Rand Paul’s best days as a presidential hopeful might be behind him

The Washington Post's The Fix ^ | September 30, 2014 | Aaron Blake

[2ndDivisionVet]

Sen. Rand Paul's best window for winning the 2016 Republican presidential nomination increasingly looks like it has passed.

A lot can happen over the next 18 months, but the renewed focus on foreign policy -- and more specifically, the Islamic State -- has reminded the Republican Party where its true views on international affairs lie.

And it is decidedly not with non-interventionists like Paul (R-Ky.).

A new poll from CNN/Opinion Research is the best we've seen to date bearing out this point. The poll asks Americans to identify themselves as either hawks or doves -- hawks being someone "who believes that military force should be used frequently to promote U.S. policy" and doves being those who think "the U.S. should rarely or never use military force."

Overall, it's close, with 50 percent picking the doves and 45 percent picking the hawks.

Among Republicans, though, it is decidedly not close. About seven in 10 (69 percent) say they are hawks, while just one-quarter (25 percent) side with the doves. That's nearly three-to-one....

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I was afraid of him draining votes from Cruz. Not so much, anymore.

[Bettyprob]

Oh my God, how many times can this same article be put out by the media, just reworded?

“Herp derp, Republicans hawkish again, Rand Paul isolationist, doomed, blah blah derp derp.”

[2ndDivisionVet]

Maybe from Bush or Romney though. [chortle]

[2ndDivisionVet]

[HarleyLady27]

I agree. Same S-— different paper. There is nothing wrong with Rand Paul. He says it like a man, maybe that is what is the problem.

Go ahead GOP shoot yourself in the foot again this year and we’ll be burdened with a Clinton AGAIN!!! ( or worse than bamba boy )

[DarkSavant]

Cruz is the only other viable candidate. I can't wait for all the conservatives tell me to plug my nose again and vote for another loser candidate like McCain and Romney. They'll tell me 'I know the candidate sucks but we have to keep Hillary out!'.

Most troops are against boots on the ground against ISIS.

Immigration policy is a joke. Paul wants to throw a wall up and then reform it.

Paul is against increasingly police state surveillance measures.

Time for some people to get their heads out of the sand.

[montag813]

His comments about race, voter ID and illegals were atrocious. He is a disgrace.

[Enlightened1]

DON'T LET THE LEFTIST RATS PICK WHICH CANDIDATES WE CAN RUN If you find yourself on the same side as the international communist collaborators at the Washington Post then you may need to reevaluate your current position. By default you should be automatically BE against whatever they are for when it comes to politics. Because you know at the end of the day they want us gone.

It does not matter if you support Paul or not.... That is NOT what this is about.... The Washington Post OBVIOUSLY fears Paul, and this is why they get orgasmic about him not having a chance of being elected.

My main point is the Washington Post is trying to pick and choose the Republican candidates. They rather run against a Romney, a McCain, a Boehner or Jeb Bush type that will most likely throw the election. Now even if a RINO wins..... the internationalist communist still get what they want with these RINO candidates. They know that, and THIS is why they want to pick the Republican candidate.

Yes they fear candidates like Paul, Cruz, Palin, etc... that actually have a chance to get elected despite what the leftist rats in the media tell us. Look conservatives can always battle it out and work out our differences in the nomination debates.

I would like to see a pool of Republican candidates that the leftist fear. So no matter which candidate is selected we win. This vs. getting another Romney or McCain type in 2016.

[ansel12]

No more Romneys or Rand Pauls.

[tennmountainman]

Paul was elected by Ky Conservatives.
He has voted as a RINO.

He is no different than Bush, Romney etc except he has been a fruitcake
too.

Paul is no conservative.
As such, I stand by my previous comments.

[Responsibility2nd]

Twice you made a comment that they fear Paul.

You could not be more wrong.

You may be right that leftists want to pick a candidate they can beat, but having Paul in our midst is a Win/Win for losertarians and democrats.

Paul - like his daddy always did - would suck votes away from Republicans leaving a RINO as front runner.

Then Paul would likely run on the Libertarian Ticket

[rockabyebaby]

Rand IS A RINO, period. The left does not “fear” him, he’s one of them.

[ObamahatesPACoal]

Rand is in good shape on foreign policy. It’s the voter rights and amnesty crap he has been talking about which is the problem.

The public only wants airstrikes. The only thing rand voted against was arming McCain’s friends. Rubio and the neocons have some idea that the public is supporting something more.

Only Jeff Sessions, Cruz, Lee, Rand and 8 others voted against arming the rebels.

[ObamahatesPACoal]

I think Cruz is more likely to get Congress to pass more tech visas and increased legal immigration than Rand.

If Rand is president no one will trust him and congress will push back like they did against Bush. Law and Order Republicans will be skeptical of Rand so won’t just roll over.