What can Rand Paul do or do better?

TaftFan

TaftFan

Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Messages
6,077
Brainstorming here. Please contribute with your own thoughts/comments on mine. Okay, by now it should be obvious that Rand's campaign has got to get going. Something has to change.

So Trump and Carson are sucking up all the air. Why?

-They are fresh/outsiders
-They don't speak political jargon
-They are perceived as honest
-They are perceived as fighters
-They are likable
-They have momentum (people like winners)

At least, that is what I am seeing.

We have to ask ourselves, from the mindset of the average voter, why in the world would we vote for Rand Paul?

Rand isn't even known or understood by a lot of people. Those who are familiar with him see him as the Bill of Rights Senator from Kentucky. Good guy, but better off in the Senate. So, going down the list of attributes...

Like I said, a lot of people don't know Rand. So he has the opportunity to be fresh. I suggest he drop "Senator" and use "Dr." are much as humanly possible. It's cliche, but he should keep repeating that he is NOT a career politician. When people say that, it works.

I don't think Rand can change the way he speaks too much. His voice is sort of grating, like Hillary's. He can't help that. I've got the same type of voice. You try to be loud and it comes off as strained. But I do think he could switch up some of his substance. He and his team could find time to sit down and write up (or better yet, let the grassroots help) talking points that sound like "common sense." In other words, talking points that don't sound like talking points.

Rand speaks honestly, but I think for the purposes of being perceived as honest he needs to reveal things. I bet he has a ton of stories of corruption that go on in the Senate. Day to day bullying or what not. Thomas Massie has these stories. They are compelling. But here is another thing, and I have mentioned it before. He needs to TALK to people on social media. Facebook chats. Twitter Q&As. He needs to answer people's questions. Ben Carson does a great job with this on Facebook. Trump retweets people. That way Rand is not just A candidate, but a candidate of the people. (I have also suggested that he post daily quotes similar to Bernie Sanders does).

Rand was once widely perceived as a fighter, and he has two filibusters to prove it. But attempting another one would be overkill at this point. He can't or won't fight McConnell at this point and I won't even complain about it now. It is what it is. It's safe to say that fighting Donald Trump has not worked for Rand or anyone else. So at this point, it may be time for Rand to start a feud with Jeb Bush. Nobody likes Jeb Bush and he is very punchable. Therefore, they will cheer Rand when he punches Jeb. Oh, and John McCain. Rand needs to find an excuse to get into it with John McCain. Also, Rand cannot let Ted Cruz corner the market on "strongest conservative." Rand needs to proudly proclaim himself as "the strongest constitutional conservative" and explain why, using his record.

Rand is not very likable. I'm just being honest. In the debates he has smirked too much. But more than that, he is kind of boring. The way to solve this, I think, is through humor. Rand needs some jokes, and I don't mean Donald Trump imitations.

Finally, and this may be the most important thing, is momentum. Stopped momentum killed Perry. It killed Walker. The same thing threatens Rand and others. So Rand has to help forge the narrative that he is surging. People are irrational and latch on to people with momentum. We see it time and again. Every time Rand beats notable people in a poll, he needs to blast it everywhere. I also think that he needs to appear as active as possible. I would advise him to sell himself to every major conservative publication. He has done a good job of this in the past, but I think he should go further. There are a LOT of high traffic, high readership websites and magazines out there. The more Rand's name is read, the greater sense of momentum he has. And it's free.

I have some other thoughts as well, some of which I have mentioned before.

-Rand needs to get his dad's supporters. How is he polling way below Ron was? Where did the supporters go?
The solution, I think, is to start pounding monetary policy. It's in the news and he should seize the opportunity.

Which brings me to...
-It's the economy, stupid
Rand can relate to all voters, not just his dad's, if he relates monetary policy to the situation we are in. Inflation, wages, growth, inequality, boom bust cycles, unemployment...you can trace it all to the Fed. Rand did a good job with his tax plan, but speaking out on monetary policy can allow him to approach the economy from an angle no one else is doing.

Anyway, this was sort of a stream of conscientiousness rant. Please leave your advice for Rand below. Someone on his team has to read the forums.
 
Stay on message, get your Dad to stump/fundraise and keep on going.
 
I'll wait until after Iowa to know if Rand needs to do something better. I think he's on the right track in Iowa...

 
LatinsforPaul said:
I'll wait until after Iowa to know if Rand needs to do something better. I think he's on the right track in Iowa...

Click to expand...

Rand should say to the crowd, "How many people here have been called by a polling agency and asked who you support in the GOP Primary?"

then maybe ask, "How many people here are planning on caucusing for me in the GOP Primary?"

If virtually nobody raises their hand for the first question, and he gets good cheers from the second, that could play well to his message that the polling is skewed.
 
TaftFan said:
He needs to TALK to people on social media. Facebook chats. Twitter Q&As. He needs to answer people's questions. Ben Carson does a great job with this on Facebook. Trump retweets people. That way Rand is not just A candidate, but a candidate of the people. (I have also suggested that he post daily quotes similar to Bernie Sanders does).
Click to expand...

This part is very important to me. My generation lives on social media. 18-26 year olds are plugged in more deeply than any other age group, except for maybe those under 18. But they can't vote, obviously. Rand needs to go viral, get social, and put himself online. He needs to exist in two realities: the physical, and the digital. Not to say the grassroots hasn't been doing their part in the virtual world, but as you said, Rand needs to take a bigger step into it himself.
 
