1 man on an island to represent all of us. Sad.
hillsoftx on May 22, 2013 at 5:59 PM
I can tell you how John McCain is going to die. Ted Cruz or Rand Paul will give him a heart attack.
Mark1971 on May 22, 2013 at 6:01 PM
Who cares what that poco hombre says anymore?
VorDaj on May 22, 2013 at 6:01 PM
Yes!
clnurnberg on May 22, 2013 at 6:02 PM
<— Proud Member of the Ted Cruz Party.
Republi what?
Varchild on May 22, 2013 at 6:02 PM
Tax and Spend Two Party Evil Money Cult in Washington D.C..
The Two Party Evil Money Cult in Washington D.C. now enabled by Rubio lust with evi greed for illegal immigrants for wage/vote slaves.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on May 22, 2013 at 6:03 PM
its offensive to me to see ocho rubio mentioned in the same breath as Ted Cruz.
The former is a filthy traitor. The latter, a man of presidential timbre.
renalin on May 22, 2013 at 6:05 PM
I voted for Cruz
Thank Me!
Bleed_thelizard on May 22, 2013 at 6:06 PM
Wait a minute, didn’t Cruz run and win on a Republican ticket? So he doesn’t trust himself (a Republican)? This is just red meat to the base. Thats all.
tommy71 on May 22, 2013 at 6:06 PM
And through all this John McCain has attained, and has created for himself serenity, and it is only his insanity that is keeping him alive in his senility.
RasThavas on May 22, 2013 at 6:07 PM
Y’all do know that all this Cruz love is gonna’ make it all the harder when he betrays y’all.
cozmo on May 22, 2013 at 6:08 PM
Senors y Senoritas, Ladies and Gentlemen, Amigos – comrades – muchachos – friends. The time will come when a first world America will outlive its usefulness. Marx, either Groucho or Karl, I can’t remember which, maybe it was both or maybe it was Harpo, once said that America is the opiate of the people. I say that when America outlives its usefulness and becomes a majority latino nation , then opium…will be the opiate…Ahh that’s not a bad idea… we are going to need that badly especially when the booze runs out …
And the completely unbiased and bi-partisan panel, has determined to give the grand prize to Marco Rubio for his EARNESTY’S RAINBOW. Now EARNESTY’S RAINBOW is a token of this man’s genius…he told me so himself and repeatedly … that he could change perceptions by calling his plan for knocking down those pesky borders EARNESTY …in other words, he could have been more specific, but rather than allude to an articulation of the mundane, he has come to the conclusion that brevity is the importance of our nation’s shallow first world existence. God damn!
Marco Rubio’s . EARNESTY’S RAINBOW – is a small contribution to a certain degree, since there are over seven billion people in the world today. 450 of them … million live in the United States and Mexico which is a very, very small amount compared to those who will be miserable and dying elsewhere…Well, I say that you will be on the road to new horizons, for we who live in a society where citizenship is a commodity and a politician can become a TV personality, it’s not easy to conform if you have any morality…I, I, I said that myself many years ago…
RasThavas on May 22, 2013 at 6:10 PM
cozmo on May 22, 2013 at 6:08 PM
*glares*
annoyinglittletwerp on May 22, 2013 at 6:10 PM
Trust no one.
RealMc on May 22, 2013 at 6:11 PM
Obtuse much?
xblade on May 22, 2013 at 6:11 PM
Really?
You know that day will come.
cozmo on May 22, 2013 at 6:12 PM
I think I see the problem here…
Seven Percent Solution on May 22, 2013 at 6:12 PM
And cozmo is bang on accurate.
tommy71 on May 22, 2013 at 6:13 PM
like anybody listens to a romney fluffer anywho. LOL
renalin on May 22, 2013 at 6:13 PM
Romney fluffer?
You forgot your ritalin…again.
cozmo on May 22, 2013 at 6:19 PM
Smart man that Senator Cruz.
gophergirl on May 22, 2013 at 6:23 PM
I wonder how long it will take before McVain starts some Cruz name-calling. He only attacks conservatives. Wouldn’t know how to go after a lib.
Mirimichi on May 22, 2013 at 6:25 PM
It is not about just Ted Cruz, it is not just about this commie democrat party with this Sgt. Shultz leader they misled U.S. all with.
Ted Cruz if he should ever go over to the dark side means nothing.
It is about the rule of law, our constitution, freedom, individual liberty and self goverment.
We are strong just look at the people in Moore Ok. third bad storm and what do they do. Get at clean up, get after re-building, takeing care of one another. Take most any other disaster in most of America, we get the job done and we take care of one another.
