Rand Paul

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Rand Paul
Rand Paul, official portrait, 112th Congress alternate.jpg
U.S. Senator from Kentucky
From: January 3, 2011 – present
Predecessor Jim Bunning
Successor Incumbent (no successor)
Information
Party Republican
Spouse(s) Kelley Ashby Paul
Religion Presbyterian (see also: Rand Paul's religious views)

Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is the conservative United States Senator from Kentucky who was elected in 2010 reelected by a landslide in 2016. He is critical of federal spending, opposes an interventionalist foreign policy, and rejects the tendency by neocons for perpetual war. He can be considered a movement conservative and a potential future presidential candidate, initially running in 2016. Senator Paul is the leader for a repeal of ObamaCare. Senator Paul is the most prominent defender of President Trump in the U.S. Senate on certain issues, particularly on foreign policy towards Russia.[1]

"Stand with Rand" is a popular slogan among students who support Senator Paul. In addition, Julian Assange is an admirer of Rand Paul.[2]

Sen. Paul lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In November 2017, he was the victim of a cowardly attack by an irate Democratic neighbor, Rene Boucher, who trespassed on Sen. Paul's yard, snuck up behind him, and violently broke five of his ribs. Sen. Paul also suffered lung contusions and facial injuries. Paul was mowing his lawn at the time of the attack. Police initially charged the perpetrator, who reportedly admitted attacking Paul, with merely fourth-degree assault despite the seriousness of the injuries.[3] A federal charge were then filed against the assailant, who pled guilty but was then sentenced to merely 30 days in jail, which is far below sentencing guidelines and which the Department of Justice has appealed for being too lenient.

Life

Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father is Ron Paul. Rand Paul was not named after the objectivist and libertarian author Ayn Rand.[4]

In 2010, he won the Republican primary after defeating the more moderate candidate Trey Grayson by a landslide. Despite intense opposition by liberals and the lamestream media, Rand Paul won by an overwhelming margin first against a RINO Republican favored by the establishment, and then against Democrat Jack Conway in the 2010 Midterm Election. This was the seat formerly held by Jim Bunning, one of the greatest conservative sports stars, who endorsed Paul in the Republican primary.

On March 2013, Rand led a filibuster of Obama's CIA nomination John Brennan due to the fact that the administration was unwilling to forbid ordering drone targeting of Americans on American territories, in violation of the 5th Amendment. A month of letter writings without a reply and March 6 testimony from Attorney General Eric Holder prompted the filibuster. A number of GOP Senators joined him including Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, among others and one Democrat Senator, Ron Wyden. A vote on a non-binding statement clarifying that Obama shall not kill Americans with drone warfare was denied by Democrats in the Senate.

On April 7, 2015, Paul announced that he would seek the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.[5][6] He dropped out shortly after the Iowa Caucus.

Political positions/views

Paul at CPAC in 2013.

Unlike many politicians of both major political parties, Rand Paul supports sharply reducing the size of government. Notably in 2018 he single-handedly shutdown the entire Federal government (for a few hours, at least) while he spoke against the hypocrisy of his own party in desiring to pass a 700-page bill that nobody had read and that would create the same deficit spending that his party opposed during the Obama administration.[7]

Paul opposes gun control[8] and same-sex "marriage".[9] He opposes prison sentences for minor drug offenders.[10] Paul sued the Obama administration because the Espionage of American civilians through the NSA.[11] Paul is distrustful of capital punishment but also thinks that it should be a state issue.[12]

Paul is a strong opponent of socialism and wrote The Case Against Socialism in 2019.[13]

Abortion

Rand is pro-life and spoke at the March for Life rally in 2013.[14]

Paul co-sponsored and voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act[15] in February 2020 in addition to the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.[16]

Foreign policy

He has criticized pro-war politicians and won the CPAC straw poll in 2013 and 2014. Paul is against an American intervention in the Syrian Civil War[17] and was opposed to the Operation Iraqi Freedom or the Patriot Act. Paul is an opponent of the United States embargo against Cuba.[18] Paul has criticized neocons such as Lindsey Graham for their foreign policy views.[19]

