Other recent articles under: Rand Paul as of Jan 7, 2010
Topic: Rand Paul
Paul Surges to Lead in Senate Race
Despite having to battle charges of racism, the Rand Paul campaign has surged to frontrunner status in the Senate race in Kentucky. by George Dance
(libertarian)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Despite having to battle allegations of racism, the Rand Paul campaign has surged to frontrunner status in the Senate race in Kentucky.
Paul, who officially entered the Republican primary race on Dec. 30, is a Bowling Green eye surgeon and the founder of Kentucky Taxpayers United. He has never previously held political office. (1)
An early November poll by WHAS-TV in Louisville found that Paul had pulled to a slim 3-point lead, 35%-32%, over his main primary opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson. (No other candidate had more than 2%.) Reported WHAS: "Grayson is down five from our last poll 11 weeks ago, Paul has gained nine points since then." (2)
By Christmas, a poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found Paul with a whopping 19-point lead -- 44% vs. 25% -- over Grayson.. Among those dissatisfied with the GOP's performance in Congress, Paul led Grayson by 32 points; among those who found the party too liberal, by 36 points. (3)
PPP also showed Paul leading the top two Democratic challengers -- Lt.-Gov. Dan Mongiardo and Attorney-General Jack Conway -- by identical six-point margins in two-candidate matchups. (4)
The campaign is also doing well financially. Paul, the son of 2008 Republican presidential challenger Ron Paul (5), has copied his father's successful internet moneybombs, to harness the financial muscle of the rEVOLution that turned the elder Paul's iconoclastic bid into a financial record-setter.
Rand Paul's campaign raised $200,000 in a Dec. 16 moneybomb, bringing its 2008Q4 contributions to $646,000 (6), and its contributions to date to over $1.7 million.
For his part, Grayson is raising funds through a joint account with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, using a tactic some have decried as pure favoratism. (7) He has not yet released his Q4 fundraising totals.
Paul has also begun receiving endorsements. The socially conservative Concerned Women PAC endorsed him in December. "Rand Paul is a strong man of faith and of conviction. Rand is strongly pro-life, and has pledged his support for federal measures to end abortion. Additionally, Rand is pro-parental rights, and will fight to get the federal government out of the business of indoctrinating our children with the liberal agenda, and will fight for both alternative schools and home schools," said Beverly LaHaye, CWPAC founder and chairman. " I am convinced he is the most likely candidate to stand up and fight for these issues in the Senate. Rand Paul is not beholden to a party or any establishment.... It is for these many reasons, that we proudly endorse the pro-life, pro-freedom, pro-constitution small government champion, Dr. Rand Paul, to be the next senator from the state of Kentucky." (8)
On Jan. 6, the Gun Owners of America also endorsed Paul. Said GOA Vice-Chairman Tim Macy:
The Second Amendment is being incrementally destroyed by politicians who pay more attention to anti-gun New York Times editorials than to the words of the Founding Fathers. It is time for a new way of thinking in Washington. We need real leaders who respect our Constitutional freedoms and who will stand up to the political establishment that is literally ruining our great country. Rand Paul's commitment to the right to keep and bear arms is unwavering. He understands that the framers of the Constitution viewed private ownership of firearms as a safeguard of liberty." (9)
Paul also may be getting support from the internet gambling community. The website Gambling 911 reported on Jan. 5 that "there have been murmurs throughout the online gambling sector to begin raising funds for Paul's campaign as a show of support for his dad while slapping the hand of Kentucky's current Governor," Steve Beshear. (Beshear tried to seize 141 Internet gambling domain names in October of 2008 before being overrruled by an Appeals Court.) (10)
Of course Paul also has his detractors. One is Mike Bryant, chairman of the Breathitt County Republican Party. Bryant owns and maintains a website, Too Kooky for Kentucky (TKKY), dedicated to attacking Paul and his campaign. (11)
On Nov. 6 (and again on Nov. 7, Dec. 11, and Dec. 16) TKKY reported that funds were being solicited for Paul on the white-supremacist website, Stormfront. (12) Though the charges have not yet received any traction in the main stream media, such a tactic has been used successfully to damage campaigns in the past -- Ron Paul's presidential campaign, for instance. (13)
On Dec. 17, campaign treasurer Chris Hightower was forced to resign after a different Kentucky blog, Barefoot and Progressive, posted racist material -- including a photo of a lynching -- that it claimed came from his myspace page. Hightower denied the allegations, saying that he didn't even have a personal myspace page. "Because they don't have any dirt on Rand Paul, they want to try to create dirt on people that work for him," he told Associated Press.
