Posted on 05/09/2014 2:16:28 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I’ve been waiting three hours since I saw this tweet for the NYT to publish a transcript or story about what he said, but no dice as I’m writing this. If it happens tonight, I’ll update with a link. The quote’s almost certainly not out of context, though: Remember, Paul told David Axelrod a few weeks ago that he thinks the GOP might be overemphasizing the issue. What’s newsy about this is the tone. Sounds like he’s gone from “maybe this isn’t a great idea” to “let’s drop it, quickly.”
Just sat down w @SenRandPaul after his meeting with black pastors. He says GOP needs to lay off voter ID. "It's offending people."
— Jeremy W. Peters (@jwpetersNYT) May 9, 2014
An interesting reply from lefty Benjy Sarlin:
I was at Rand Paul's Howard speech and he seemed perplexed that the students there would see voter ID as tied to race
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 9, 2014
His position is still unclear, but Rand Paul expressing skepticism of voter ID position shows he's actually listening on that outreach tour
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 9, 2014
And Paul’s evolution, needless to say, is no accident:
Rand Paul's evolution: from questioning validity of Civil Rights Act in 2010 to scolding GOP on voter ID in 2014
— Alex Burns (@aburnspolitico) May 9, 2014
Meeting with black pastors and breaking with the party orthodoxy on voter ID is less important to Rand in building his base for the general election than it is in preemptively defusing the “Paul’s a racist” attacks that will begin the instant he emerges as a serious threat for the nomination. The left (and maybe not just the left) is going to kitchen-sink him on that — his old comments on the Civil Rights Act, his father’s newsletters, having the “Southern Avenger” on staff, even agreeing with Cliven Bundy about federal land-use practices before quickly denouncing him after his comments about blacks went viral. Between Paul’s voter ID skepticism, his outreach to black leaders, and his criticism of racial bias in drug law enforcement and sentencing, he’s trying to vaccinate himself from the “racism” attacks that are assuredly coming, at least to the extent that reporters are forced to mention all of Paul’s conciliatory measures towards minority voters when relaying Democratic talking points on him.
How does this play in the primaries, though? Voter ID is of a piece with immigration reform, I think, in that righties see both issues as very basic rule-of-law stuff. (Whereas lefties, naturally, see them as proxies for racism.) If you can enhance the integrity of elections by imposing a simple ID requirement, you do it; if you can reduce the risk of illegal immigration in the future, even as a condition to a mass amnesty right now, you do it. If Paul’s conceding on one of those issues because he’s eager to impress a core Democratic constituency from whom he’s unlikely to win many extra votes, it opens him up to speculation that he might concede on other important issues once in office. That is to say, in the name of vaccinating himself in the general election, he might be giving himself a bug in the primaries. And there is, of course, a potential rival who’ll be only too happy to make him pay for it: Not only has Ted Cruz praised GOP candidates for defending voter ID, he tried to attach a voter ID measure of his own to the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill last year. Cruz could use this as a proxy issue to convince conservatives that, when push comes to shove, Paul simply can’t be trusted to stand on principle. He has too many liabilities and he’s a bit too eager sometimes to try to atone for those liabilities. (Interestingly, if Paul’s recent flirtation with hawkishness towards Russia continues, some of his libertarian fans may agree.) But that raises a problem of its own:
Then again, worst case scenario for GOP: eventual nominee beats Rand Paul with thunderous defense of voter ID (a la Perry and immigration)
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 9, 2014
Right. One of the reasons Perry got nuked in 2012 was his “you don’t have a heart” comment on in-state tuition for illegals. He got pounded for it in the primaries, including by Mitt “Self-deportation” Romney, and then Democrats turned around and pounded Romney on immigration. You might see the same thing on voter ID. Rand calls for a stand-down, Cruz or Rubio or Jeb or whoever tears him apart over it en route to the nomination, and then in the general election Democrats tear that guy apart for tearing Rand apart. They’ll be desperate in 2016 to maintain the high level of black turnout that Obama saw in 2008 and 2012. A GOP civil war on voter ID could be just what they need.
Exactly!
I’m offended the federal govt required I showed a birth certificate in order to get a passport.
I’m offended that I must show a photo id to get on an airplane or amtrack.
I’m offended that I have to not only show photo id but also provide a written signature to get over the counter allergy medicine.
I'm past annoyed. Chances are the US is going down as a nation anyway if one of the supposed constitutional conservatives isn't the real deal. Rand Paul has become an amusement.
FURP
I’m offended by their being
I didn’t think he could be worse than his old man, I was wrong.
—>> Our voter ID push is “offending people” <<—
Probably true for people with something to get upest about.
I know most other criminals and their supporters become offended whenever anyone wants to stop their criminal activity.
Rand Paul is losing his way. I think he wants the GOPe and “minorities” to love him. Unfortunate, isn’t it, that he doesn’t read the polls on the subject. If he did, he might understand that the vast majority are offended by voter fraud facilitated by no voter IDs.
This apple didn’t fall far from the whacko tree.
um... the polls show the vast majority support voter ID laws.
He is libertarian, that is why we are shocked at his liberalism on so many issues.
COMPLETE PLATFORM TEXT
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL ORDER
IMMIGRATION:
“”THE ISSUE: We welcome all refugees to our country and condemn the efforts of U.S. officials to create a new “Berlin Wall” which would keep them captive. We condemn the U.S. government’s policy of barring those refugees from our country and preventing Americans from assisting their passage to help them escape tyranny or improve their economic prospects.
THE PRINCIPLE: We hold that human rights should not be denied or abridged on the basis of nationality. Undocumented non-citizens should not be denied the fundamental freedom to labor and to move about unmolested. Furthermore, immigration must not be restricted for reasons of race, religion, political creed, age or sexual preference. We oppose government welfare and resettlement payments to non-citizens just as we oppose government welfare payments to all other persons.
SOLUTIONS: We condemn massive roundups of Hispanic Americans and others by the federal government in its hunt for individuals not possessing required government documents. We strongly oppose all measures that punish employers who hire undocumented workers. Such measures repress free enterprise, harass workers, and systematically discourage employers from hiring Hispanics.
TRANSITIONAL ACTION: We call for the elimination of all restrictions on immigration, the abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol, and a declaration of full amnesty for all people who have entered the country illegally.””
Just like his Dad
The same "poor, old, etc." people the Dems and minorities don't want to have to show ID to vote STILL have to t
They patently do not want to have voter ID because it WILL cut down on fraud--and Dems create at least 97.7 of voter fraud.
vaudine
Et tu Marco
we need to start paying a hell of a lot more attention to things that are “anti-Republic” instead of worrying about what is anti-GOP.
political correctness and the “i’m offended” crap has to stop.
any candidate who buys into this is worthless and shouldnt be supported either with money or votes.
The longer support for Rand Paul on the right is allowed to continue, the more of a mess we will be in when he starts attacking the rest of conservatism right as the campaign begins for 2016.
Purge the Paulbots now, cry less later.
But those that are offended would never vote for him anyways.
Rand Paul has been assimilated by the GOPe Borg.
Sorry RP, you’re off the island.
Ted Cruz in 2016
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