[Video] Rand Paul on Real Time with Bill Maher 11/14/14

[jmdrake]

my concern is not so much what "end the war on drugs" means to folks like you and I but rather how the average low-information voter will comprehend that.

Most Americans are ready to end the war on drugs.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/04/new-pew-poll-confirms-americans-ready-end-war-drugs

 

[jmdrake]

He's said that he doesn't endorse state marijuana legalization efforts many times. I've heard him say that on Hannity's radio show.

Did he ever say he was against such efforts? If not....non issue.

 

[specsaregood]

Rand holds federal office (U.S. Senator) not state office. Rand is running for federal office (U.S. President) not state office. If California and Oregon both legalized drugs and even if the federal government actually followed the constitution, the federal government could still arrest people for transporting drugs across state lines. So for Rand to "end the war on drugs", drugs would have to be defacto legalized at the federal level. Where I live there was a referendum on whether or not grocery stores should be able to sell wine. Should Rand have issued an opinion on that as well?

I'm not sure what your point is. I don't think eliminating federal laws against drugs is the same as legalizing. I see it as deregulation or the federal government having no opinion on it just as I hope they have no opinion on a rose bush. But feel free to nitpick.

Although in reality, the more I think about it that's probably not what Randal meant. When pushed on this issue, I suspect he will push an agenda of decriminalization instead of federal legalization or returning to the state level and ending any federal involvement. which wont make the hardcore drug-legalization proponents happy; but I think would be a huge improvement.

 

[Deborah K]

I can see where these things might appeal to libertarians and maybe some liberals in a general election but how do they play with the Republicans that he has to win over to get the nomination in the primary?

I think what anaconda wrote has some merit with regard to your excellent question.

I am hoping what we're seeing Rand is selling his ideas incrementally so that they can be successfully assimilated by the masses and the media.

 

[Deborah K]

my concern is not so much what "end the war on drugs" means to folks like you and I but rather how the average low-information voter will comprehend that.

For now, all that needs to be considered are Bill Maher's avid viewers, which was the whole point of taking this interview, I'd imagine.

 

[Deborah K]

He's said that he doesn't endorse state marijuana legalization efforts many times. I've heard him say that on Hannity's radio show.

Decriminalization is not legalization, just sayin. Maybe that's gonna be his angle.

 

[specsaregood]

Decriminalization is not legalization, just sayin. Maybe that's gonna be his angle.

Decriminalization ties in much better with his other issues of restoring voting rights, eliminating mandatory minimums, and treating drugs as a medical issue.
Rather than legalization which I think many people would interpret as approval.

 

[jmdrake]

I'm not sure what your point is. I don't think eliminating federal laws against drugs is the same as legalizing. I see it as deregulation or the federal government having no opinion on it just as I hope they have no opinion on a rose bush. But feel free to nitpick.

Although in reality, the more I think about it that's probably not what Randal meant. When pushed on this issue, I suspect he will push an agenda of decriminalization instead of federal legalization or returning to the state level and ending any federal involvement. which wont make the hardcore drug-legalization proponents happy; but I think would be a huge improvement.

Do you think of the end of prohibition as the legalization of alcohol or just deregulation? My point is that the only legalization that can be done at the federal level is what you're calling "deregulation". Okay. Fine. Really I don't see what your point is. Rand isn't running for governor.

 

[jmdrake]

Decriminalization ties in much better with his other issues of restoring voting rights, eliminating mandatory minimums, and treating drugs as a medical issue.
Rather than legalization which I think many people would interpret as approval.

Okay. I think I see you're point. Rand's not going to make a "legalize freedom" comment like Ron did and that's a good thing.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Decriminalization ties in much better with his other issues of restoring voting rights, eliminating mandatory minimums, and treating drugs as a medical issue.

Rather than legalization which I think many people would interpret as approval.

Yeah, I prefer the term "decriminalization" to "legalization". Legalization has both the connotation of approval, and of regulation.


IMHO, marijuana should be "regulated" similar to tomatoes. People can grow them, give them to neighbors. If they are sold or commercially farmed, then there are a few more rules (exact same laws as tomatoes). If they are transported over Borders (State or international), then there can be a variety of additional rules (once again, should be the exact same rules for both tomatoes and marijuana). Standard agricultural product rules apply.

End the war on drugs? Absolutely, it's nothing but a counter-productive, expensive, liberty and Constitution destroying boondoggle.

Endorse drugs? Hell no. It should be a medical issue. The surgeon general should oversee a (very inexpensive) program that educates about side effects, adverse reactions, long term health effects, addiction and recovery for all drugs.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Rand Paul on Why He Keeps Going Where No Other Republican Will Go

Rand Paul on Why He Keeps Going Where No Other Republican Will Go
by Andrew Kirell - November 16th, 2014

...Upon review, the past year has seen Sen. Paul visiting college campuses normally seen as hotbeds of hostility to the Republican Party; holding engagement sessions with black leaders and inner-city groups normally wary of the conservative message; and meeting with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, despite the tech industry’s overwhelming preference for liberal politicians.

