Rand Paul attempts to clarify his vaccine position
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, denies he #39;s switched positions on vaccines, discusses his thinking on the 2016 presidential race, and sticks to his libertarian guns on net neutrality.
By: CBSNews.com Web Extras
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Rand Paul attempts to clarify his vaccine position - Video
I have a biology degree, okay?
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky), remarks at the Lincoln Labs Reboot Congress conference, Feb. 12, 2015
We first spotted a version of this quote in a Bloomberg column by David Weigel, and then checked the quotes with our colleague Jose DelReal, who had attended the conference.
This is a bit of an odd one, given that Paul does not have a college undergraduate degree.
Paul mentioned his alleged degree at the conference not once, but twice. First, in an exchange with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, Paul said:
Arrington: Lets talk about economics because maybe you can actually explain this to me. I have an econ degree which means I know just enough not to understand any of what our government is [inaudible]
Paul: Mines in biology and English so this is going to be a great conversation.
Then, later in the conversation, expounding on what he considered the virtues of Bitcoin, Paul said:
This is just me. I have a biology degree, okay? But with Bitcoin my concern always was whether or not something has real value. So I could imagine a kind of coin that was exchangeable. This gets back to the whole idea, does money have to be exchangeable for something to be of value?
The interesting thing about these references is that previously Pauls staff has blamed the media for misunderstanding his unusual educational background.
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Fact Checker: Rand Pauls claim twice in one day that he has a biology degree
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, had another chance to defend his recent comments about vaccinations Thursday, although he wasn't necessarily hoping to revisit the topic.
"Thanks for not getting into vaccines, I'm glad we agreed beforehand not to get into vaccines," Paul said to his interviewer, TechCruch's Michael Arrington, who asked Paul about vaccines at the top of his Q&A.
The vaccine debate has "an easy answer," Paul said, but "when I gave the easy answer people went crazy, because they didn't understand what the debate was about. I'm not promoting any change to vaccine law, the current vaccine law has religious exemptions and philosophic exemptions, so those who jumped all over on me on this need to stand up and say what they're for. They asked the president, 'Are you for a new federal law holding people down and vaccinating them?' He's not, neither is anybody else who's been giving me a lot of grief over this, and neither am I for changing the rules either."
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Paul's comments came at a gathering of tech-minded conservatives and Libertarians, the Reboot Congress conference, so naturally, he was also asked about the impending open internet rules. Paul opposes FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's net neutrality plan and argued that banning paid prioritization -- allowing companies to pay for faster internet delivery speed -- might not be such a great idea.
"So this is an economic fact, that bulk supply, bulk contracts get different contracts. The interesting thing though is, without any regulation for 20 years on the internet, with all the fear that there might be some bulk pricing, i think there's very little evidence that it exists today."
And Paul was forthright where he is on running for president. "I would say I'm about as direct as anybody on this. We are thinking very strongly about it, we do travel everywhere with the intention of putting the message out to see if it resonates," he said.
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Rand Paul on vaccines, net neutrality and running for president
U.S. Senator Rand Paul says the audit-the-Fed legislation is a first step toward more control over the central bank.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) A bill to audit the Federal Reserves monetary policy is just the first step in Congress taking greater control over monetary policy, its main supporter said on Thursday.
The comment, made in a Facebook question-and-answer session by Sen. Rand Paul, feeds into the concerns by opponents of the legislation that the ultimate goal is to weaken the independence of the central bank.
Paul, the Kentucky Republican whos weighing a presidential bid,answered a number of questions on his Facebook page.
When asked why a private corporation runs the monetary policy, Paul replied: Congress created the Fed over 100 years ago but in the years since has abdicated too much power to it. This bill is the first step in reclaiming their Constitutional power.
Also see: A look at whats behind the Audit the Fed legislation
He said popular support for the legislation which would allow the Government Accountability Office to review monetary policy has grown since the bank bailouts.
Asked separately what he wants to accomplish with such an audit, Paul replied: Transparency and to give Congress the ability to reassert its Constitutional power over monetary policy.
Federal Reserve officials have mounted a public campaign against the legislation, spearheaded by Gov. Jerome Powell, a Republican, and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, who was the Democratic nominee in a Texas senatorial race, but has views more commonly associated with conservatives.
Fisher this week said those who support the audit the Fed legislation are sheep in wolves clothing.
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Capitol Report: Rand Paul says audit bill is first step toward more say on monetary policy
Rand Paul Shuts Down Reporter For Daring To Cite Facts
"Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) didn #39;t like the way a CNBC anchor was interviewing him, so he told her to "calm down," saying she was mischaracterizing basic facts in...
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Rand Paul Shuts Down Reporter For Daring To Cite Facts - Video