Tag: Rand Paul
Rand’s Laser Faire
I’m not going to assert he’s insane,
But we need to make Rand Paul explain
How he’ll fulfill his intent
To become president,
By voting against aiming lasers at planes.
It seems laser pointers create danger
When pointed at a cockpit in range, sir.
But Rand Paul’s a contrarian
And an ardent Libertarian —
The gubmint can’t tell HIM where to point his laser!
Verbatim
Like dogs, they listen to tone of voice and emotional attitude.
— Journalist Matt Taibbi, describing the members of the Tea Party in an article in Rolling Stone.
KY Sen: Democrat Jack Conway Trounced Tea Bagger Rand Paul in Debate on GOP-Fox Channel
You probably won’t be hearing about the Kentucky U.S. Senate debate on the GOP-Fox channel on Sunday. Fox certainly is not promoting it — for example, as of now, Monday morning at 6:15, there’s no link to the debate anywhere on the homepage of the Republican channel’s website. (By contrast, there is a link to a story about the California governor’s debate, but nothing about the Kentucky Senate debate that was held on their own network.)
Obviously, if their guy, the infamous tea bagger Rand Paul, had won the debate, it would be front and center on the Fox website. Conversely then, the absence of a link is a tacit admission of the obvious: The Democrat, Attorney General Jack Conway wiped the floor with Dr. Paul.
Conway displayed a command both of the facts and his positions, as well as an energy level that signaled that he had come there to win. Rand Paul came off as a laid-back sad stack — seriously, was he stoned? — who apparently believed that because he was playing on Fox, his home turf, all he had to do was phone it in — and, not to worry, if Conway walloped him, Fox would simply make the story disappear.
KY Sen: Rand Paul Loses 6 Points, Conway Gains 7
Here’s a poll result that runs counter to the media’s GOP-ascendant narrative, so you probably won’t hear about it on television. In the latest Bluegrass Poll from Kentucky, Democrat Jack Conway has pulled up within two points of Christian libertarian tea-party Republican Rand Paul:
The poll shows that Conway, the state’s attorney general, is now appealing to voters who say they are neutral on the tea party — Paul’s base of support.
And Conway is building a significant lead among women, who earlier were almost evenly split between the two candidates.
According to the poll, Paul leads Conway 49 percent to 47 percent, with 4 percent undecided. That lead is well within the poll’s 4 percentage point margin of error…
The previous Bluegrass poll, released the first week of September, showed Paul leading Conway 55 percent to 40 percent.
Another fact that gets lost in the coverage of the Conway-Paul race is that they are running to succeed Sen. Jim Bunning, whose right-wing views are so extreme that he might as well be a tea bagger. In that sense, if Conway wins the seat, it will be a double pick-up for the Dems.
Rand Paul Exaggerated Medical Board Certification
According to the Louisville, Ky., Courier-Journal, Paul’s board is not nationally recognized:
But that entity is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which works with the American Medical Association to approve such specialty boards.
Lori Boukas, a spokeswoman for the American Board of Medical Specialties, said her organization considers certifications to be valid only if they are done by the 24 groups that have its approval and that of the AMA.
Boukas of the American Board of Medical Specialties said its 24 member groups, including the widely recognized American Board of Ophthalmology, have stricter standards for board certification than the other groups.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure does not verify doctors’ specialty training and instead directs people to the American Board of Medical Specialties to determine if a doctor is board-certified.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology recognizes board certification only by the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Shortly before the May 18 primary, Paul told the Courier-Journal that he was certified by both boards.
GOP Operative: Paul Campaign ‘Messed Up’ By Allowing Candidate to State True Positions on Maddow Show
HuffPost reports that Beltway Republican operatives are parachuting in to try to save tea bagger Rand Paul’s campaign for the Kentucky U.S. Senate. According to the pros, Paul’s big mistake was not lying about his true position on the Civil Rights Act:
A Washington-based Republican official, who has spoken with Paul’s campaign advisers, said the harsh national reaction to the nominee’s MSNBC interview on Wednesday “was like a wake-up call” to his inner circle.
“They know they messed up” by allowing liberal show host Rachel Maddow to draw out Paul’s thoughts on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the official said. Paul told Maddow he abhors racial discrimination, but he also suggested the federal government shouldn’t have the power to force restaurants to admit minorities against their will…
“There’s lots of chatter, ‘we’ve got to get this guy some help,'” the official said, adding that he’s not convinced Paul realizes the danger of saying yes to so many interview requests.
Washington-based Republican strategists hope to strike a balance. They’d like to persuade Paul to be more selective and disciplined in his remarks but not lose the freshness and candor that appeal to voters seeking a change in Washington.
KY Sen: Turnout Among Dems About a Third Higher Than GOP, Yet ‘Liberal’ Media Hands Night to Tea Bagger Rand Paul
Paul’s libertarian opposition to farm subsidies and overseas entanglements, including the Iraq war, may put him at odds with the war-mongering, big-government loving GOP base.
Paul handily defeated Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who had the strong support of Kentucky’s own Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 58.8 percent to 35.4 percent. On the Democratic side, Attorney General Jack Conway bested Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo in a squeaker, 44.1 percent to 43.0 percent. (Numbers are based on results at 5:10 a.m. Pacific, on May 19, 2010, with 99.5 percent of precincts counted.)
Just about anything tea baggers do makes headlines, so it is not surprising that the Beltway punditocracy and “liberal” media have all but anointed Rand Paul as the frontrunner in the general election. Maybe so, but voter turnout tallies suggest weak support for libertarian Paul among his party’s traditional Republican base.
