Free Republic

Weighing on the controversy over whether Canadian-born Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is eligible to be president, his fellow senator Rand Paul said Sunday that it would be "extraordinary" to have a president born outside of the U.S. "He would be the first president not born in the United States. And so that alone would be extraordinary. And so people have to decide for their own minds whether it makes a difference where someone is born," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday. ... Paul predicted Sunday that Democrats would challenge Cruz's eligibility and that it would ultimately have...

Noah already wrote a policy rebuttal to Paul’s position, which Paul elaborated on this afternoon in a new op-ed at Time. (The op-ed, unlike his tweets, doesn’t mention Rubio by name. Although it does approvingly cite … George W. Bush?) Anyone want to make the case that the politics of attacking Rubio on this issue were smart, at least? I can’t figure out why Rand would do it. When I tweeted out my surprise a few hours ago, a dozen people tweeted back, “Maybe Paul’s just saying what he really believes.” No doubt. But the thing that distinguishes Rand from...

Now where have we previously heard Senator Rand Paul’s cliché-fest that constitutes his rebuttal to Senator Marco Rubio on Cuba sanctions? Well, from The Council on Foreign Relations to the New York Times and from Hillary Clinton to The Congressional Black Caucus—and that’s for starters. And oh, we also heard it repeatedly from every single one of the KGB-trained Cuban spies convicted by U.S. juries recently. “The embargo is Castro’s best friend,” Clinton chanted to an extremely friendly audience at the Council on Foreign Relations back in June while citing and promoting her book Hard Choices. The sanctions give “Castro...

The war of words between two likely 2016 contenders over President Obama’s sweeping changes to Cuba policy heated up further on Saturday, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) repeatedly blasting remarks from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as “rude.” “I never start a fight but I'm happy to finish a fight,” Paul told Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File on Friday.” “You know, I think the remarks were a little bit rude and intemperate.” In an interview on the same show one night prior, Rubio said that Paul — who supports President Obama’s move to roll back trade and travel restrictions and...

Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky is breaking with many members of his own party and other potential Republican candidates for president in 2016 in offering at least some support for the president’s opening to Cuba, highlighting yet another area where he seems likely to offer a contrast but which is also likely to become an area of attack against him in a primary race: Sen. Rand Paul broke with other likely Republican presidential contenders on Thursday by saying that opening up more trade with Cuba “is probably a good idea” and declaring that the US embargo on the country “just...

Libertarian icon Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) embarrassed himself on Friday when he took to Twitter to respond to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) who recently insisted that the junior senator from Kentucky “has no idea what he’s talking about” with regards to his support for lifting restrictions on bilateral relations with the Cuban government. By attempting to defend himself, Paul ably proved the Florida senator correct. Paul began… Hey @marcorubio if the embargo doesn't hurt Cuba, why do you want to keep it?— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) December 19, 2014 And this one got the libertarian supporters cheering in the...

De Blasio? Sharpton? Nope. The biggest blowback will be against the “reforming” Kentucky senator, because Republicans back cops, period.After New York City Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were gunned down in a retaliatory ambush on Saturday afternoon, the collateral damage was immediate. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio relationship with the police went from horrible to horrendous. Rev. Al Sharpton’s campaign to cleanse his race-baiting past grew more difficult, and Sen. Rand Paul—who had gone out of his way to break bread with Sharpton and to criticize police militarization—may now be facing an even more difficult task...

The biggest problem with Rep. Paul's (R-Texas) latest comments on immigration is that they are NOT just some ad hoc thoughts tossed off carelessly at some speaking event. These are engraved in a brand new book. Until the release of the book, Liberty Defined, Dr. Paul had a mixed record in Congress and the fact that he had taken the NumbersUSA "No Amnesty" pledge at the end of his Presidential campaign in 2008. That had earned him a C-minus on our 2012 Presidential Hopefuls Immigration Stances Report Card. Not impressive, but the third best (behind Rep. Bachman with a B-minus...

Rand Paul shook off an awkward comment comparing same-sex marriage to beastiality and made a trip Friday to the early primary state South Carolina in the early stages of a potential presidential campaign. The Kentucky senator, reacting to a comment from Glenn Beck wondering if the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the bulk of the Defense of Marriage Act could lead to legalized polygamy, Paul extended Beck's logic. "This is a conundrum, and it gets back to what you were saying… whether or not churches should decide this,” Paul said. “And it is difficult, because if we have no...

Ron Paul Is More Conservative Than Rick Santorum. By Joe Deaux 01/11/12 - 04:02 PM EST NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- During a Republican presidential debate Saturday, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had a spat about who was more conservative as each clawed for blocks of Republican voters needed to topple front-runner Mitt Romney. According to a study done back in 2004 though, Paul was the more conservative of the two by a fairly healthy margin. A list put together at voteview.com found that out of the 3,320 individuals (1 being the most liberal and 3,320...