Wichita Falls Tx back in 1979 or so, F-5 there, next day, clean up started, next day re-building going on, two years later most of the work done.
We must fight now just like many times prior. It is not a new thing is it?
APACHEWHOKNOWS on May 22, 2013 at 6:28 PM
Cruz will excite the base and attract Reagan Democrats and independents to sweep to victory in 2016.Finally, a Republican whom conservatives can trust!
redware on May 22, 2013 at 6:31 PM
Sen Cruz showing McCain that being a “maverick” is more than sucking up to the Washington establishment.
SAMinVA on May 22, 2013 at 6:31 PM
The future of the Republican party…Ted Cruz and Trey ( pit bull ) Gowdy. I luv these guys.
Bacon4allah on May 22, 2013 at 6:34 PM
We don’t need a Debt Ceiling. We need a SPENDING CEILING.
I.E. Place a CAP on SPENDING within a single fiscal year. Any attempt to go over the spending cap triggers a automatic cuts to entitlement programs $2 worth of cuts for every $1 of spending over the cap.
Varchild on May 22, 2013 at 6:38 PM
tset too
APACHEWHOKNOWS on May 22, 2013 at 6:39 PM
I can’t throw ‘em either…but I’d like to try.
Axeman on May 22, 2013 at 7:00 PM
The DIFFERENCE between a CONSERVATIVE and a SELF-SERVING, ESTABLISHMENT CLOWN KNOWN AS A REPUBLICAN has NEVER been more clear.
TeaPartyNation on May 22, 2013 at 7:03 PM
You’ll join us over the edge when you realize conservatives are applauding Cruz for what should-be the basic position of all our representatives, at least in a sane world. The fact that he’s the only one stating what should be a basic premise, an absolute minimum sensible fact, (and getting accolades for stating the obvious) means we’re toast.
I think the guy is terrific, but he’s too little, too late.
Lost in Jersey on May 22, 2013 at 7:05 PM
I like Cruz more and more and like Rand Paul less now that he supports amnesty.
FloatingRock on May 22, 2013 at 7:15 PM
I’ve hated him since he endorsed Obama back in ’08.
Alberta_Patriot on May 22, 2013 at 7:16 PM
McCain is such a clown…
I am not sure I can anymore than that…
William Eaton on May 22, 2013 at 7:17 PM
Exactly!
I bow to your superior snark.
Lily on May 22, 2013 at 7:19 PM
oh wait I forgot, McCain makes Mittens look like a conservative.
William Eaton on May 22, 2013 at 7:19 PM
Damn you McCain. He passes the buck just like the rest of the @$$holes in Congress
hamradio on May 22, 2013 at 7:25 PM
No, I don’t trust the Republicans” with the debt ceiling either. But I trust Cruz.
Peace through strength.: The Cruz Missile.
petefrt on May 22, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Cruz is right. The GOP has its Beltway fossils of greater allegiance to Beltway as usual rather than to any Constitution or the peons.
Hatch and Miss Grahamnesty already have prostituted themselves for illegals with their committee vote. Rubio is a weather vane.
McVain rivals Tiny Tom Daschle in determination to get to any TV camera before anyone else with no limit to drama queening to effect same. That McVain was willing to deem Barky competent as POSOTUS only further confirmed McVain as unscrupulous.
viking01 on May 22, 2013 at 7:33 PM
I am amazed that I voted for McCain.
GaltBlvnAtty on May 22, 2013 at 7:59 PM
Cruz is most impressive. Rubio impresses one moment and fails, epically, the next. Rand Paul almost always impresses. The rest of the caucus is retarded, as are all of the Democrats in the world.
Jaibones on May 22, 2013 at 8:13 PM
Actually, you can finish the sentence above in about a million different ways, and it will still be correct.
Wino on May 22, 2013 at 8:15 PM
.. x 100.
(Used to be a crowd cheer in HS when the ref blew a call:
Elevator, elevator, we got the shaft!)
AesopFan on May 22, 2013 at 8:33 PM
I was wondering if anyone was gonna put their foot down about the budget. Here’s hoping Ted stays safe.
TMOverbeck on May 22, 2013 at 8:48 PM
Point of order – the debt is well outside low Earth orbit.
Steve Eggleston on May 22, 2013 at 9:14 PM
Today’s number is $11,866,707,237,456.99, or the amount of publicly-held government debt as of yesterday. I remember a time less than four years ago (9/29/2009, the next-to-last day of FY2009, to be exact) when the entirety of government debt, including intragovernmental debt, was less than that.
