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| Home Front: Politix |
| Rand Paul = Democrats' Enemy #1 |
| 2014-08-08 |
| [THEDAILYBEAST] Democrats fundraise and campaign by exploiting concerns about right-wing extremism. But at least at the moment, what they apparently fear most is the rise of a candidate who could potentially poach enough of their supporters to beat them in 2016. Rand Paul has not yet formally announced he is running for the Republican nomination. But with a lead in GOP polls and already laying the foundation for the infrastructure of a campaign, the junior senator from Kentucky is considered the early front-runner, one who is transparent about his desire to appeal to a broad range of voters—and that has Democrats worried. For the 10th time in two years, Paul arrived on Monday in Iowa, where the first presidential caucuses will be held in 17 months, to try out his message on a three-day, multi-city, headline-generating tour. Over the course of the trip, the Democratic National Committee sent out 10 blurbs about Paul's every move and utterance. "What it can tell you as a political observer is that they recognize what we're trying to point out, which is Rand is the Republican who has the best chance of keeping and energizing the base while going into their constituencies," a senior aide for Paul told The Daily Beast. Having only run for office the one time, in 2010, Paul is not the most experienced of campaigners—so heading out early seems intended as batting practice. But as the senator is the only likely potential candidate so publicly engaging in this sort of preliminary campaigning, there has been no way for him to practice unnoticed. While he has been testing the waters, the left has been testing its attacks. Democrats began hitting Paul on Monday morning, first for fundraising with Iowa Rep. Steve King, who has entertained the idea of exploring impeachment (something Paul has said he would not consider); next for claiming he never proposed ending foreign aid to Israel (which he openly supported doing for years); and then for saying Republicans don't want to ban birth control and that he is "in favor of the concept" of a federal ban on gay marriage. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Establishment republicans fear Rand Paul more than the democrats. |
| Posted by: AuburnTom 2014-08-08 23:26 |
| #2 Oh please. Not another junior senator. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2014-08-08 12:05 |
| #1 Startling historical discover by Rand Paul. Absolutely startling. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-08 01:33 |