Rand Paul draws applause in Florida for urging change in GOP

[Sola_Fide]

Does anyone else think that attacking drug crime sentencing is not a recipe for success in the GOP primary?

I'm crazy enough to think it is. I really do think that this will resonate with teocon voters.

 

[nobody's_hero]

Does anyone else think that attacking drug crime sentencing is not a recipe for success in the GOP primary?

Hmm. It has to be framed in a way that more republicans will support.

Let's be frank. There just aren't many people who give a shit about other people's rights—at least, not enough to carry Rand Paul to victory within the GOP. But if Rand Paul starts throwing in a few factoids about how much our 'justice' system is costing $$$ for us to fight this war on drugs, it might boost his arguments. I'm not saying he has to change his arguments, but he needs to supplement them with talk about how much our taxes go towards fighting an unwinnable war. He'll have all his bases covered. He'll have the support of Republicans who actually care about liberty, and he'll gain some support from the penny-pinchers who typically just donate to whomever is going to best benefit their stock portfolios.

I'm hoping his strategy does manage to grow the party, because, like Ron, he's gonna need the support of a ton of people who would've historically rather flung their bodies into a wood-chipper than to vote GOP, if he wants to beat the neocons in the primary. —Unfortunately, if I recall correctly, the teleprompter changed the rules at the last convention to make it harder for newcomers to gain any traction as delegates.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

Does anyone else think that attacking drug crime sentencing is not a recipe for success in the GOP primary?

According to the polling data, about two-thirds of Republicans favor reduced sentences for simple possession (and about half of those favor outright legalization). Is it a harder sell than in the Democratic Party? Sure, but it's entirely doable.

P.S. My own sense of this (read: hunch backed by anecdotal evidence only) is that Rand's biggest obstacle on this front is going to be indifference, rather than active opposition. The average libertarian cares a lot more about legalization than the average GOPer cares about maintaining prohibition. So, as far as electoral math is concerned, I don't think Rand's stance here is going to win or lose him many GOPer votes. The big win comes from crossover votes in states like NH.