Rand's biggest mistake so far IMO is not relating to his audiences enough on an emotional level. He goes overboard on appealing to people's sensibilities as if it is a philosophy or poli-sci class. The "my goodness, shouldn't we re-think our foreign policy?" schtick isn't going to work. Whoever can tap into the voter anger and channel it is going to win. And no, voters aren't angry because their liberties are being trampled on, they're angry because they see both parties as corrupt and incompetent. Tap into that, Rand should say it's time to lead the party in a whole new direction, not just that he's a different kind of Republican.
 
Rand should concentrate on visiting Every county in Iowa and NH and PERSONALLY talk to as many voters as possible. After Iowa a shitload of candidates are going to drop out and their voters are going to be looking for a new man.
This maybe the first election though where the winners of the first two aren't necessarily going to make it. Trump pretty much gets beat by a lot of people when the field thins out. Supper Tuesday will probably crush Trump.
 
klamath said:
Rand should concentrate on visiting Every county in Iowa and NH and PERSONALLY talk to as many voters as possible. After Iowa a shitload of candidates are going to drop out and their voters are going to be looking for a new man.
This maybe the first election though where the winners of the first two aren't necessarily going to make it. Trump pretty much gets beat by a lot of people when the field thins out. Supper Tuesday will probably crush Trump.
Click to expand...

Rand's campaign has at least one county chair in all 99 Iowa counties. I'm sure no other candidate comes even close.
 
I think he and his campaign have done all right so far. They were not prepared for 1.) Trump Mania 2.) 16 candidates in the race. The things that need to change are largely outside of his control, and are already starting to sort themselves out.
 
CPUd said:
I think he and his campaign have done all right so far. They were not prepared for 1.) Trump Mania 2.) 16 candidates in the race. The things that need to change are largely outside of his control, and are already starting to sort themselves out.
Click to expand...

I agree. As long as he gets into the next debate, things will be fine. I'm sure a few candidates will drop out a couple of weeks after the debate.
 
logikal said:
I agree. As long as he gets into the next debate, things will be fine. I'm sure a few candidates will drop out a couple of weeks after the debate.
Click to expand...

National poll numbers were not really something they put a priority on during the spring, he was much higher in Iowa and NH. The national polls factoring into the debate placement are a consequence of having such a large field. Usually they would only require having a legit campaign, and > 1% in the polls.
 
Crashland said:
Rand's biggest mistake so far IMO is not relating to his audiences enough on an emotional level. He goes overboard on appealing to people's sensibilities as if it is a philosophy or poli-sci class. The "my goodness, shouldn't we re-think our foreign policy?" schtick isn't going to work. Whoever can tap into the voter anger and channel it is going to win. And no, voters aren't angry because their liberties are being trampled on, they're angry because they see both parties as corrupt and incompetent. Tap into that, Rand should say it's time to lead the party in a whole new direction, not just that he's a different kind of Republican.
Click to expand...

Yes, Rand counts on voters using their brains, they don't. The base is emotional, not rational. Ron was so outspoken on his views that he tapped into emotion while still using logic. Of course, it was not enough for him to win though.
 
Rand can build up his momentum slowly and wait for the Trump man to come tumbling down. Speaking of the Trump man falling down,,, I'll leave this here:

IBD/TIPP



  • Carson – 24%
  • Trump – 17%
  • Rubio – 11%
  • Fiorina – 9%
  • Bush – 8%
  • Cruz – 6%
  • Kasich – 4%
  • Paul – 3%
  • Huckabee – 2%
  • Christie – 2%
  • All Others – less than 2%
  • Undecided – 9%
Survey of 377 registered Republicans or Republican leaning independents was done Sept 26-Oct 1 and has a margin of error of ±5%.

BAM BITCHES!
 
TaftFan said:
So Trump and Carson are sucking up all the air. Why?

-They are fresh/outsiders
-They don't speak political jargon
-They are perceived as honest
-They are perceived as fighters
-They are likable
-They have momentum (people like winners)

At least, that is what I am seeing.
Click to expand...

Bull.

If you aren't seeing what the rest of us are seeing--that every single little thing that can be portrayed as a weakness is being played up like a nuclear war, that baldfaced lies are being parroted by multiple media outlets, that polls really are being cooked--then you have blinders on.

Our man is being lied about, and those lies are being backed up by trillions of watts of broadcast power. Without founding and operating our own version of Foxshit Radio, which we cannot do without FCC licenses, we cannot prevent this, and cannot fight this fire with equal fire from the other side. But there's no point in whining. There isn't much that Rand Paul can do better. He is making adjustments, tackling the clowns, skating the thin line between giving a dedicated hostile media machine more ammo and being so careful in his statements that he says nothing, playing with chain saws, and just generally doing what needs to be done.

The rest is up to us. We have to stop getting distracted by the bullshit artists they plant in our midst to try to whip our panties into a knot and stop giving up before the fight has even begun in earnest. And we have to stop letting them draw us into blaming Rand Paul for what the media mafia is doing to him, to us, and to our posterity.

This isn't hopscotch. And we need to stop assuming that they're playing hopscotch with us. We need to expose media duplicity every chance we get, in every forum that will let us air it out. We need to make people see just how ill-informed they really are, and we can't be afraid they'll be upset to learn it. We need to go for blood.

If you want to know what incompetence looks like, look here:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?483073-How-Steve-Jobs-totally-tricked-Carly-Fiorina

But don't expect to see that on the mainstream media. They're too busy following Rand around so they can snap a pic if he ever picks his nose where they can see it.
 
Last edited:
Trump and Carson are joke candidates, neither of whom are likely to be the nominee. Rand cannot descend to their level. Rand should present himself as a serious, fresh alternative to Rubio and Fiorina instead - he needs to try to harness anti-establishment sentiment for their own benefit, but not get to the point where he's just shouting random shit and talking about Kanye West for media attention.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top