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Rand Paul Challenges Hillary Clinton in Key Iowa Speech (+video)

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Photo Credit: Matthew Holst On Friday, Sen. Rand Paul put his stake in the ground for a possible run in 2016 by mocking the Obama administration and delivering a blistering critique of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The administration has been criticized for failing to provide security during the attack and for its characterization of the incident afterward.

Speaking at the Iowa GOP’s annual Lincoln Dinner, Paul questioned the initial response to the attacks and asked, “First question to Hillary Clinton: Where in the hell were the Marines?”

“It was inexcusable, it was a dereliction of duty, and it should preclude her from holding higher office,” the Kentucky Republican added to loud applause.

Republicans’ search for a candidate to deliver their first victory in a presidential election since 2004 began as Paul used the plum speaking slot to plant the seeds for his own possible bid. And he won his biggest applause by taking on Clinton, who’s seen as the early front-runner for the Democratic nomination to succeed President Barack Obama.

Paul was just elected to the Senate in 2010 and is perhaps best known as the son of the former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, whose two campaigns for president attracted a fervent, grassroots following that might translate to his son.

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Rand Paul on 2016: It’s About Independents and Moderates

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Republican Rand Paul is going to take his politicking to moderate voters, and away from fire-breathing ultra-conservatism that turns off people who favor same-sex marriage and abortion rights, he said in Iowa today.

But he also met for a full hour with deeply conservative Iowa pastors — a team of men who came away impressed, saying they’re certain that Paul has “a Biblical world view” and the Christian values they’re looking for in a presidential candidate.

“Elections are about independents and moderates,” Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky who has all but declared a White House bid for 2016, told reporters at a news conference this afternoon.

Paul’s trip was seen as a way to introduce himself as a presidential material in his own right, not just as a surrogate for his father Ron, a three-time presidential candidate. His itinerary seemed like one Iowans might see a month out from the 2015 caucuses. He booked a GOP fundraising dinner, a house party, a breakfast with activists and the private meeting with about 15 pastors who are influential with the GOP’s most faithful caucus-goers.

While Rand Paul, 50, and Ron Paul, 77, share the same limited-government philosophy and many of the same policy positions, their public personas are considered very different. The younger Paul, despite some recent controversies over statements that appeared to backtrack on his policy positions, is generally viewed as smoother and more credible than his father — with a promising strategy for a White House victory.

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Rand Paul and the Surveillance State (+video)

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In an interview with Fox, Rand Paul disagrees with the host who suggests that government should employ more cameras to prevent crime. The senator believes that only with a constitutional basis, such as probable cause, should the government be able to surreptitiously video record its citizens.

Senator Paul adds that even though over 70% of Americans in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 said they would trade freedom for more security, those numbers are now closer to an even split.

He notes that emotions run high after catastrophes, but after things subside, Americans are not as supportive of increasing government in exchange for liberty.

Senator Paul warns that placing security ahead of liberty could create a 1984, Orwellian world where there are cameras in your dining room, bedroom, essentially everywhere.

Sen. Mitch McConnell's and RNC Chair Reince Priebus' Staff Attend Congressional Tea Party Caucus Meeting

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Photo Credit: APThe Tea Party Caucus is back in action with a new strategy and a growing membership.

Roughly 20 House Republicans attended a closed-door meeting Thursday evening in the Rayburn House Office Building, along with staffers from nearly 40 congressional offices, including those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

It comes as conservatives continue to flex their muscle, making life difficult for GOP leaders in the House on issues like Obamacare, and as the debate on immigration legislation heats up.

Conservative mainstays such as Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) were among those at the meeting. A source said the entire GOP House delegation from South Carolina was there as well.

Mike Shields, chief of staff to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, spoke at the meeting – an indication that the GOP establishment is making an effort to work with the tea party lawmakers.

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Rand Paul & Boehner Disagree on Whether to Delay Immigration Bill Due to Bombings

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Congressional advocates of comprehensive U.S. immigration legislation were diverted into a sometimes testy debate on Monday over whether the measure should be delayed because of questions arising from the Boston Marathon bombing allegedly carried out by two immigrant brothers.

The idea of holding up the legislation gained some ground with the support of U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a prominent Republican who in the past supported immigration reform. However, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said he saw no reason for the bombings to delay the debate.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican sponsor whose continued support is crucial to the bill’s survival, took a middle-ground position, saying in a statement that he disagreed with “those who say that the terrorist attack in Boston has no bearing on the immigration debate” but he added that immigration reform could and should address any “flaws” exposed by the attack in Boston.

Rubio’s remarks came as some conservative commentators and lawmakers continued to seize on the Boston bombings as evidence that an immigration bill should move more slowly in Congress.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who was captured Friday night and charged on Monday in the deadly marathon bombing, was a naturalized U.S. citizen. His brother, Tamerlan, 26, who died after a shootout with police early Friday, also was in the country legally and had applied for U.S. citizenship. The brothers had immigrated to the United States a decade ago with their family, which is from Chechnya.

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Rand Paul Opens 2016 Bid, Plans Primary Trips (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Tea Party favorite and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday said he is strongly considering a 2016 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, announcing plans to travel to at least three key primary states this summer.

“We’re considering it,” he said at a morning newsmaker breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Paul, heir to his father former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s libertarian voting and fundraising base, said that he is already planning to visit three early primary states this summer — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And Paul said he “will continue to travel to the early primary states.”

The plain-spoken senator has been hinting of a 2016 run, saying it helps to give him a national voice on key issues. While his comments Wednesday were much stronger, he said he will not make a final decision until next year.

He joins Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as the other Tea Party leader planning to run for president in what is expected to be a crowded field. Rubio told radio host Andrea Tantaros Wednesday that he isn’t planning his 2016 travel yet, but called Iowa and New Hampshire “really great states.”

