Rubio, the early Republican frontrunner for 2016, has won plaudits for advocating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants — as indeed does Paul — but his address was largely traditional Republican fare, albeit expressed in a sunnier fashion and with more references to the middle class.
By contrast, Paul’s formula is a clear shift to “a less aggressive foreign policy, a little more toleration of individual characteristics, toleration of immigration and a less draconian approach to non-violent crime like drug usage”.
His father, he pointed out, came out ahead of Obama in some presidential election polling: “He beat him with an interesting dynamic — loses a third of the Republican vote, gains a third of the Democratic vote and wins the independents. So it’s a sort of third way.”
Asked if this would be the kind of coalition he could try to assemble if he ran nationally, Paul said: “I think so. You have to do something to cobble people together to find a majority.”
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