What Happened to Rand Paul? (Redstate)

[jkob]

I don't understand how you guys can be so positive, Rand is going to have to come out in the debates as a completely different person than the one he is campaigning as to actually gain traction, The moderators are going to call him out and ask him to repudiate his father's views, they're going to ask him about foreign policy, they're going to ask him about things he hasn't highlighted in his campaign that his libertarian base cares about, there isn't going to be time for any long qualified answers. The debate is going to be a total circus with Trump, it probably won't make any Republican look good. So the question is, why are people going to suddenly start flocking to Rand? There isn't going to be a manufactured media surge and if he won't do anything to stand out from the rest of the field then there is no reason for voters to pick him over one of the other 16 candidates.

Rand should be courting independent, young people, crossovers voters, broadening the tent because then he can claim to be the candidate that can win especially against an unpopular Clinton which will go further at winning establishment voters than pandering ever will. The conservative blowhard talking heads don't have any credibility, Rand shouldn't be running for their approval. Look at Trump not show any of them respect, the general population doesn't respects them and neither should Rand.

 

[Wilf]

Rand should be courting independent, young people, crossovers voters, broadening the tent because then he can claim to be the candidate that can win especially against an unpopular Clinton which will go further at winning establishment voters than pandering ever will. The conservative blowhard talking heads don't have any credibility, Rand shouldn't be running for their approval. Look at Trump not show any of them respect, the general population doesn't respects them and neither should Rand.

That whats he is doing right now

 

[erowe1]

The conservative blowhard talking heads don't have any credibility, Rand shouldn't be running for their approval. Look at Trump not show any of them respect, the general population doesn't respects them and neither should Rand.

It seemed to me that Trump was really kissing Hannity's butt.

I think Rand has done more work at broadening his appeal outside the GOP base than you give him credit for. He has made some big mistakes in his anti-immigration talk, and his support for Iran sanctions. But that's the news du jour. Not long ago Rand's anti-NSA stuff was. A few weeks from now something else will be. Just like all the hoo hah about Trumps few days at the top of the polls turned out to be much ado about nothing, so is any pretending that Rand's past few weeks define his whole campaign.

Looking at it objectively, he's in better shape than his dad was, and that's not bad.

 

[timosman]

Ask yourself this question: do you feel like a member of the winning team ?

 

[r3volution 3.0]

Rand just lost a golden opportunity to set himself apart as the only Republican candidate to be against sanctioning Iran. I'm certain that hurt him quite a bit.

Only 14% of Republicans support the Iran deal (source).

Rand could have monopolized those voters, yes, but at the cost of alienating everyone else.

....doesn't make sense to lower the ceiling a yard just to raise the floor an inch.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

I don't understand how you guys can be so positive, Rand is going to have to come out in the debates as a completely different person than the one he is campaigning as to actually gain traction, The moderators are going to call him out and ask him to repudiate his father's views, they're going to ask him about foreign policy, they're going to ask him about things he hasn't highlighted in his campaign that his libertarian base cares about, there isn't going to be time for any long qualified answers. The debate is going to be a total circus with Trump, it probably won't make any Republican look good. So the question is, why are people going to suddenly start flocking to Rand? There isn't going to be a manufactured media surge and if he won't do anything to stand out from the rest of the field then there is no reason for voters to pick him over one of the other 16 candidates.

Economic policy is where Rand can really shine. He unveiled his tax plan, now I'm waiting for his budget.

If he can make the point at the debates that he, and he alone, will really cut federal spending, that's a pretty big deal in a GOP primary.

 

[thoughtomator]

Rand is playing a long game. It is extremely early in the process.

 

[AuH20]

Rand is playing a long game. It is extremely early in the process.

like a man waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never came.

 

[JK/SEA]

like a man waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never came.

thats because the Bullet Train is coming.

 

[jllundqu]

The debates will be interesting, but once some of the other candidates start dropping out, that's when things will get interesting.

 

[timosman]

like a man waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never came.

 

[RonPaulMall]

I wouldn't count on this... they will still black him out as much as possible.

