Free Republic

Rand Paul has a little-discussed problem. Yes, he’s riding a wave. Yet another new poll brings happy tidings, putting him at the top of the GOP heap in both Iowa and New Hampshire (although still well behind “undecided”). He keeps doing these clever things that titillate the Beltway sages, like coupling with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker (ooh, he’s black!) on sentencing reform. All this, you know. He’s a shrewdie, we have to give him that. But here’s what you maybe don’t know. Paul is up for reelection in 2016. One assumes that he would want to hold on to his...

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul made yet another appearance Monday with Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander, who is facing a Tea Party primary challenger. While considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate, Alexander has been working in recent months to look more conservative. Before anyone could ask, Alexander denied that he was trying to get political help from the Tea Party darling. “We’re not here to endorse each other,” he said, without prompting. “Rand hasn’t asked me to endorse me for the President of the United States, and I haven’t asked him to endorse me for the senate. We’re here...

Gov. Paul LePage understands hardship. He was homeless for a time as a boy. But tell that to Douglas Mpay, an immigrant from Angola who is seeking asylum in the United States and whose family relies on a municipal welfare program in Maine that the governor says will get no state funding if cities and towns continue to assist residents living in the country illegally. (SNIP) But LePage, who has made reforming welfare a priority since taking office in 2011, insists the new policy will preserve assistance for the most needy and bring the state into compliance with federal law....

I wrote here about Rand Paul’s unconstitutional plan to propose federal legislation that would enfranchise some felons. Now, Sen. Paul has addressedthe constitutional issue posed by such legislation. He argues, in essence, that states decide who votes in state elections, but the federal government has the final say on who can vote in federal elections. Roger Clegg makes short work of Paul’s contention: The U.S. Constitution itself explicitly gives the authority to decide who votes in federal elections to the states (consistent, of course, with other constitutional guarantees, like the prohibition of poll taxes). And the recent Supreme Court decision...

Recently, a friend emailed me with a very common claim, namely, that, “Paul hijacked Christianity with no personal connection with Jesus and filled his letters with personal opinions.” This could be rephrased in the more common claim: Paul invented Christianity.This claim is especially common among Muslim apologists who use it in an attempt to explain why the Qur’an simultaneously affirms Jesus as a true prophet while also contradicting the Bible at every major point. However, since my friend is not a Muslim and is not coming at the issue from that angle, I will just deal with the question more...

BILOXI, Mississippi — Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a 2012 presidential candidate and one of state Sen. Chris McDaniel’s big name endorsers over Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), told Breitbart News in a phone interview that he thinks the Washington, D.C., political establishment is “panicking” now that McDaniel may win his runoff on Tuesday.

"Rand Paul took, I think, a really wrong-headed step on the immigration issue last week. I mean, he’s not completely where Jeb is, but almost!"

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned conservatives when it comes to immigration reform the party needs to “get beyond” the term amnesty and move the focus to border security and work visas. The Kentucky Republican said, "I don't think any immigration reform will get out of Washington. I do think there is a path to a secure border and an expanded work visa program." “I think that everyone needs to be for some form of immigration reform because the status quo is untenable," he continued. "So I consider myself a bridge to conservative community because...

Three senators are doubling down on their call for a sweeping end to the National Security Agency’s “dragnet surveillance.” Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) pledged on Tuesday to fight against “limited” and “watered down” legislation to reform the spy agency, which they said includes the bill that passed the House last month. “This is clearly not the meaningful reform that Americans have demanded, so we will vigorously oppose this bill in its current form and continue to push for real changes to the law,” they wrote in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times....

In the midst of all the foreign affairs stories it was probably easy to miss a bit of domestic political news coming out of the Hawkeye State yesterday. At the 2014 Iowa GOP state convention, political activists loyal to Governor Terry Branstad essentially ousted all of the “dissidents” loyal to Rand Paul, securing control of the state party for the perceived establishment. Establishment forces officially wrested control of the Iowa Republican Party from supporters of Rand Paul on Saturday, a development the victors said would help save the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucus from being marginalized and possibly spell the demise...

