Jeff Berwick: Bitcoin is like The Internet in Early 90s
Jason Burack of Wall St for Main St was able to interview successful technology entrepreneur, Libertarian entrepreneur, Canadian expat, Anarcho-Capitalist and The Dollar Vigilante (TDV), Jeff....
By: Colleen Daes
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Jeff Berwick: Bitcoin is like The Internet in Early 90s - Video
When the presidential buzz began building around Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a couple of years ago, the expectation was that his libertarian ideas could make him the most unusual and intriguing voice among the major contenders in the 2016 field.
But now, as he prepares to make his formal announcement Tuesday, Paul is a candidate who has turned fuzzy, having trimmed his positions and rhetoric so much that its unclear what kind of Republican he will present himself as when he takes the stage.
Hes going to get his moment in the sun, said David Adams, who served as campaign chairman for Pauls insurgent 2010 Senate campaign. What he does with it from there will have bearing on the Republican Party.
There are at least two areas where Paul has moved more in line with the conservative Republican base, somewhat to the consternation of the purists in the libertarian movement: adopting a more muscular posture on defense and foreign policy, and courting the religious right.
Where he once pledged to sharply cut the Pentagons budget, for instance, Paul late last month proposed a $190billion increase over the next two years albeit one that would be paid for by cutting foreign aid and other government programs. His tour following the announcement of his candidacy will include an event at Patriots Point in South Carolinas Charleston Harbor, with the World War II-era aircraft carrier USS Yorktown as a backdrop.
[What Rand Pauls defense spending proposal tells us about his 2016 strategy]
The haziness over Pauls positions increased last week with his conspicuous silence on controversies in the realms of both national security and the cultural fronts.
Nearly all of his potential rivals for the 2016 GOP nomination have been vocal in their support for Indianas new religious liberties law, which critics say would allow discrimination against gays. And the Republican response to President Obamas nuclear negotiations with Iran has been widespread skepticism.
In both instances, Pauls office said he was vacationing with his family and would not comment.
What Paul says Tuesday and in several stops in the following days will be closely watched by a handful of disparate constituencies into which he has tried to make inroads over the past year, including Silicon Valley executives drawn to his libertarian ways and more traditional Republican business leaders who are wary of them. Attracted to his promise of expanding the GOP electorate, they have met with Paul, but many remain unsure of his electability, as well as his views.
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Rand Paul seems to stray from libertarian roots as he courts GOP base
KAREN TUMULTY AND ROBERT COSTA
Last updatedMon Apr 06 05:14:03 UTC 2015
LAURA BUCKMAN / Reuters
HIPSTER SENATOR?: Rand Paul talks during a session at the South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive, film and music conference in Austin, Texas, last month.
When the US presidential buzz began building around Senator Rand Paul a couple of years ago, the expectation was that his libertarian ideas could make him the most unusual and intriguing voice among the major contenders in the 2016 field.
But now, as he prepares to make his formal announcement on Tuesday (local time), the Kentucky Republican is a candidate who has turned fuzzy, having trimmed his positions and rhetoric so much that it's unclear what kind of Republican he will present himself as when he takes the stage.
"He's going to get his moment in the sun," said David Adams, who served as campaign chairman for Paul's insurgent 2010 Senate campaign. "What he does with it from there will have bearing on the Republican Party."
KEVIN LAMARQUE / Reuters
RIGHT-WING: Rand Paul speaks the CPAC conference in Maryland in February.
There are at least two areas where Paul has moved more in line with the conservative Republican base, somewhat to the consternation of the purists in the libertarian movement: adopting a more muscular posture on defense and foreign policy and courting the religious right.
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US Presidential candidate Rand Paul veers from libertarian positions
Jalapeno challenge with the Libertarian baseball team
One of our fans stepped out to the bar with us and this is tradition to eat a cup of pickled jalapeos and tabasco sauce.
By: Libertarian Vandweller
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Jalapeno challenge with the Libertarian baseball team - Video
Senator Lindsey Graham isnt the biggest fan of his more libertarian colleagues, but he insists that their differences are only tactical and believes they have lots of common ground to work from.
In an interview with The Gazette this week, Graham talks about his potential 2016 candidacy and talks up his ability to solve hard problems. He says his philosophy is All right, if I get 80 percent of what I want, thats a good day.
Some of Grahams views, especially his foreign policy hawkishness, dont exactly make him the favorite of more libertarian Republicans, but he has this to say in response:
Libertarians want smaller government. Count me in. Libertarians want oversight of government programs and making sure that your freedoms are not easily compromised. Count me in. Ted Cruz wants to fight Obamacare. Count me in What we wind up doing is having tactical differences.
The difference, as Graham put it, is that I want to fix it rather than yell about it.
One of Grahams House colleagues, Republican Justin Amash, responded to some of what he said:
[h/t Reason] [image via Frank Plitt]
Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
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Lindsey Graham: Im with Libertarians, but I Want to Fix Problems, Not Just Yell