Paul defended Hightower in a prepared statement. "I have never heard a single utterance of racism from this staffer, nor do I believe him to have any racist tendencies," he stated. "However," Paul added, "it is impossible to present the ideas and reforms we need in this country with this controversy present. Therefore, I have accepted his resignation." (14)
Establishment conservative sites were quick to seize the opportunity to attack the movement -- the rEVOLution -- supporting Paul and his father. For instance, James Antle III sniffed at the American Spectator that "both this and the Ron Paul newsletters flap [15] show that everytime Paulite views on government, economics, and foreign policy get a mainstream hearing, there are racists, kooks, and 9/11 nutters in the Paul camp standing by to drag those ideas back into the fever swamps." (16) (Update: Mr. Antle finds the above a mischaracterization of his views; please read his reply in the letters below.)
Grayson was also quick to take advantage. The Paul campaign denounced the images as "reprehensible" and declared that racism "has no place in civil discourse. (14) However, the Grayson campaign released its own "statement demanding to know where Paul stands on these issues." "I think Rand Paul's judgment is seriously in question at this point," Grayson was quoted as saying. (17)
There is no sign that such attacks have hurt the campaign in any way. For instance, the PPP poll showing Paul's nearly 20-point lead over Grayson came out a week after those last two incidents. However, if Paul continues to lead the polls (especially with margins like these), such attacks can be expected to continue and even increase.
What is more questionable is whether such attacks will be enough to keep Rand Paul out of the U.S. Senate. As Senator, Paul will be ideally positioned to be the rEVOLution's standard bearer in the 2012 presidential race; and a repetition of the 2008 Paul campaign in the 2012 race is something the GOP establishment definitely does not want. But can they stop it from happening?
As Kentucky political blogger Derek King wrote of the Paul campaign during the Hightower incident:
"From the beginning, this campaign has been the underdog. They've battled through plenty of obstacles and I honestly believe that, looking back on it, this will be a minor setback. Campaigns, this campaign especially, are about the candidates and ideas. Campaigns have gone through far worse public relations issues and still come out victorious. Could this slow the momentum of the campaign? Possibly, but highly unlikely. Don't forget folks -- Rand just raised over 200,000 dollars yesterday. That's a big deal. And just like from the beginning of the campaign, this campaign is about issues." (17)
---
Sources:
(1) "About Rand Paul", Rand Paul U.S. Senate 2010 (accessed Jan. 6, 2010). http://www.randpaul2010.com/about/
(2) Joe Arnold, "Survey USA: Rand Paul surges for GOP, Mongiardo maintains lead in Dem. race", WHAS Political Blog, Nov. 3 2008. http://www.whas11.com/community/blogs/political-blog/Exclusive-WHAS11Survey-USA-poll--Rand-Paul-surges-for-GOP-Mongiardo-maintains-lead-in-Democratic-race-68970162.html
(3) Tom Jensen, "Paul Leads Big", Public Policy Polling, Dec. 22, 2009. http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/12/paul-leads-big.html
(4) Tom Jensen, "Republicans Favored in Kentucky", Public Policy Polling, Dec. 23, 2009. http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/12/republicans-favored-in-kentucky.html
(5) George Dance, "Ron Paul and his rEVOLution", Nolan Chart, Mar. 28, 2008. http://www.nolanchart.com/article3255.html
(7) Reid Wilson, "NRSC Faces New Attacks Over Support", National Journal, Dec. 15, 2009. http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2009/12/nrsc_faces_new.php
(8) David Adams, "Women 4 Rand", Rand Paul U.S. Senate 2010, Dec. 22, 2009. http://www.randpaul2010.com/2009/12/women-4-rand/
(9) David Adams, "Gun Owners of America endorse", Rand Paul U.S. Senate 2010, Jan. 6, 2010. http://www.randpaul2010.com/2010/01/gun-owners-of-america-endorse/
(10) Christopher Costigan, "Rand Paul Jumps Into Kentucky Senate Race," Gambling 911, Jan. 5, 2010. http://www.gambling911.com/politics/rand-paul-jumps-kentucky-senate-race-010510.html
