Rand Pauluses and Minuses - Massive Disappointment in Iowa
{Editor's Note: My esteemed colleague Brian McWilliams is out of commission this week - don't worry, he's fine! - so your humble editor in chief - me, Marc Clair! - will take a quick look at the fallout form the Iowa results, before we get to Brians' thoughts from the prior week in all things Rand Paul - MC}A Hugely Disappointing Result in Iowa by Marc ClairAs of this writing the Iowa voting still appears to be a dead heat between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Donkey side of things, while things are a bit less murky for the Republicans. As our good friend Johnny "Rocket" Adams predicted way back in September on the Lions of Liberty Podcast, it seems that Ted Cruz is indeed rising to the top of the Republican ranks with a victory in Iowa, pulling 28% to Donald Trump's 24% and Marco Rubio's 23%. This doesn't mean Cruz will sail to the nomination - after all, Rick Santorum won the Iowa Caucus in 2012 - but it does show that his recent surge to the top of the GOP ranks is to be taken seriously.Meanwhile, the man who even critics would likely agree is the most friendly to individual liberty and the presumed heir to the Ron Paul - liberty movement legacy, Senator Rand Paul pulled in a mere 4.5% in the polling. If you spend a lot of time in the Liberty Social Media Bubble (LSMB), you'll likely have heard by now of Paul's much-ballyhood "ground game" in Iowa, the college students that have gone unpolled, and the 1,000+ precinct captains the Paul campaign had touted. But none of that seemed to make much of a difference in Iowa, and Paul finished in 5th place, essentially right where the latest polls had him pegged.There are some silver linings - he did finish ahead of the once-presumed nominee, Jeb Bush, almost doubling his votes. But Rand didn't even come anywhere close to the 26,000+ votes his father received in 2012. When all votes are counted he will likely finish with little more than a quarter of that number.It's clear that - at least politically - the early returns show that not only is Rand Paul not growing the liberty movement - he's not even retaining whatever political movement was left for him by his father.These results simply cannot be viewed as anything other than a massive....- MINUSAnd now, I return you back to your regularly scheduled columnist, Brian McWilliams, with a look at some brighter news from Rand Paul pre-Iowa.Justice Reform...FINALLYRand had his strongest showing to date during the Trumpless GOP Debate, which was actually far more watchable than any other to date. I'm not going to go into the nitty gritty of that performance, as we broke it down on our 7th GOP Debate Recap Show.The most powerful answer from Rand during the debate came after a question from a social media user about Ferguson and body cameras. #Randypants used that as a springboard to discuss the broader need for justice reform, how the law is unequally applied to minorities over whites and how many Americans are being "fined to death."Here's a short text excerpt (full video of the answer can be found here):
In Ferguson, for every 100 African-American women, there are only 60 African-American men. Drug use is about equal between white and black, but our prisons — three out of four people in prison are black or brown. I think something has to change. I think it’s a big thing that our party needs to be part of, and I’ve been a leader in Congress on trying to bring about criminal justice reform.
- PAULUSJim Gray running as Paul opposition for KY Senate seatLexington, KY Major Jim Gray has been goaded by his party into challenging Rand's Senate seat, as the Democrats believe his presidential campaign leaves hum vulnerable.First, no one needs to worry about Jim Gray for any reason.Second, Rand maintains one of the highest attendance rates for Senate votes of virtually anyone, has put forth numerous bills this past year (and a questionable one in 2016, called the Life at Conception Act), and also pens op-eds to smaller towns to address the work he's been doing for them in Washington.He's in no danger from this weak competition.- PAULUSRegime changes don't beat terrorismRand was saying all the right things in Iowa - from our vantage point anyway - leading into the caucus where U.S. or U.N. induced regime change and terrorism were concerned.From the Des Moines Register
Sen. Rand Paul said his definition of foreign policy is defending the United States, “not picking the right leaders” in the Middle East.The Republican presidential hopeful from Kentucky made three campaign stops throughout Iowa on Saturday with a similar message: Regime changes have not worked to reduce terrorism and instead have resulted in “a rise of radical Islam.” Later at the University of Northern Iowa, Paul spoke on his desire for a small government that does not give way to terrorism by buying into fear and making citizens give up their right to privacy.
- PAULUSSeems like Rand is sticking closer to the anti-war leanings of his father - probably because poppa Ron was campaigning with him in Iowa and the younger Paul is terrified Ron will bend him over for a spanking if he strays into neocon territory!Sadly, none of this good news for the past week seemed to translate in any positive news at the polls in Iowa.2016 RPM Tally: 16 Pauluses / 5 MinusesRPM Total: 155 Pauluses / 47 Minuses / 11 PushDiscuss this and so much more in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!Be sure to check out the latest Pauluses and Minuses Podcast!Check out the full “Rand Pauluses and Minuses” Archive!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Check out our YouTube Channel!Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
