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Rand Paul Is the 2016 Republican Frontrunner
The Atlantic ^ | 23 Jan 2014 | PETER BEINART

Posted on 01/23/2014 4:50:23 PM PST by mandaladon

Don't laugh. He has built-in advantages in Iowa and New Hampshire, a party moving in his direction, and formidable fundraising potential. If Chris Christie was ever the frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, he isn’t anymore. All along, the theory behind his candidacy was that he could overcome his lack of conservative bona fides with a combination of personality, competence, electability, and money. Bridgegate undermines all four.

In the minds of many voters, Christie’s personality has morphed from brash to bully. It’s harder to look competent when your top aides egregiously abused power under your nose. Christie’s supposed electability was based partly on polls showing that he was the only potential Republican nominee running even with Hillary Clinton. But Marist and Quinnipiac, whose surveys showed Clinton and Christie virtually tied in December, now show him trailing her by 13 and 8 points, respectively. The electability argument also depended on Christie’s supposed success in bringing New Jerseyans together across party lines, a harder claim now that Democrats in the state legislature are talking impeachment. And as Christie’s electability erodes, so will his vaunted support among GOP moneymen. As a Republican insider recently told BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins, “There are definitely people jumping ship.”

So if Christie is no longer the candidate to beat in the 2016 Republican race, who is? Believe it or not, it’s Rand Paul.

To understand the Kentucky senator’s hidden strength, it’s worth remembering this basic fact about the modern GOP: It almost never nominates first-time candidates. Since 1980, George W. Bush is the only first-timer to win a Republican nomination. And since Bush used the political network his father built, he enjoyed many of the benefits of someone who had run before.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Israel; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Kentucky
KEYWORDS: demagogicparty; dontlaughpuke; elections; israel; kentucky; memebuilding; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; peterbeinart; randnesty; randpaul; randpaultruthfile; randsconcerntrolls; ronpaultruthfile; theatlantic
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Rand Paul is my second choice after Cruz
1 posted on 01/23/2014 4:50:23 PM PST by mandaladon
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To: mandaladon

So, now, is he the next to be destroyed?


2 posted on 01/23/2014 4:51:53 PM PST by virgil
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To: mandaladon

Lets get past the 2014 ‘s and see what shakes out


3 posted on 01/23/2014 4:52:05 PM PST by al baby (Hi MomÂ… I was refereeing to Obama)
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To: mandaladon

Not my first choice, but a helluva lot better than Christie, and *maybe* “clean” enough to run the media gauntlet without blowing up.


4 posted on 01/23/2014 4:52:42 PM PST by Nervous Tick (Without GOD, men get what they deserve.)
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To: mandaladon

I would be happy with either one.


5 posted on 01/23/2014 4:54:14 PM PST by MAKOTHEDOG
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: MAKOTHEDOG
Rand, Cruz; all good.

Dark horse will be Scott Walker. If he goes, he'll be welcomed as a winner by virtually everyone on our side. And he'd win.

7 posted on 01/23/2014 4:56:24 PM PST by chiller (NBCNews et al is in the tank and should be embarrassed)
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To: mandaladon

Yeah, that’s where I am as well.


8 posted on 01/23/2014 4:56:37 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: mandaladon

Cruz/RandPaul is unbeatable if the globalsts back stabbing RINOs don’t hold them back.


9 posted on 01/23/2014 4:59:19 PM PST by grania
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To: chiller

No complaints here :-) Walker is a fighter. There will be plenty of good candidates.


10 posted on 01/23/2014 4:59:48 PM PST by MAKOTHEDOG
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To: mandaladon

Who ever the GOP Establishment is against then I am for. I don’t care how much they disagree with me on certain issues. If we don’t change the course chartered by the Washington D.C. Insider Establishment we are all finished.


11 posted on 01/23/2014 5:00:07 PM PST by Count of Monte Fisto (The foundation of modern society is the denial of reality.)
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To: mandaladon; All
Thank you for referencing that article mandaladon.

But unless Rand Paul can convince his wife that he should run for president, I question the significance that Paul is frontrunner at this point in time.

FR: Rand Paul: My wife says 'no' to presidential bid

12 posted on 01/23/2014 5:04:01 PM PST by Amendment10
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To: mandaladon
Don't laugh. He has built-in advantages in Iowa and New Hampshire

What a surprise.
13 posted on 01/23/2014 5:04:22 PM PST by novemberslady
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To: mandaladon

I’m not voting for anyone who is pro-amnesty. Period.


14 posted on 01/23/2014 5:05:59 PM PST by Maceman
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To: mandaladon

hopefully, Rand will tell the media and the debate organizers to go pound sand. Stay away.


15 posted on 01/23/2014 5:07:12 PM PST by ptsal (Repubicans swallowing more kool-aide from Rove & Kristol)
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To: MAKOTHEDOG
There will be plenty of good candidates.

And we will rip them up for the dems as usual.

16 posted on 01/23/2014 5:10:08 PM PST by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
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To: mandaladon; All

Paul is pro-Amnesty, and pro-Open Borders...that is an immediate no go. He is also supporting McConnell over Bevin in the primary...another no go

He also give conflicted statements often to the media. I believe he is a lot like his dad, but tries to keep it covered so to get elected and reelected

Instead of Paul who TALKS conservative....prefer someone who IS conservative


17 posted on 01/23/2014 5:12:22 PM PST by SeminoleCounty (Amnesty And Not Ending ObamaCare Will Kill GOP In 2014)
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Rand Paul's immigration speech
...The Republican Party must embrace more legal immigration.

Unfortunately, like many of the major debates in Washington, immigration has become a stalemate-where both sides are imprisoned by their own rhetoric or attachment to sacred cows that prevent the possibility of a balanced solution.

Immigration Reform will not occur until Conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. I am here today to begin that conversation.

Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants.

If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you...

This is where prudence, compassion and thrift all point us toward the same goal: bringing these workers out of the shadows and into being taxpaying members of society.

Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers.12 million more people assimilating into society. 12 million more people being productive contributors.
[Posted on 03/19/2013 7:04:07 AM PDT by Perdogg]
Rand Paul calls on conservatives to embrace immigration reform
Latinos, should be a natural constituency for the party, Paul argued, but "Republicans have pushed them away with harsh rhetoric over immigration." ...he would create a bipartisan panel to determine how many visas should be granted for workers already in the United States and those who might follow... [and the buried lead] "Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers...
[Posted on 04/21/2013 1:52:42 PM PDT by SoConPubbie]
[but he's not in favor of amnesty, snicker, definition of is is]
18 posted on 01/23/2014 5:12:39 PM PST by SunkenCiv (;http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: Amendment10

Rand Paul will run and will win.


19 posted on 01/23/2014 5:13:21 PM PST by BarnacleCenturion
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To: mylife

You mean they?

I like all three that were mentioned (Walker, Paul, Cruz) and maybe Rick Perry. I am sure there will be some others and after 2014 it should all settle in.


20 posted on 01/23/2014 5:14:44 PM PST by MAKOTHEDOG
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