Courtesy of Mish.
To win the 2016 election, Rand Paul has to prove he is not his dad, that he is still a libertarian, and most importantly that he is not “weak on defense”, a phrase that has different meanings to different people.
It’s a tough line to follow but Paul is handling himself very well as noted by the Daily Beast in Rand Paul: I’m Not My Dad.
With 2016 in his sights, Rand Paul is distancing himself from some of his father’s more extreme views. David Catanese on why the apple must fall just far enough from the tree.
Standing in front of more than 100 South Carolina GOP activists in West Columbia Friday night, the Kentucky senator largely steered clear of the week’s two dominant, divisive issues that are tying his party in knots: Gay rights and immigration reform.
Instead, he diverted from his early presidential-primary-state speech script and went for the jugular on a topic that, while not necessarily timely, would surely please a military-friendly crowd: A full-throated defense of profiling.
“After 9-11 we had a special program for student visas . . . Why?” Paul asked. “Because 16 of the 19 hijackers were overstaying their students visas. Was it targeting? Was it profiling? Yes. Because only certain people are attacking us. Why don’t we use some brain sense to go after the people who are attacking us?”
The guests ate it up, rewarding Paul with sustained thunderclaps. It was one of his biggest applause lines of the night. But it was also a curious statement from a likely 2016 White House contender who built his brand on a libertarian approach to government. This, from the same guy who stood on the Senate floor for 14 hours to protest the potential use of drones to target Americans?
The address was almost exclusively devoted to foreign affairs and tactics employed in the country’s struggle against terrorism — a marked change from his previous early state primary speeches and a subtle acknowledgment that he must prove he’s no softy when it comes to national security.
It’s not that Paul walked away from his core libertarian philosophy. He stood by his belief that even those charged with the most heinous, evil crimes — like the Boston bombing — deserve a day in court.
“You may not all agree on this but it’s worth thinking about,” Paul cautioned before explaining his rationale to halt indefinite detentions of possible terrorists.
When he bravely posited his idea of a full audit of the Pentagon, he was met with complete silence. But he strived to emphasize that greater oversight of the military isn’t incongruent with support for troops on the ground.
Hogan Gidley, a former state party official who advised Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential bid, said it was evident Rand’s mission was to wipe away any perception that he was weak on defense….