(11)Too Kooky for Kentucky (accesssed Jan. 6, 2010). http://www.tookookyforkentucky.com/
(12) "Search = Stormfront", Too Kooky for Kentucky (searched Jan. 6, 2010). http://www.tookookyforkentucky.com/?s=stormfront
(15) George Dance, "The Newsletters FAQ ver. 1.2", Nolan Chart, Feb. 4, 2008. http://www.nolanchart.com/article2435.html
(16) James Antle III, "Rand Paul and the Paleo Dilemma", The American Spectator, Dec. 21, 2009. http://spectator.org/blog/2009/12/21/rand-paul-and-the-paleo-dilemm
The views expressed
in this article are those of George Dance only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
George Dance is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Nice update / overview, George. This race is a microcosm of what's going on in America... the Neocon Establishment party trying to hold on to its power and control in the face of a very grumpy sleeping giant that is emerging from its stupified slumber. As we proceed toward November, I foresee the Neocons and their Media cohorts setting new standards in dirty tricks, lies, and propaganda. It's going to get quite ugly. As one whose been subjected to such political campaign attacks, I don't envy Rand Paul at all. In addition to supporting him financially, we should all throw in an extra prayer for him and his family.
" James Antle III sniffed at the American Spectator that "both this and the Ron Paul newsletters flap [15]show that everytime Paulite views on government, economics, and foreign policy get a mainstream hearing, there are racists, kooks, and 9/11 nutters in the Paul camp standing by to drag those ideas back into the fever swamps."
No one can be responsible for what people who 'happen' to support them do and think. Every president likely had criminals voting for them, don't you think?
And it is very easy to post on someone else's web page, PARTICULARLY if that person allows free expression.
The question is what the candidate thinks. To suggest as the quote does that IDEAS SHOULD NOT BE AIRED because SOME might use them as a jumping off point for less savory views goes against everything freedom of expression seeks to permit.
One thing this clearly demonstrates is that Americans are tired of charachter- assasination politics. Whenever a big-government politicians knows he/she cannot win on the issues, they go into attacking someone's character. He's a racist, he hates gays, he's got anger issues, he did something stupid in 1986, he's associated somehow with someone that did something bad, etc. Guess what, look at the current state of America. We cannot afford to focus on these things anymore! And guess what, America knows it! Checkmate Mr. Grayson, Mr. Conway, Mr. Mongiardo.
Posted By: W. James Antle III
Date: 2010-01-07 14:18:42
"Establishment conservative sites were quick to seize the opportunity to attack the movement -- the rEVOLution -- supporting Paul and his father."
I'm sorry, but this is a gross mischaracterization of my views. I have criticized a small number of people who have attached themselves to the Paul movement in order to promote unsavory viewpoints that have nothing to do with limited government, sound money or a responsible foreign policy. I have urged the Paul movement to more forcefully distance itself from such people. You can argue this isn't the best tactic or you can argue that it isn't right to hold a candidate responsible for his supporters' viewpoints. But this was not a blanket attack on the Paul movement by any stretch of the imagination.
Anyone reading Libertsrian literature will soon see it is the movement most dedicated to equal justice under law for all. this life-long Republican has just decided to jump on the Libertarian bandwagon. Ron Paul's crying in the wilderness about the absurditys of Keynesian economics will waken this nation soon. If you have any doubts, read "Where Keynes Went Wrong" by Hunter Lewis. Its unbelievable that so many in both major parties have bought Keynesian nonsense.
Want to comment on
this article? Leave your comment
here. Your email address is required to track your
comment. However, we will neither publish your email
address nor distribute it to other organizations or
persons. The only reason we might use it would be if
we needed to contact you regarding your comment. All
comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