Doesn't really matter. None of Rand's current problems can be fixed in a debate, even if he were some fantastic debate and speaker (which he most certainly isn't). Rand needs to rebrand and refocus his entire campaign to match the realities of the current electoral climate. This really should have been done from the start and it frightens me that Rand and his advisers were so blind to the mood of the voters, but whatever. It isn't too late.

 

[CPUd]

Doesn't really matter. None of Rand's current problems can be fixed in a debate, even if he were some fantastic debate and speaker (which he most certainly isn't). Rand needs to rebrand and refocus his entire campaign to match the realities of the current electoral climate. This really should have been done from the start and it frightens me that Rand and his advisers were so blind to the mood of the voters, but whatever. It isn't too late.

LOL this is exactly what not to do.

 

[AuH20]

Doesn't really matter. None of Rand's current problems can be fixed in a debate, even if he were some fantastic debate and speaker (which he most certainly isn't). Rand needs to rebrand and refocus his entire campaign to match the realities of the current electoral climate. This really should have been done from the start and it frightens me that Rand and his advisers were so blind to the mood of the voters, but whatever. It isn't too late.

Yup. Not a peep about immigration or healthcare.

 

[kahless]

Yup. Not a peep about immigration or healthcare.[/IMG]

It is as if Rand is following the same failed campaign strategy as Ron. Crunch time comes and the issues most important to the party base they stop talking about.

 

[RonPaulMall]

It is as if Rand is following the same failed campaign strategy as Ron. Crunch time comes and the issues most important to the party base they stop talking about.

What percentage of Republican voters even know that Rand Paul introduced a resolution to end Birthright Citizenship? Not only are nearly all of them completely unaware that he introduced it, I'd wager the majority of GOP voters probably think Rand would oppose such a resolution if you asked them.

 

[NewRightLibertarian]

Rand only has himself to blame for a lot of his problems. His handlers, as well. It's a sad state of affairs right now but there is a long way to go. It's very difficult for me to see him regaining momentum with how he has run his campaign up to this point though.

Without a shadow of a doubt, he would be polling much higher right now if he had stuck to his father's message instead of shifting to this watered-down, milquetoast crap he's saying now.

 

[erowe1]

Only 14% of Republicans support the Iran deal (source).

Rand could have monopolized those voters, yes, but at the cost of alienating everyone else.

....doesn't make sense to lower the ceiling a yard just to raise the floor an inch.

That 14% (which is nothing to sneeze at in a large primary field) is not set in stone. The other 86% can change their minds. And Rand is the best person to help them change them. He should see that as his job. His dad did that, and changed tons of conservatives' minds about the Iraq War. Rand would be respected for that as a leader, rather than a follower.

 

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

Doesn't really matter. None of Rand's current problems can be fixed in a debate, even if he were some fantastic debate and speaker (which he most certainly isn't). Rand needs to rebrand and refocus his entire campaign to match the realities of the current electoral climate. This really should have been done from the start and it frightens me that Rand and his advisers were so blind to the mood of the voters, but whatever. It isn't too late.

He's surrounding himself with PC Republicans who think they're going to win by catering to minorities. He's deathly afraid of being called racist, so he's going out of his way to try to insulate himself from that preemptively. He might try to compete when immigration is inevitably brought up, but he won't bring it up. It's a losing strategy, and it'll tank his campaign if he continues.

 

[AuH20]

He's surrounding himself with PC Republicans who think they're going to win by catering to minorities. He's deathly afraid of being called racist, so he's going out of his way to try to insulate himself from that preemptively. He might try to compete when immigration is inevitably brought up, but he won't bring it up. It's a losing strategy, and it'll tank his campaign if he continues.

Anyone who decides to run a campaign front and center proclaiming 'I'm not racist' is doomed to fail. You may as well adopt the secondary campaign strategy of 'I'm not a rapist...........really I swear'. It's sheer stupidity. If you want to win minority votes, you talk to them like adults with both the good and bad news. I think there would be a segment that would be receptive to that type of honesty as opposed to all the propaganda that is heaped their way. Just examine the whole 'black lives matter' controversy that recently occurred with the democratic candidates. That's the byproduct of shameless pandering.