Full Show 3/31/15: Rand Paul Doesnt Believe in Gay Rights
Thom discusses the Iran nuclear talks with the National Iranian American Council #39;s Jamal Abdi and journalist Gareth Porter author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear...
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Full Show 3/31/15: Rand Paul Doesnt Believe in Gay Rights - Video
Must read: "Rand Paul Said He Doesnt Believe In The Concept Of Gay Rights
Must read: "Rand Paul Said He Doesn #39;t Believe In The Concept Of Gay Rights http://bzfd.it/1G3iBCi This is out of context he said instead he believes in human rights You guys are...
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Must read: "Rand Paul Said He Doesnt Believe In The Concept Of Gay Rights - Video
Story highlights Julian Zelizer: Rand Paul, due to announce for presidency, has attracted a lot of attention He says the Kentucky senator can appeal to younger Republicans with a libertarian brand of conservatism
The Kentucky senator's widely publicized appearance this month at the South by Southwest festival at Austin, Texas, was one opportunity he used to appeal to a tech-savvy audience. His particular blend of ideas -- a combination of libertarianism and Republican conservatism -- stands out from the rest of the pack. Younger Republicans, the much-desired millennial vote, seem attracted by what they are hearing.
What accounts for his appeal? In an era when so many Americans seem frustrated with shallow, personality-based politics, there seems to be genuine interest in a candidate who is fighting for a set of ideas. For many disaffected younger Republicans, Paul offers a version of the conservative agenda that seems foreign to the modern GOP.
Julian Zelizer
For almost half a century, "big government conservatism" has ruled the party. Although conservatism is theoretically about limited government, the historical reality has been much different. On national defense, the hawks of the GOP have been victorious.
Even while railing against the dangers of a big federal government, Republicans have lined up to support higher defense spending and a massive military-industrial complex. Though the GOP has little tolerance for many social safety net programs, the party has accepted sizable government support to industry, such as the financial bailout known as TARP in 2008 and subsidies for certain economic interests.
Paul has been a vocal critic of the neoconservative turn that the GOP has embraced in recent decades, during which the party moved beyond support for high national security spending and toward a bolder vision of aggressive nation-building and regime change.
For some Republicans, including Paul, these policies were at the heart of the failures of George W. Bush's presidency and a sharp departure from the party's principles. Similarly, Paul has been one of the few Republican voices to argue that post 9/11 surveillance policies have dangerously curtailed civil liberties. At the local level, he has criticized the militarization of police forces and the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement officers.
Paul has also backed away from some tenets of social conservatism that don't sit well with a growing number of Republican voters. He has been an outspoken advocate of giving states the right to legalize marijuana. He has been attuned to the ways in which younger generations of Republicans are not on board with the evangelical fervor of the 1970s conservative movement and want to move in a different direction.
While many Republicans have talked about the need for their party to tackle issues involving race and inequality in ways that are different from Democrats, most have been unwilling to offer any substantive ideas. Indeed, the recent budget blueprint from congressional Republicans exposed how thin discussions of a Republican anti-poverty program are.
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Why Rand Paul stands out - CNN.com
As he prepares to launch his presidential campaign next week, Rand Paul is looking to broaden his appeal to Iowas homegrown biofuel industry by co-sponsoring an ethanol-friendly bill with the states popular senior senator, Chuck Grassley.
Backing the measure gives Paul a way to appeal to Iowas alternative energy sector, while not compromising his free-market ideology when he barnstorms the state next week as part of his expected presidential kick-off.
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Pauls bill would make it easier to increase the amount of ethanol blended into vehicle fuel. Current Environmental Protection Agency rules impose a 10 percent limit on the amount of ethanol that can be mixed into fuel during the summertime. Pauls change is backed by key renewable fuel interest groups.
Alternative energy is a tricky issue in Iowa, where Grassley has long advocated legislation offering tax breaks for wind power and encouraging the sale of ethanol. Republican presidential hopefuls have to thread the needle between appealing to the critical caucus states energy producers while also attempting to appease a conservative base that opposes government intervention in the energy sector.
Paul and Grassleys bill would allow truck fleets to be converted more easily to run on ethanol blends, permanently extend a tax credit for manufacturers of alternative fuel vehicles, lower taxes on liquid natural gas and, most importantly for Iowans, allow a fuel blend of 15 percent ethanol to be sold year-round.
Paul has been critical of government regulations that dictate what fuels are sold, including the Renewable Fuel Standard, a law Congress created in 2005 and expanded in 2007 thats intended to gradually incorporate more alternative fuels into gasoline blends.
Paul said his new proposal is a way to get around the EPAs onerous regulation of fuels.
Sen. Paul supports removing regulatory barriers to the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels, which would likely have the effect of growing the use of these environmentally friendly fuels. He does not support the government telling consumers or businesses what type of fuel they must use or sell, an aide said on Wednesday.
Some would like Paul to go further. Although the Renewable Fuels Association, a major energy player in D.C., supports Pauls bill, it still wants the federal government to stand fully behind the RFS and not water it down or repeal it.
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Rand Paul finds a biofuels proposal he can get behind
Paul will be kicking off his presidential campaign next Tuesday during an appearance in Louisville, Ky. | Getty
Tony Fabrizio polled for Rick Perry in 2012, Bob Dole in 1996.
By Alex Isenstadt
4/1/15 6:10 PM EDT
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has signed Tony Fabrizio, a veteran Republican pollster, to join his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with the move.
Fabrizio joins a growing Paul campaign team that includes campaign manager-in-waiting Chip Englander, and advisers Steve Munisteri, Mike Biundo, and Doug Stafford.
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Fabrizios resume is a long one: He worked on then-Texas Gov. Rick Perrys 2012 presidential campaign Perry recently inked Greg Strimple to poll for his likely campaign and was a top strategist on Bob Doles 1996 bid. Fabrizio also serves as a top adviser to Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
Paul, a first-term Republican, will be kicking off his presidential campaign next Tuesday during an appearance in Louisville, Ky., at the Galt House hotel. The senator will then be heading to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Iowa for a tour of early primary states.
That would make Paul the second announced presidential candidate of the 2016 campaign; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched his bid last week. Another Republican, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, is expected to begin his campaign on March 13 in Miami.
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Rand Paul signs pollster for presidential campaign