Senator Rand Paul Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames Straw Pole
Senator Rand Paul and Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames straw pole in Ames, Iowa. Please Note: The appearance/absence of any political candidate on this site/channel does not ...
By: Kevin Cavallin
Excerpt from:
Senator Rand Paul & Former Congressman Ron Paul at the 2011 Ames Straw Pole - Video
By Alexandra Jaffe, CNN
updated 9:00 AM EST, Fri December 19, 2014
(CNN) -- Sen. Marco Rubio lashed out at Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday night for his support for the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba.
"Like many people that have been opining, he has no idea what he's talking about," Rubio said on Fox News' "The Kelly File."
Paul became a rare figure on the Right speaking out in support of the move, which Obama announced Wednesday, to relax the decades-long embargo on Cuba and open up an embassy there.
"The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked," Paul said in an interview with West Virginia radio station WVHU. "If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship."
RELATED: Rand Paul backs Obama on Cuba
And he was the only potential GOP presidential contender to express support. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have both come out opposed, and Rubio's been one of the president's fiercest critics on the right.
Paul's support for ending the embargo comes as little surprise, however, as it aligns with his libertarian beliefs. Indeed, his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, introduced a bill to lift the embargo during his time in Congress.
But it highlights one of the first major policy divides confronting the developing GOP presidential field, and Rubio's response hints at more infighting to come exactly the outcome many in the party have feared would arise from a wide-open and protracted primary fight.
Read this article:
Rubio says Paul 'has no idea what he's talking about' on Cuba
TIME Politics 2016 Election Rand Paul en. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowanGetty Images
The announcement from the White House Wednesday that the U.S. will move to re-establish full diplomatic ties with Cuba sparked a wave of condemnation from the likely Republican presidential candidates with one exception: Sen. Rand Paul.
The Kentucky Republican broke with the rest of the 2016 pack today when he said that President Obamas decision was a good idea.
That fits with Pauls broader effort to attract younger voters and expand the Republican Party, since younger Cuban-Americans are not as supportive of the trade and travel restrictions as their parents, though it could risk turning off some older Republican voters, especially in the crucial battleground of Florida.
It put him on the same side as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the leading contender on the Democratic side, who has argued that the trade embargo was counterproductive.
Heres a look at what the major Republican contenders had to say about the change in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Sen. Rand Paul: Supportive
What he said: If the goal is regime change, it sure doesnt seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship. In the end, I think opening up Cuba is probably a good idea. (WVHU)
What it meant: The libertarian-leaning son of former Rep. Ron Paula longtime critic of Americas Cuba policyPaul is the rare Republican to come out in support of reestablishing diplomatic relations.
Sen. Marco Rubio: Opposed
View post:
Rand Paul Breaks with Other 2016 Candidates on Cuba
By Jeremy Diamond, CNN
updated 1:19 PM EST, Thu December 18, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul broke with the field of Republicans considering a 2016 presidential run on Thursday, calling President Barack Obama's decision to normalize relations with Cuba a "good idea" since the American embargo against Cuba "just hasn't worked."
Paul, a likely presidential candidate, made the remarks in an interview with News Talk 800 WVHU's Tom Roten, just a day after his potential competitors for the Republican nomination -- former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz -- slammed the decision to normalize relations as a dangerous move. Rubio and Cruz are sons of Cuban immigrants.
READ: 2016 Republicans slam Cuba announcement
Paul joined the mostly Democratic supporters of the decision, asserting that the embargo hasn't produced results and hurts the Cuban people rather than their autocratic rulers. He even likened his support to U.S. trade with China, which he called "ultimately the best way to defeat communism."
"The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked," Paul said. "If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship."
Paul is not the only Republican to support Obama's decision to increase economic ties with Cuba. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona traveled with a congressional delegation to Cuba that brought back Alan Gross, the formerly imprisoned American aid worker.
"In the end, I think probably opening up Cuba is probably a good idea," he said.
Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky is breaking with many members of his own party and other potential Republican candidates for president in 2016 inoffering at least some support for the presidents opening to Cuba, highlighting yet another area where he seems likely to offer a contrast but which is also likely to become an area of attack against him in a primary race:
Sen. Rand Paul broke with other likely Republican presidential contenders on Thursday by saying that opening up more trade with Cuba is probably a good idea and declaring that the US embargo on the country just hasnt worked.
The Kentucky senators comments to the West Virginia radio station News Talk 800 WVHU came a day after the White House announced it would normalize relations with the communist island.
The other likely GOP 2016 contenders who have weighed in so far on the plans have expressed fierce opposition. But Paul has taken a number of positions on foreign policy that have been at odds with many in his party.
The 50-year embargo just hasnt worked, Paulsaidin remarks confirmed by his office. If the goal is regime change, it sure doesnt seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime, because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship.
[ ... ]
Paul in the past has indicated support for allowing diplomatic talks with Iran over its nuclear program to continue, another policy at odds with many leading Republicans. He also has argued that a less aggressive foreign policy is appealing to younger voters and others who dont traditionally vote for Republicans.
Paul is, of course, correct in his assessment that the embargo that was put in place 52 years ago and which largely remains in effect, notwithstanding the hopeful and helpful steps that the president took yesterday, has done little to either help the Cuban people or undermine the Castro regime. As far as the Cuban people go, all that it seems to do is to ensure that an economy that has been on the rocks for decades remains there, as the nation remains cut off from what would obviously be its more lucrative trading partner and a lucrative trading partner for the US, in turn, as it was in the years before the 1959 Revolution, although this time hopefully on a much more equal footing. In the years of the Cold War, of course, the Cuban government was able to shield its people from some of the impact of the foolish economics of Castro socialism, thanks to the subsidies it was receiving from the Soviet Union. When those were cut off as the Cold War was collapsing, there was much speculation that the Castro regime would not be far behind, but the regime managed to survive and, in more recent years, has exploited its relationship with the anti-American regime in Venezuela to obtain energy supplies despite a shortage of hard currency. The regime in Havana has also been aided by the fact that, in the wake of the end of the Cold War, many European nations, along with nations like Canada, eased their own policies vis a vis Cuba, despite the fact that the US kept its embargo in place for reasons that have more to do with domestic politics and ongoing resentments from the Cold War on both sides of the 90-mile divide between the US and Cuba than with anything approaching a rational foreign policy. As Paul goes on to note, there remain a host of complicated issues between Havana and Washington, but since we know that following the same road weve been on since 1961 isnt going to change anything theres nothing wrong at all with trying a different path.
In taking this position, Paul is of course differentiating himself from several potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, including Sen.Marco Rubio of Florida,Sen.Ted Cruz of Texas,and former Florida Gov.Jeb Bush, as well as what would appear to bethe majority of the Republicans on Capitol Hill.This isnt an unusual position for the senator to be in, of course, since hes done similar things with regard to US drone and surveillance policy, as well as foreign policy; however, it does present another example of the difficulties that he is likely to face if he does, in fact, run for president in 2016. For the most part, Paul has gotten a good deal of mostly positive press coverage when he takes these contrarian positions, and hes so far taken only a small number of attacks from fellow Republicans for his refusal to adhere to party orthodoxy. While some of those attacks have come from prominent members of the GOP like former US Ambassador to the United NationsJohn Bolton, New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie, former Vice PresidentDick Cheney, and Texas Gov.Rick Perry, they have been relatively low key so far. If Paul runs for president, and especially if he becomes a major player in the race, hes likely to become the focus of attacks on issues such as this from all quarters of the GOP. Perhaps he can withstand them and bring to the polls in the early primary states a constituency that is truly interested in taking the Republican Party in a different direction when it comes to issues such as foreign policy and civil liberties. The senator better be prepared to take some incoming fire, though, because it is going to come, and it is going to be quite severe when it does.
Doug Mataconis appears on the Outside the Beltway blog at http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/.
Read the rest here:
Rand Paul breaks with other 2016 GOP contenders to back Obama's opening to Cuba