Rand Paul rallies Nevadans on presidential announcement tour
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul on Saturday ended his four-day presidential campaign announcement tour with a rally in Las Vegas and a plea to back him so he can put America back on the road to prosperity and end unchecked spending that’s bankrupting the country.
If elected, Paul said he also would protect Americans’ personal freedoms, halting on his first day in office the ability of the U.S. government to search citizens’ phone records, which he said is “none of their damn business” and a violation of civil liberties.
“We have a government that has literally run amok,” Paul said to loud applause and whoops from a standing-room-only crowd of more than 500 people at a community center in Sun City Summerlin.
Paul, a Republican, announced his presidential campaign on Tuesday in his home state of Kentucky. Then he went on a tour of the four early voting states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the most competitive battleground in the West.
The senator, like his father before him, represents the libertarian wing of the GOP, believing in personal rights over government intrusion and steeped in protections outlined in the U.S. Constitution. But the younger Paul seems to have a broader appeal than former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who ran for president twice in 2008 and in 2012.
Rand Paul enjoys a base level of support in Nevada thanks to his father’s backers, but said he wants to reach out to voters who have often spurned the Republican Party, including minorities, the poor and youngsters.
Paul’s White House campaign launch has had a few bumps this past week, including several times when he was accused of giving reporters interviewing him a hard time and cutting them off.
In an interview before his rally here, Paul said he expected to be targeted for criticism because he’s seen as a serious competitor in the contest for the GOP presidential nomination. So far, only Paul and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have officially announced their campaigns while U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is planning to launch his bid on Monday.
On the Democratic side of the presidential race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to announce her White House bid on Sunday, according to published reports. At this point, Clinton is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee with little primary competition expected.
“I think really what it shows is you get flak if you’re over the target,” Paul said of the early criticism. “The Democrats think I’m a serious threat and some Republicans do, too.”
“What I’m offering is a third way,” he added. “We can’t continue to bankrupt the country on domestic spending and military spending.”
His message went over well at the Desert Vista Community Center, where former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke several weeks ago. Bush is expected to announce his White House bid fairly soon as well.
Paul’s main message was summed up in a banner that said, “DEFEAT THE WASHINGTON MACHINE. UNLEASH THE AMERICAN DREAM.”
Paul said the nation’s debt had risen to $18 trillion, putting the country at risk and giving too much power to special interests who he said “use Washington as their own personal piggy bank.”
“The Washington machine that gobbles up our freedoms must be stopped,” Paul said, adding that younger generations may suffer. “I worry that opportunity is slipping away for our sons and daughters.”
“We need to wake up now and do the right thing — just quit spending money that we don’t have,” he said.
Paul proposes setting up economic freedom zones in distressed areas of the country such as Detroit and allowing people who live and work there to keep more of their taxes. He also wants to encourage the revival of manufacturing jobs that pay better wages.
“Liberal policies have failed our inner cities,” Paul said.
Paul, who is not a big fan of U.S. aid to some countries, said the government ought to stop building highways and bridges overseas and instead build them at home to boost the nation’s infrastructure.
On education, Paul said parents should be offered school choice so they can send their children to better schools like richer families do.
On international threats, Paul singled out radical Islam, which he called “a barbarous aberration,” for defeat because it’s a threat to U.S. interests.
“I will do whatever it takes to defend America from these haters,” Paul said. “We need a national defense robust enough to defend against all attacks.”
At one point during the half-hour rally, the crowd took up the chant, “President Paul! President Paul! President Paul!”
This prompted Paul to talk about how the United States, despite its problems, remains the envy of the world.
“America has much greatness left in her,” he said. “Today begins the journey to take America back, to rescue an America now adrift.”
Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.
