With a dizzying 17 clowns now in the race car for the Republican presidential nomination—and with the first debate only two days away—it seems like a good time to take an in-depth look at the top-ten candidates and their current stands on the issues. This is a just-the-facts review of Rand Paul.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is running for the Republican nomination as a conservative Libertarian. On most issues, he is ideologically aligned with his father, former senator Ron Paul. However, the son diverges from his father’s and the Libertarian Party’s views on social issues—most notably on a woman’s right to choose.
Paul has outlined one of the most aggressive spending-cut proposals in Congress— one he believes will balance the federal budget in five years. A staunch proponent of state’s rights, he opposes federal funding of almost everything, including abortion, education, and health care. He also favors privatizing Social Security.
Regarding income inequality, Paul believes people should be aware of those who are missing out on the American Dream, but he also thinks federal "gifts" perpetuate poverty. He favors instituting a flat tax of 17% or less and cutting corporate taxes in half as a means to create more jobs. In addition, he favors a 5% tax on overseas profits with the proceeds going into infrastructure projects.
Paul is perhaps most enigmatic on defense spending. Despite years of calling for cutbacks in defense, he recently proposed increasing the Pentagon’s budget by $190 billion. This seems to contradict his past statement that “war should be the last resort.” To which he added, “I will do whatever it takes to defend the country, but I don’t think we should just go to war as if it was a game of Risk.” Nonetheless, Paul favors arming Kurdish allies and putting U.S. troops on the ground to protect Americans and “high value targets.”
Given that Paul now favors more money for defense, it is his views on foreign policy that are perhaps the main area of concern for conservative voters. Generally, Paul favors sanctions and diplomacy, preferring less intervention and activism on foreign affairs. He would like to eliminate all foreign aid (including to Israel) and rebuild America instead. He is opposed to the Iran nuclear deal.
Paul’s view on the environment is rather original. He believes the energy crisis stems from too much government intervention. As such, he wants to balance environmental safety with business deregulation. He supports the Keystone pipeline, plus domestic oil and gas exploration, but he would end subsidies to solar companies. To Paul, those are donation kickbacks
To his credit, Paul has ignited a national following on the issue of criminal justice reform. He believes the underlying problem in the system is that it unfairly targets minorities. He is a proponent of sealing non-violent criminal records to allow job attainment and restoring the federal right to vote to non-violent felons. He opposes arming local police with military equipment.
Claims to fame
• Lead sponsorship of 353 bills in four years
• Senate filibusters, most recently in opposition to NSA surveillance and the Patriot Act
• Lawsuit against Obama administration for collecting cell phone records
Strongly opposes—
• A woman’s right to choose (but not the overturn of Roe v. Wade)
• Expansion of Obamacare
• Stricter punishments to reduce crime
• Higher taxes on the wealthy
• Green energy as a priority
• Idea that marijuana is a gateway drug
• Patriot Act and federal data surveillance of private citizens
Opposes—
• Legal requirements for hiring women and minorities
• Same-sex unions
• Supporting American exceptionalism
• Expansion of the military
• A market-led recovery versus a stimulus
• Foreign entanglements
• Net neutrality
• Common Core standards and No Child Left Behind
• A higher minimum wage
Strongly favors—
• Keeping God in the public sphere
• Absolute right to gun ownership
• Vouchers for school choice
• A reduction in EPA restrictions
• Expansion of free trade
• Tax cuts for both individuals and businesses
• Congressional term limits
Favors—
• Privatizing Social Security
• A pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
• Making voter registration easier (but voter IDs okay)
• Dissolving Education Department and giving its funds to state and local programs
• IRS reform but not closure
Memorable quote
On a social safety net: “As humans, yeah, we do have an obligation to give people water, to give people food, to give people health care. But it’s not a right because once you conscript people and say, ‘Oh, it’s a right,’ then really you’re in charge, it’s servitude, you’re in charge of me and I’m supposed to do whatever you tell me to do… It really shouldn’t be seen that way.”
What to watch for
Paul is likely to do well in the debate. He is smart and comes across very likeable. But he continually struggles to reconcile his record and rhetoric with how he wants to be perceived with voters. His real test will be in how well he can sell his brand of Republicanism to the party’s traditional base.
More than any other Republican candidate, Paul has laid out the boldest proposals for the country. If he gets the opportunity to go on the offense, he has strong positions where he could gain points with voters.
Despite his bold proposals, Paul has to walk a fine line to keep both his libertarian and his conservative bases happy. If the debate tilts heavily toward defense and foreign policy, his less-than-hawkish views will be both his biggest strength and his biggest vulnerability. Expect a vigorous debate within this area.
Paul will be in a similarly vulnerable position on domestic issues, especially immigration, the drug war, and government surveillance programs. Chris Christie has already criticized Paul for his opposition to the latter.
Other articles in my "Just the Facts" series
Ted Cruz, Scott Walker,Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee
Sources
The Hill, On the Issues.org, PBS, Politico, Des Moines Register, U.S. Conservatives, The Fiscal Times, Bankable Insight, The Washington Post