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Paul: Immigration Reform Starts with a Secure Border

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Photo Credit: AP

Congress is getting very close to debating comprehensive immigration reform. I am firmly committed to being part of reforming our nation’s immigration laws. Conservatives and liberals agree that our complex immigration system is broken and in need of repair. Although the two sides disagree on solutions, I have three important ideas that should be part of the debate and that should please most Americans.

My “Trust but Verify” plan has three elements: secure the border, secure the vote and secure the taxpayer’s dollar. If these three elements are met, I think, Congress can move forward on a comprehensive plan to reform immigration law.

Securing the border is my first priority. Under my plan, national and border security will move as the first element of any reform and would require annual votes of Congress to establish that the border is truly secure. No other reform can go forward until this happens. In addition to increased border security, our nation needs to modernize our visa system. We need to know who comes and goes on travel, student and other temporary visas. There must be a workable system to ensure that visitors don’t use travel visas as a way to enter the country, then disappear. This will address the problem of visa overstayers.

National security has to be a cornerstone to any border-security and visa-reform initiative. Our nation needs to look back at the 9/11 Commission report and study the recommendations with regard to terrorists’ use of visas to commit acts of violence against America. The Sept. 11 hijackers used visas to enter the country and to stay here while planning their attacks.

Strong border security includes using cutting-edge technology. Satellites, physical barriers, screening to bar criminals and terrorists from entry, increased patrols on the border and yes, surveillance drones all should be part of a comprehensive plan to physically protect the border. My idea is to take specific measures at the border and then have the office of inspector general for the Government Accountability Office produce a report to Congress on the progress of border security.

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GOP Establishment Keeps RNC Rules Rammed Through by Romney Campaign Last Year

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Photo Credit: AP

In the GOP’s ongoing establishment vs. grassroots saga, chalk one up for the establishment.

Since Mitt Romney’s loss, the Rand Paul wing of the party has been on the ascendency. But libertarians hit a roadblock Friday as the Republican National Committee opted at its spring meeting to keep in place a host of rules rammed through by the Romney campaign at last year’s national convention.

The move represents at least a small setback to Rand Paul’s 2016 hopes, potentially making it more difficult for him or another candidate with strong grassroots support to pick up delegates. Had the rules been in effect last year — they were adopted after Mitt Romney secured the nomination — the former Massachusetts governor would likely have wrapped up the nomination much earlier and avoided the drawn-out warfare that weakened him heading into the general election against Barack Obama.

One plank that was maintained, for example, allows more states to award delegates on a winner-take-all basis, instead of proportionally. An attempt to overturn another rule that bounds a state delegation to support whoever won a statewide vote received only 49 votes; 107 committee members voted to keep it in place.

The vote followed a heated debate. Paul backers argued that the Romney rules favor big-money candidates at the expense of contenders with devoted followings among activists.

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Rand Paul Speaks at Black College: Reject the 'Caricature' of the GOP

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

By Alexis Levinson. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), the 2010-vintage Tea Party insurgent who is now considering a 2016 presidential bid, told an audience Wednesday at the historically black Howard University that the Republican Party is still the party of civil rights, and that black voters should look at the substance of Republican ideas and how they would help everyone, rather than accepting the “caricature” of the party described by Democrats.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney overwhelmingly lost black voters in November, prompting an effort on the part of Republicans to reach out to minorities.

Paul acknowledged that he was in potentially unfriendly territory.

“Some people have asked if I’m nervous about speaking at Howard. They say ‘You know, some of the students and faculty may be Democrats,’” Paul joked at the start of the speech.

But, he said, “My hope is that you will hear me out, that you will see me for who I am, not the caricature sometimes presented by political opponents.” Republicans, he said, are not the party of rich white men that they have been portrayed to be. Read more from this story HERE.

Paul gets cool reception at Howard

By Francesca Chambers. Located just minutes away from the U.S. Capitol in northern Washington, DC, Howard University – one of the nation’s oldest black colleges – offered the perfect opportunity for Kentucky Senator and 2016 hopeful Rand Paul to test out the Republican Party’s new message of “Growth and Opportunity.”

Since President Barack Obama’s reelection, in which he carried 95 percent of the black vote, Republican party leaders have sought to convey that not only does the GOP want to be the Grand Old Party, it also wants to be the party of the young and less fortunate.

“Some have said that I’m either brave or crazy to be here today. I’ve never been one to watch the world go by without participating,” Paul told Howard’s students. “I take to heart the words of Toni Morrison of Howard University, who wrote: “If there is a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

And while Paul spoke to a packed house, the message from attendees at Paul’s speech Wednesday was clear: We’re willing to listen, but don’t expect us to change our party affiliation anytime soon.

“I don’t think he changed any minds,” one student said, noting that Howard has a tradition of allowing controversial figures speak at their university in order to get a broad range of viewpoints. Read more from this story HERE.

Rand Paul: Defense of Marriage Act Defenders are Going to 'Lose that Battle'

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that conservatives fighting to uphold the federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman are going to “lose that battle.”

Paul suggested in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) that marriage should be defined by the states, rather than federally.

“If we keep it that way, maybe we can still have the discussion go on without making the decision go all the way one way or all the way the other way. Because I think, right now, if we say, ‘Oh, we’re only going to have, we believe in a federally mandated one-man-one-woman marriage,’ we’re going to lose that battle, because the country’s going the other way right now,” he said.

The Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Paul’s comments reflect the opinion shared among many libertarians, that defining marriage should be left up to the states. But conservative activists, and many GOP lawmakers, have defended the act, arguing it protects traditional marriage.

Read more from this story HERE.