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Rand Paul Leading the GOP Charge to Court Youth, Latino Vote?

By Jordan Bloom • November 13, 2012, 1:20 PM

Politico’s Manu Raju caught up with Rand Paul on some of his legislative priorities in the next session:

[T]he Kentucky Republican plans to mix his hard-line tea party conservatism with more moderate policies that could woo younger voters and minorities largely absent from the GOP coalition. It’s the latest tactic of the freshman senator to inject the Libertarian-minded views shared by his retiring father into mainstream Republican thinking as the party grapples with its future.

In an interview with POLITICO, Paul said he’ll return to Congress this week pushing measures long avoided by his party. He wants to work with liberal Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and Republicans to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession. He wants to carve a compromise immigration plan with an “eventual path” to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a proposal he believes could be palatable to conservatives.

“Moderate” is kind of a slur among many who consider themselves Rand Paul supporters, and while it’s true that initial steps toward immigration reform and ending the drug war would have to be minor enough to garner any kind of widespread support, they don’t stem from any inclination toward centrism on the part of the Kentucky senator.

Nor do these initiatives suggest that he’s trawling around for a different approach after the alleged failure of the Tea Party agenda. But they do indicate his intention to be a leader among the GOP in reaching out to these constituencies, which could serve him well in 2016, should he choose to run.

Posted in Tea Party. Tagged Manu Raju, Politico, Rand Paul, Tea Party.

11 Responses to Rand Paul Leading the GOP Charge to Court Youth, Latino Vote?

Noah172 says:

November 13, 2012 at 1:44 pm

I’m a Ron Paul fan; I wrote in his name as my presidential vote rather than either of the candidates of the two-headed plutocrat party.

I was concerned about the younger Paul (enthusiastic Romney endorsement; talking about ending foreign aid for Muslim countries — good — but not for Israel — bad), and this story makes me pretty sour on him.

Senator Paul, like his father, is one the leaders in Congress on ending birthright citizenship, leadership sorely needed and appreciated. Still, according to NumbersUSA, he has not done anything else on the immigration front in his Senate tenure so far.
NRF says:

November 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm

Good for Rand that he’s pushing to repeal federal mandatory-minimum sentences for some marijuana “offenses.” But public opinion in most of our country is ready for far more reform than that, and Rand should know it. Look at the referenda where citizens took the initiative and repealed state statutes criminalizing adult use, cultivation, sale, and possession of marijuana in Colorado and Washington last week.

Many registered Republicans and Romney voters voted for those initiatives or they would not have passed so solidly.

The GOP can appeal to younger voters — and do what is required by the Tenth Amendment — if Rand and his GOP colleagues will push to repeal ALL federal statutes regarding marijuana and return the issue to the States where it belongs. Thing big, Rand, on this issue you can win.
Dakarian says:

November 13, 2012 at 3:52 pm

WAIT A MINUTE!

Legalizing pot isn’t exactly moderate Libertarian last I checked. Essentially, it’s offering a more pure view of his father’s ideology in order to bring support.

In truth, that can work, though it CAN backfire. Minority groups actually tend to have conservative mindsets. As such, they may reject items such as pot legalization.

However, I believe if done right, he can pull it off, and the GOP might be better off for it.
Daryl Davis says:

November 13, 2012 at 4:33 pm

Senator Paul will likely find it difficult to convince many Republicans that leapfrogging Democrats on the issue of pot legalization is a winner. And he isn’t likely to become a darling of the mainstream media for diverging from the GOP establishment on this issue, or on immigration, as Senator McCain did.

Or else, like McCain, he’ll find himself summarily dumped by the press should he choose to run for the presidency. Libertarians cannot win the presidency as third party candidates under this system; and they cannot win from within the Republican Party either.

Better to advocate for a new system in which they have the power to create communities that suit their unique principles — and one that leaves others to theirs:

http://whatdirectdemocracymightbe.wordpress.com/in-brief/
NRF says:

November 13, 2012 at 6:09 pm

You think merely ending the imprisonment of adults who smoke marijuana on their own property is somehow “not moderate”?

Many, many people in this country, including Republican voters, favor the repeal of federal laws criminalizing “hard drugs,” and the dominos are falling faster now in the States re: marijuana.

So yes, only legalizing marijuana is moderate or “moderately libertarian,” and not the third rail that some still seem to think it is. Catch up to public opinion on this one, because this is a rare issue where it is evolving in favor of greater liberty, less government oppression, and a mindset consistent with our Constitution.
Clint says:

November 13, 2012 at 6:31 pm

“Paul is working on a novel plan that he says would “assimilate” many of the 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the country. Those individuals, he said, could apply for legal status, but immigration would then be clamped down in the interim. He also says his plan would toughen security at the borde

Paul said the “trade-off” would be “not to accept any new legal immigrants while we’re assimilating the ones who are here.”
Mr William A House says:

November 13, 2012 at 10:41 pm

I am all for Republicans doing something good for a change.

Legalize Marijuana and Immigrants!

EVOLVE!
Mr William A House says:

November 13, 2012 at 10:43 pm

But Rand Pauls’ other half of his proposal is typically republican, and disgusting:

Tea Party leader Rand Paul is proposing an immigration “reform” that would halt all legal immigration to the United States for years.

In an interview with Politico, Senator Paul says that he believes Latino votes can be won by a prolonged legalization process for the undocumented, but that as a “tradeoff”, all new legal immigration would stop while the undocumented “assimilate”.

http://nysiaf.org/2012/11/13/rand-paul-calls-for-halt-to-all-legal-immigration/
Clint says:

November 13, 2012 at 11:37 pm

So let the different immigrant factions fight that one out.

Possibly, the different factions backing and/or opposing legal and/or illegal immigrants can run it up the flag pole and see which American voters salute it .

It could even possibly lead to a “splitting the baby” split the difference compromise.
Dan Phillips says:

November 14, 2012 at 9:20 am

“Legalize … Immigrants!

EVOLVE!”

What you are suggesting Mr. House, is that the Republican Party “evolve” itself out of existence. That’s hardly Darwinian.
DB Cooper says:

November 27, 2012 at 4:33 am

Well, Mr. House, that is not “disgusting’, that is a good thing. We need much less immigration so that wages can begin to rise, and the unemployed can get work. Last year, the economy produced a net 1.5 million jobs, and about 1.5 million immigrants entered the work force. Does that make any sense? During the most prosperous period for the poor and middle class in US history, wages were over 50% higher than today, and that was because immigration quotas were much less than today. During the last generation, immigration quotas have risen 800%, and the middle class and poor have been smashed because of it.