It’s all part of a strategy to bring the senator’s libertarian strand of conservatism to anyone who will listen. “Reaching out and engaging new audiences remains a priority to me,” Paul told Mediaite.

Such engagement has proved fruitful for the senator. His March speech at UC Berkeley, which mostly focused on government spying, resulted in a standing ovation from a packed auditorium at a school known for its political liberalism. And in April, when Paul spoke at Harvard University, his own ex-rival Trey Grayson (then-director of the school’s Institute of Politics) introduced him as “without question the Republican who best connects with millennial voters across the country.”

On top of that, Rand Paul was also the only nationally-elected Republican to address the National Urban League conference this July. He went above and beyond his party — and even most Democrats — by attending a “listening session” with local activists, pastors, and black leaders last month in the turmoil-wracked city of Ferguson, Mo.

Such active attempts to hold court with black voters is why when the Republicans opened an engagement office in inner-city Detroit, they tapped Paul to headline the event.

Perhaps the most astonishing part is that he’s the only Republican to do all of the above while also winning the Conservative Political Action Conference’s presidential straw poll and helping a dozen GOP candidates get elected or re-elected to the Senate, including his own fellow Kentuckian in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

While Paul has yet to declare a run for president, he maintains that his current trend of outreach is in the interest of the party itself, supplanting his own.

“I continue to believe that the Republican Party needs to become a bigger, better and bolder party in order to compete and win nationally,” he told Mediaite. “From UC Berkeley to Detroit and from Bill Maher’s show to Silicon Valley, I will continue to do my part in expanding our brand.”
...
More: http://www.mediaite.com/online/rand-paul-on-why-he-keeps-going-where-no-other-republican-will-go/

 

[Brian4Liberty]

I think the issue is worthy of scientific debate.

The science is settled!

 

[trey4sports]

For now, all that needs to be considered are Bill Maher's avid viewers, which was the whole point of taking this interview, I'd imagine.

in the short term its obviously a big plus but remember that anything Rand says to Bill Maher now can and will be broadcast on-loop to an entirely different audience at some point.

 

[brushfire]

Typically, when I see someone on a show, they usually get the courtesy of posting the content. Unfortunately, it seems like someone has reported Rand (HBO?). Someone who might not be fan. Pretty sh!tty, whoever did that.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-rGG9QvXQ

 

[economics102]

Typically, when I see someone on a show, they usually get the courtesy of posting the content. Unfortunately, it seems like someone has reported Rand (HBO?). Someone who might not be fan. Pretty sh!tty, whoever did that.

In HBO's defense, It's a little different with them versus other networks because they're not ad-based. When you post a video on youtube from Fox News, for instance, Fox has the option to simply claim the ad revenue for that video instead of taking it down. This is fine with them, to a degree, because all they do on their own site is collect ad revenue. But HBO relies on people paying for channel subscriptions, so the value of the content is not merely the content itself but its ability to motivate you to pay for *the entire channel*.

 

[alucard13mm]

i was surprised to hear Rand say that he wants to end the war on drugs. It's great that he took such a strong stand but it will be played on loop during his primary attack ads.

I would say...

How can we win the war on drugs if we can't even keep drugs like cocaine and heroine out of super maximum prisons?

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

i was surprised to hear Rand say that he wants to end the war on drugs. It's great that he took such a strong stand but it will be played on loop during his primary attack ads.

Further surprising when he, just a moment later, described sentencing being 6 or 12 months instead of 10 years or longer. So drugs would still be illegal, and police would need to arrest and jail people for using them. Really weird - from a tactical perspective - to say you want to end the war on drugs and then propose that said war continue.

 

[WD-NY]

In HBO's defense, It's a little different with them versus other networks because they're not ad-based. When you post a video on youtube from Fox News, for instance, Fox has the option to simply claim the ad revenue for that video instead of taking it down. This is fine with them, to a degree, because all they do on their own site is collect ad revenue. But HBO relies on people paying for channel subscriptions, so the value of the content is not merely the content itself but its ability to motivate you to pay for *the entire channel*.

True - still kind of odd/suspicious though given all the John Oliver monologues/clips that get posted to YouTube (though perhaps Oliver has it written into his contract that clips from his show can be shared/re-posted online)?

 

[economics102]

True - still kind of odd/suspicious though given all the John Oliver monologues/clips that get posted to YouTube (though perhaps Oliver has it written into his contract that clips from his show can be shared/re-posted online)?

That's different, if you read up on Last Week Tonight's marketing strategy, HBO took a deliberate (and unconventional, for them) tack of making those clips available on youtube to try to build an audience for the show. Those youtube clips are released on the show's official channel.

Bill Maher's show, by contrast, already has an audience and is one of the many shows that motivates people to keep paying for HBO.

Of course, everything I just said is a bit dated because Last Week Tonight has, incredibly, already been successful in building an audience that slightly exceeds the 4 million viewers Bill Maher gets.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Typically, when I see someone on a show, they usually get the courtesy of posting the content. Unfortunately, it seems like someone has reported Rand (HBO?). Someone who might not be fan. Pretty sh!tty, whoever did that.

Not sure why the clip that was tweeted no longer works.

The one in the OP seems to be up still:

update:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBRlpzT5soc