Messina: Rand Paul would be ‘most right-wing’ nominee ever

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Brett85

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Messina: Rand Paul would be ‘most right-wing’ nominee ever

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...nd-paul-would-be-most-right-wing-nominee-ever

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would be “the most right-wing” presidential nominee in history if he won the GOP nod in 2016, according to President Obama’s former campaign manger.

“I think if you look at his statements and you look at his record he would be the most right-wing candidate any major party has nominated, including Barry Goldwater. He is that far off the spectrum,” Jim Messina told online magazine OZY when asked about Paul.

“I think his chances of winning swing votes in battleground states are my chances of being the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos,” he added.

Messina, who is involved with the super-PAC Priorities USA Action as it gears up for a possible Hillary Clinton run, also dismissed the chances of another top GOP contender, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
He said that the governor’s combative style would not endear him to voters in states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

“I don’t think that his anger — and him screaming at people like you talk the week before the midterms — I don’t think that works in Iowa, I don’t think that works in New Hampshire, I don’t think that works in the media glare of every single day,” Messina said.

Since Obama’s victory, Messina has gone into business as a political consultant. He drew criticism from liberals when he agreed to work for British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative Party. He has defended the consulting work, saying that Cameron’s party is not ideologically aligned with American conservatism.

Messina has also consulted for corporate clients such as Caesars Palace casinos.
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Some people just don't realize that if you start of the coast of California and keep sailing west, you don't fall off a cliff, you end up in the far east.
 
The American people are right-wing, anti-war, and pro-civil liberties. Rand Paul should play well with them.
 
FreedomFanatic said:
Oh how I hope this is true. Unfortunately, I don't see any reason to believe this is true.
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They aren't nearly as far as they should be. But the majority of Americans oppose Obamacare, want lower taxes, oppose the wars, want to legalize pot, support gun rights, etc.
 
Tywysog Cymru said:
They aren't nearly as far as they should be. But the majority of Americans oppose Obamacare, want lower taxes, oppose the wars, want to legalize pot, support gun rights, etc.
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I'm beginning to be very confident Rand can play to most of these qualities, depending on how he pitches his positions to primary voters, and still win the nomination.
 
He would be though. He's more right-winged than Goldwater, Reagan, Harding, Coolidge, Cleveland, Tyler, and all the rest
 
But will he be more right-wing than our sixth President, Richard Henry Lee? That would probably meet my standard. ;)
 
Vanguard101 said:
He would be though. He's more right-winged than Goldwater, Reagan, Harding, Coolidge, Cleveland, Tyler, and all the rest
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Cleveland? Cleveland was really laissez faire from what I remember. My opinion of Tyler, while still high, lowered a bit when I learned how much of a role he had in the events leading up to the Mexican American War.
 
What does 'really right wing' even mean? It's such an antiquated method of defining peoples positions. However, Rand would be clearly the most libertarian nomination but that is hardly difficult!
 
Orange said:
What does 'really right wing' even mean? It's such an antiquated method of defining peoples positions. However, Rand would be clearly the most libertarian nomination but that is hardly difficult!
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Yeah, it's hard to understand how Rand would be the most "right wing nominee ever," when Rick Santorum says that he's to the left of Obama on foreign policy issues. :)
 
Worth noting that the interviewer seemed to disagree, and seemed baffled by his arguments on Rand. He called him "reaganesque", said that he excites conservatives while doing smart things to capture independents.
 
FreedomFanatic said:
Cleveland? Cleveland was really laissez faire from what I remember. My opinion of Tyler, while still high, lowered a bit when I learned how much of a role he had in the events leading up to the Mexican American War.
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Cleveland wasn't as laissez-faire as the Austrian School of the 1900s and definitely not today.


acptulsa said:
I don't really see how that's possible. But God do I hope you're right.
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Harding wasn't even that right-winged. He was very pro-business. He would probably be an establishment republican today with non-interventionist leanings. Coolidge gets a pass.
 
Vanguard101 said:
Harding wasn't even that right-winged. He was very pro-business. He would probably be an establishment republican today with non-interventionist leanings. Coolidge gets a pass.
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Good point. Harding's term was so short, it's hard to tell how far he might have gone. The mere fact that he immediately undid the bulk of Wilson's socialism made him look like an Angel of Liberty, whether he really was one or not.

In any case, he did contrast himself from Coolidge, if only indirectly...

acptulsa said:
'I told [Pres. Warren G. Harding] I wanted to tell him all the latest political jokes. The president said, "I know 'em, I appointed most of 'em."

'I saw I couldn't match humor with this man, so I called it a day.'--Will Rogers
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Hell, I'm inclined to give Harding 'a pass' just for choosing Coolidge as his running mate. So, I guess that makes me a not impartial observer.
 
This should help him in the primaries when his opponents accuse him of being too left-wing :)
 
Most of the presidents we praise got lucky considering they never had to deal with significant world affairs.
 
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