Mediaboss Marketing

By Ashley Killough, CNN

updated 7:48 AM EST, Tue November 25, 2014

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul's efforts to court African American voters is a "welcome" endeavor, but Rep. Barbara Lee says the Kentucky Republican will "need to do a much better job if he actually expects to win them."

In an opinion piece Monday for The Root, the Democratic congresswoman from California harpooned Paul for saying last week in an interview that there's been no "bigger defender of minority rights in the Congress than" himself.

It's a comment Paul has made frequently this year, and it always lands him in trouble with critics who point to sitting Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington among other key events.

As Paul prepares for an expected presidential bid, he's tried to paint himself as a cutting-edge Republican who's willing to speak to nontraditional GOP voters. Last week, for example, he met with Rev. Al Sharpton, someone who actually sees Paul as a competitive threat in 2016 (more on that later).

Also in the past year, he helped the GOP open up an office in Detroit, traveled to Ferguson, spoke at the National Urban League and addressed historically black colleges.

And he recently told CNN that not competing for African-American votes has been "the biggest mistake" by Republicans in the past few decades.

Link:
Lee challenges Rand Paul on minority outreach

By Sara Fischer, CNN

updated 4:50 PM EST, Mon November 24, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul is receiving blowback from some of his Japanese-American colleagues after using World War II Japanese internment camps to describe what happens when a chief executive oversteps their power.

"Think of what happened in WWII, where the President issued an executive order," the Kentucky Republican said in a speech in his home state Friday slamming President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration. "He said to Japanese people, 'We're going to put you in a camp. We're going to take away all of your rights and liberties and we are going to intern you in a camp.'"

"I care that too much power gets in one place," Paul continued. "Why? Because there has been instances in our history where we allow power to gravitate to one person and that one person then makes decisions that really are egregious."

As news of the speech spread, Japanese lawmakers slammed Paul for his remarks.

"Rand Paul's comments comparing President Obama's executive order on Immigration with President Roosevelt's executive order that imprisoned thousands of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II could not be more misguided," Rep. Mike Honda said in a statement out Monday. "At best, he is confused. At worst, he is just wrong."

Honda himself lived in and out of Japanese internment camps for four years as a small child, as he referenced in his statement.

"As someone who as victim of executive order 9066, I can say without hesitation that (President Franklin Delano) Roosevelt was wrong," Honda said. "It was a misuse of power. President Obama's order is an appropriate use of executive order because Congress did not do its job."

The rest is here:
Japanese lawmakers slam Rand Paul for WWII remarks

Senator Rand Paul continues to insert his unconventional views into the nations foreign policy debate as the 2016 presidential contest gets closer.

The Kentucky Republican has unveiled a proposal that would officially declare war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The move is an attempt to both rein in presidential war powers and better define the fight against the extremist group that has brutally captured northern portions of Syria and neighboring Iraq.

In addition to declaring war, Pauls proposal sets limitations in the fight against ISIS, including limiting the use of combat ground forces except when Americans are in imminent danger, intelligence reasons or for specific high value topics. Those constraints put Paul at odds with other potential GOP nominees who have derided the president for ruling out ground troops.

Right now this war is illegal until Congress acts pursuant to the Constitution and authorizes it, Paul said in a statement.

In September, President Barack Obama expanded the fight against ISIS, promising to degrade and destroy the group. Congress left town to campaign for the midterms before debating and authorizing the expanded war against ISIS, and GOP leaders have indicated that they likely wont take up the authorization debate before next year.

Paul maintains that the Constitution says it is Congress job to declare war.

Right now this war is illegal until Congress acts pursuant to the Constitution and authorizes it, Paul said in a statement.

Pauls resolution also attempts to limit previous war authorizations -- used by both Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush -- to justify the use of expanded missions and new conflicts. It would end the 2002 authorization for war in Iraq a war that is technically over despite a recent increase in the U.S. troop presence there to curb the expansion of ISIS. Pauls measure would also add an expiration date to the 2001 war authorization for Afghanistan - or forces Congress to reauthorize it every year.

While he will push for the Senate to act during the lame-duck session, he has not received any commitment from Senate leaders. His aides say Paul has spoken with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who has also been advocating for a new war authorization, about his idea.

Pauls proposal is his latest attempt to shape a foreign policy with positions that often dont fit inside an ideological box. For instance, last spring, he held up the nomination of John Brennan, the nominee to head the CIA, because of the U.S.s use of drones.

Go here to read the rest:
ISIS War 'Illegal Until Congress Acts,' Rand Paul Says

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, speaks at an election rally for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, at Bowman Field November 3, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky. Aaron P. Bernstein, Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, says he will introduce a bill to declare war on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) once Congress comes back into session in December. He'll also use the same bill to terminate the authority granted by the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and set a date for expiration of the 2001 AUMF.

In a statement, Paul said, "I believe the President must come to Congress to begin a war and that Congress has a duty to act. Right now, this war is illegal until Congress acts pursuant to the Constitution and authorizes it."

President Obama has been prosecuting the war on ISIS without explicit authorization by Congress. His justification has been that he has the power to act under the 2001 AUMF. A senior administration official, quoted by Time, asserted that the 2001 AUMF, which authorized force against "'those nations, organizations, or persons' responsible for 9/11," could be applied to U.S. action against ISIS (or ISIL, as the administration refers to it) because ISIS had been affiliated with al Qaeda in 2004 and "is the true inheritor of Usama bin Laden's legacy."

After the election, though, the President revisited this stance, saying, "I'm going to begin engaging Congress over a new Authorization to Use Military Force against ISIL. The world needs to know we are united behind this effort, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support."

Democrats -- and now Paul -- have been pressing for a new AUMF that is specifically intended to address the threat posed by ISIS. Last week, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, penned an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times calling for Congress to vote on a new AUMF before lawmakers leave for the holidays, saying "I believe that Congress -- both Democrats and Republicans -- would support a narrowly tailored authorization that gives the president the authority he needs here."

2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

See the original post here:
Rand Paul to introduce resolution declaring war on ISIS

Ron Paul Opposes Treasonous TPP Trade Deal
Real News @ Ron Paul says Free Trade Agreements erode National sovereignty, destroy jobs, and only serves the special interests. S. Real News @ Rand Paul to Obama: Finish TPP Trade...

By: Clark Huff

Read the original here:
Ron Paul Opposes Treasonous TPP Trade Deal - Video