As homosexual Army soldier Bradley Manning’s treason trial continues at Fort Meade, Maryland, the support he has received from Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has been curiously ignored by the major media, now touting Paul as someone who could win the January 3 Iowa Republican Caucuses. Paul has called Manning, a crossdresser with acknowledged mental problems, a “hero” and “patriot” for stealing government secrets and providing them to WikiLeaks.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is seeking support from the Republican Party of Kentucky’s central committee in his bid to pursue an early presidential caucus in the commonwealth. Paul, R-Ky., transferred $250,000 to the RPK account to fund the caucus with plans to move an additional $200,000 “roughly mid fall after all the budgets and rules are finalized,” Paul told members of the RPK central committee in an email and letter sent Monday. The GOP presidential contender also has plans to host a conference call with central committee members this week in his endeavor to skirt a state statute that stipulates...

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul wrote in a letter last week to nearly 350 members of the Republican Party of Kentucky's central committee that he had transferred $250,000 to a state GOP account to cover the initial costs of holding a presidential caucus next year. But committee members told the Herald-Leader on Tuesday that Paul hasn't provided a dime. In his letter, which was mailed about a week before the committee is to vote on whether to move forward with the caucus that Paul has requested, Paul wrote that he had already "transferred $250,000 in an RPK account to begin the...

Sen. Rand Paul’s (R., Ky.) latest fundraising letter takes aim at “neocons,” “war fever,” and drone strikes against terrorists, a sign that he is working overtime to court his father’s isolationist base in the face of fading poll numbers.The fundraising appeal asked supporters to chip in at least $20.16 and was posted on the presidential candidate’s Facebook page on Monday. It was written by Rand Paul’s father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas).“[Rand is] not afraid to lay the blame for making worse the chaos we see today with ISIS and Iraq squarely at the feet of the neocons,” promised...

Apparently, America's greatest patriot was on Loonwaffle/Trooferville's favorite radio show today with the King Nutbar himself, although I'm not sure if anyone grabbed audio. If you want to listen to the rebroadcast stream, go here. I don't feel like it. Have fun.

“The U.S. Empire received a big boost from the 9/11 attack.” Former Rep. Ron Paul, the father of presidential candidate Rand Paul and past two-time candidate for the Republican nomination himself, writes in his new book that he believes “Zionism has played a role in our post-9/11 march toward empire.” Paul’s book, Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity, was released last Friday. “Zionism has played a role in our post-9/11 march toward empire, and its influence has encouraged extreme interference in the Middle East,” Paul writes in a chapter entitled “Making America...

Last week's successfully concluded Iran agreement is one of the two most important achievements of an otherwise pretty dismal Obama presidency. Along with the ongoing process of normalizing relations with Cuba, this move shows that diplomacy can produce peaceful, positive changes. It also shows that sometimes taking a principled position means facing down overwhelming opposition from all sides and not backing down. The president should be commended for both of these achievements. The agreement has reduced the chance of a U.S. attack on Iran, which is a great development. But the interventionists will not give up so easily. Already they...

President Obama has two routes for getting the Iran nuclear deal approved by Congress. The more difficult path involves attempting to woo Republicans, though they've already vowed to kill the deal. Or Obama could just shore up support among Democrats so when he vetoes the GOP's "resolution of disapproval" Congress won't have the votes to override him. Supposedly the White House has not settled on which path it will pursue, but Obama's decision to invoke the name of the GOP's favorite human in explaining his rationale for the deal suggests he isn't all that concerned about angering them further.

The Iranian nuclear deal is a big step toward world peace, and Republicans would be praising it if one of their own had negotiated it, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul told Newsmax TV's "The Hard Line."Paul told host Ed Berliner that the deal echoed Ronald Reagan's deal with the Soviets in the 1980s. Paul's biggest problem with the deal was that the United States had to work under the confines of the United Nations and NATO. "There's something to be said about moving in the direction of at least talking to people instead of saying, 'All right, you're scoundrels, we'll...

The senator from Kentucky continues to takes the road less traveled through the GOP primaries.Sen. Rand Paul took a risk Thursday. Speaking to an audience of religious conservatives in the wake of a racially charged shooting in South Carolina, Paul delicately suggested that Republicans might want to start focusing on other parts of the Bill of Rights than the Second Amendment. "Everybody is for the Second Amendment. All 55 candidates running for president are for the Second Amendment—on our side," Paul told the crowd. "But the thing is that a lot of young people, that might not be their primary...