Paul supports Israel and proposed to cut off the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority.[20]

Paul has abandoned his party line to join Democrats and RINOs in ordering President Trump to remove hostilities against Iran.[21]

Illegal immigration

Paul supported the Pathway to introduce illegal aliens to citizenship.[22]

While mostly a strong conservative, Paul has obstructed the Trump agenda at times, such as joining Democrats and establishment RINOs in blocking President Trump's emergency declaration over the southern border.[23]

Surveillance reform

See also: Obama FISA abuse

Paul, along with President Trump, has spoken strongly against allowing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Americans, arguing for surveillance reform to prohibit the spying of U.S. citizens.[24]

Vaccination

Paul, a libertarian, has opposed the totalitarian agenda of compulsory vaccination, stating that despite the benefits, vaccination should be voluntary.[25][26] He has adamantly opposed the fearmongering-promoted mandatory vaccination rhetoric amid a measles outbreak in 2019, arguing before a hearing that government-mandated vaccines attack personal rights and that it provides "a false sense of security".[27] Liberals and "progressives" who long hated Paul have attacked him for his anti-totalitarian stance,[28] making implications of utilitarian arguments. On the other hand, establishment outsiders and some conservatives have praised Paul for his pro-liberty stance on the controversial issue.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Moran, Sean (August 14, 2018). Exclusive — Rand Paul: Russia Trip a ‘Great Success’; U.S. Citizens Prefer America First to Nation-Building. Breitbart News. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  2. ↑ https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/19/julian-assange-loves-rand-paul-and-his-very-principled-positions.html
  3. ↑ John Hinderacker. More on the Democrat’s Assault on Rand Paul. Powerlineblog.com. Retrieved on November 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-R_OeP6tU
  5. ↑ Rand Paul launches 2016 White House bid: ‘We have come to take our country back’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/04/07/rand-paul-set-to-announce-presidential-run/
  6. ↑ https://www.c-span.org/video/?325139-1/senator-rand-paul-rky-presidential-campaign-announcement
  7. ↑ https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/373069-rand-paul-blockade-pushing-senate-to-late-night-budget-vote
  8. ↑ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/01/14/rand_paul_on_gun_control_executive_order_obama_is_not_king.html
  9. ↑ http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Rand_Paul.htm
  10. ↑ http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/24/1767241/rand-paul-is-right-on-marijuana-and-that-should-scare-democrats-into-action/
  11. ↑ https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/04/sen-rand-paul-to-sue-over-nsa-spying-practices/
  12. ↑ Rand Paul on the Death Penalty
  13. ↑ Multiple references:
  14. ↑ Rand Paul at March for Life 2013
  15. ↑ S 311 - Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act - National Key Vote
  16. ↑ S 3275 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - National Key Vote
  17. ↑ https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/item/14691-sen-rand-paul-is-obama-administration-hiding-arms-trade-to-jihadists
  18. ↑ http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/the-cuban-embargo-isnt-just-about-the-embargo/
  19. ↑ Casiano, Louis (October 15, 2019). Rand Paul says Lindsey Graham 'has been wrong about almost every foreign policy decision of the last two decades'. Fox News. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  20. ↑ Dr. Rand Paul on Israel
  21. ↑ S J Res 68 - A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress - National Key Vote
  22. ↑ http://nation.foxnews.com/rand-paul/2013/03/19/rand-paul-endorses-pathway-citizenship
  23. ↑ DEJA VU: Rand Paul Joins RINOs and Democrats for a Second Time to Block Trump’s Border Wall
  24. ↑ Two references:
  25. ↑ Rand Paul on Vaccines and Freedom | GOP Debate
  26. ↑ Rand Paul: Vaccines Can Lead to 'Mental Disorders'
  27. ↑ Two references:
  28. ↑ Multiple references:
  29. ↑ Two references:

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