<p>In theory, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has it largely right on immigration reform. Our current system is broken. We cannot deport everyone.</p>

Last year, American Crossroads, the super-PAC conceived of by Republican operative and fundraiser Karl Rove, hatched a plan: Inject itself into 2014 GOP primary races to protect incumbents from hard-line challengers in the mold of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock who could cost the party winnable seats in Congress. Immediately, conservatives howled with outrage over an establishment group targeting tea partiers—Mike Huckabee called it "fratricide." The plan never got off the ground, and American Crossroads itself has largely shied away from picking primary fights. But here's an exception: A brand-new Crossroads ad slams Matt Doheny, who's vying with Elise Stefanik...

I am for immigration reform because I am against allowing 12 million more illegal immigrants into our country. If we do nothing, 12 million more illegal immigrants will come. We must be in favor of reform—smart reform that starts with border security. Characterizing that position as "amnesty" is simply untrue. What we have now is a lawless border. Current policy is a beacon for more illegal immigrants. The Obama administration’s lawless executive orders legalizing people who came here illegally will only encourage more illegal immigration—unless we act now with real, strong, verifiable border security.

A day after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his primary after Dave Brat hammered him on amnesty, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) embraced "immigration reform" on a conference call with Michael Bloomberg's pro-amnesty group and Grover Norquist.

Makes calls with Grover Norquist seeking conservative support Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday waded deeper into an issue that has proved perilous to some of his GOP colleagues, throwing his political weight behind an establishment lobby effort to get Congress to reform the country’s immigration system this year. Mr. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky and possible 2016 presidential hopeful, participated in a telephone conference call to conservative and business leaders in favor of immigration reform in an effort brokered by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, The Washington Times has learned. The business group, the Partnership for a New American Economy,...

In the wake of Rep. Eric Cantor’s stunning primary defeat Tuesday night, many conservatives have rushed to declare the outcome a referendum on Republican efforts to pursue immigration reform, a key wedge issue in the race. But tea party hero Sen. Rand Paul isn’t buying it. In a teleconference with Grover Norquist, a conservative champion of immigration reform, Paul told reporters Wednesday he wouldn’t back off his position on the issue. “I still am for it,” Paul said. “I say everywhere I go that I am for immigration reform.” He argued that Cantor’s loss to a little-known conservative economics professor...

Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) voted against the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill last year, but on Wednesday he plans to “discuss the need for immigration reform.” Mr. Paul will join former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Partnership for a New American Economy’s monthly series on immigration reform hosted by Grover Norquist.

1 Whenever I would grab a book to read and sit on the couch, and I could always count on my dog to come over, jump up and settle down next to me. Just about the time I kicked back to relax, she would lay her head on my lap and give me that look. Oh, how good she was at letting me know what she wanted! Inevitably, this would lull her into a calm, relaxed state of mind until I thought she had fallen asleep. I would stop pampering her, and pick up my book to start reading again....

Carter County officer's run for Congress chafes Oklahoma Republican Party chairman Anna Flatt, of Ardmore, is challenging U.S. Rep. Tom Cole in the Republican primary and it is causing some friction between Oklahoma Republican Party headquarters and the anti-establishment views of Ron Paul supporters. by Chris Casteel Modified: May 26, 2014 at 9:47 pm • Published: May 27, 2014 WASHINGTON — Anna Flatt has paid her dues for the Oklahoma Republican Party, doing the tough, no-glory work at the county level like knocking doors and organizing potluck dinners. Photo - Anna Flatt She became disillusioned with the party in 2008...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says in a new interview that Republicans should embrace a more tolerant view of those who don't hold conservative positions on social issues."I think that the Republican Party, in order to get bigger, will have to agree to disagree on social issues," Paul told vocativ.com. "The Republican Party is not going to give up on having quite a few people who do believe in traditional marriage. But the Republican Party also has to find a place for young people and others who don’t want to be festooned by those issues."Paul's comments harken back somewhat to former...