By the way – the amount of publicly-held debt when Teh SCOAMT assumed the office was $6,307,310,739,681.66, with total government debt more than $1 trillion less than the current amount of publicly-held debt.
Steve Eggleston on May 22, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Um, no, it’s not an intellectually consistent position. Democrats won in 2006 and 2008 in large part because they pretended to be, and promised to be, fiscal conservatives. That was a BIG LIE.
Let’s go back to what the Democrats put in writing in 2006, when they thought then-current deficits (like $248 Billion in FY 2006) were a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE…
Pelosi promised no more deficit spending. Pelosi promised that both in writing (above) and live on C-SPAN:
In 2008, Obama made deficit spending a campaign issue:
Republicans held majority control (holding 2+ out of 3 of the House, Senate, and Presidency) from January 3, 1995 to January 2, 2007 and were majority responsible for the FY 1996 to FY 2007 budgets. Over those 12 continuous years of Republican majority control, the total national debt increased from $4.974 Trillion to $9.008 Trillion, an increase of $4.034 Trillion over 12 years, for an average of $0.336 Trillion new debt per year.
The Democrats have held majority control (holding 2+ out of 3 of the House, Senate, and Presidency) since January 3, 2007, and are majority responsible for the FY 2008 to FY 2013 budgets (and have failed to pass a budget since FY 2009).
On April 30, 2013, after 5 and 2/3 Fiscal Years of Democrat majority control, the total national debt was $16.829 Trillion.
In 5 2/3 years, Democrat majorities have added more than $7.82 Trillion to the national debt, an average of $1.380 Trillion per year.
Obama said adding $4 Trillion in debt over 8 years (really over 12 years) was “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic”.
Yet Obama (first as a Senator in the Democratic majority, and then as pResident), has added over $7.82 Trillion in 5 and 2/3 years.
Republican majorities added an average of $0.336 Trillion new debt per year for 12 years.
Democrat majorities have been adding an average of $1.380 Trillion new debt per year for the last 6 Fiscal Years, all after Pelosi promised, in writing and from the Speaker’s rostrum on C-SPAN, “no more deficit spending”.
Democrats now claim that we don’t have a debt problem. LIARS.
In their view,
+$5 Trillion = $9 Trillion: BAD (when it was Bush and Republicans), but
+$7.8 Trillion = $16.8 Trillion: GOOD (when it was themselves doing it).
In their view,
$0.336 Trillion new debt per year: BAD (when it was Bush and Republicans), but
$1.380 Trillion new debt per year: GOOD (when it was themselves doing it).
Pelosi promised “fiscal discipline” and “no more deficit spending”, but then added more new debt than any other House Speaker in history.
Democrats promised “fiscal discipline” and “no more deficit spending”, but then added new debt at OVER FOUR TIMES THE RATE of the Republicans they criticized.
The Democrats are such shameless, boldfaced LIARS that it is despicable.
It is a big mistake for Senator Cruz to say that the Democrats have “an intellectually consistent position”.
ITguy on May 22, 2013 at 9:48 PM
Correction:
Should be +$4 Trillion, not +$5 Trillion.
Here’s a better way to say it:
ITguy on May 22, 2013 at 9:55 PM
yammer, yammer, yammer….. both parties are to blame. That’s a given. But nowhere in your “treatise” do I see any solution, much less bi-partisan objectivity. Did you cut and paste all that?
ultracon on May 22, 2013 at 10:36 PM
He is my senator. I helped in his campaign in whatever way I was able. I saw Dewhurst throw everything up against him and he beat him like an old rug. He is a stud! I couldnt be prouder of him. I hope he runs in 2016. I pray the Dems try to say he isnt really a US citizen. After Obama we will have a field day. I pray that the Dems say he doesnt have enough experience. Will they really think after Obama that will work? Bring it!
neyney on May 23, 2013 at 12:17 AM
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. – Jonathan Swift
Cruz Rocks!
workingclass artist on May 23, 2013 at 1:34 AM
It’s a nice way to say they are consistently stupid and honest about it…He also said it’s immoral to our children and grandchildren to continue raising the debt and not cut spending.
workingclass artist on May 23, 2013 at 1:37 AM
Senators Cruz and Paul, if only we had more like them.
Panther on May 23, 2013 at 7:07 AM
As bad as Obama is, and he has been horrible, McCain might have been even worse as President.
jpmn on May 23, 2013 at 9:39 AM