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U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) delivers remarks at the morning plenary session of the Values Voter Summit in Washington September 26, 2014. Pauls past statements about vaccination and other medical issues came under scrutiny this week. Photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters

DES MOINES, Iowa As a medical doctor, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has a rare set of credentials at the intersection of science and politics. But the glare of the 2016 presidential race is searing, and under it, Paul had a rough week.

On Friday night in Iowa, Paul faced likely voters in the states leadoff nominating caucuses for the first time since answering questions about a measles outbreak centered in California. Paul said Monday that he had heard about many tragic cases of children who got vaccines and ended up with profound mental disorders.

That assertion has no basis in medical research, and Paul clearly was still upset on Friday about how his comments had been received.

It may be a little because Im a doctor, but really I think its inaccuracies fueled by reporters, he told The Associated Press. From my point of view, thats frustrating.

Pauls supporters in Iowa rallied around him, bestowing on him more credibility than other would-be presidential candidates on the issue, said former Iowa Republican Party co-chairman David Fischer, a Paul supporter.

But the episode probably took a toll on Paul, a libertarian who intends to try to highlight his background as a physician as an advantage if a possible White House campaign.

Republicans in Washington distanced themselves from Paul this past week, and none went out of his way to defend him.

As a doctor, I believe all children should be vaccinated, said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., an orthopedic surgeon. It was a line he repeated several times when asked about the uproar.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he would support a run by Paul, made no secret of his disagreement with Paul about the value of childhood vaccinations.

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Rand Pauls vaccine claims under microscope

Story highlights Rand Paul kicks off his first event in Iowa this year with events that appeal to libertarian-minded voters Effort builds on the foundation that his father established in the state during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns

In his first trip to Iowa this year, just under a year before the caucuses, the Kentucky Republican and potential presidential candidate ventured into familiar territory, rallying young voters and libertarian-minded supporters who turned out big for his father's presidential campaigns.

Paul found friendly audiences at the end of a stormy week filled with negative headlines over comments he made about vaccinations and swirling controversy involving one of his advisers in Iowa.

The crowds this weekend were a marked contrast to the social conservative audience that packed a Des Moines theater two weeks ago to hear 10 hours of speeches from a hoard of other potential candidates at the Iowa Freedom Summit.

The Federal Reserve was hardly mentioned at that event, and the rhetoric on war and the fight against ISIS was more forceful and hawkish that the positions Paul took this weekend.

'One loud voice'

Last fall, the senator struggled to communicate his stance on the war against terror. At first he urged restraint against ISIS, but after American journalists were beheaded by the group, Paul began supporting limited action.

He eventually, in a committee vote, voted "no" to authorizing war against ISIS, saying he felt the bill was too open-ended, and it was a vote he stood proudly by this weekend as he used it to separate himself from his potential competitors.

"You're going to get a choice on who the nominee is for the Republican Party. You're going to have nine, 10, 15, 20 who are eager to go and want troops on the ground," he said at the "Audit the Fed" rally Friday, which took place at a winery in Des Moines. "They want 100,000 troops on the ground. Right now. In all the countries."

"I can tell you there will be one loud voice in our party saying, think of the unintended consequence. Think about what we're going to accomplish and whether it will work before we go to war.' I promise you that will always be something I take very, very seriously."

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Rand Paul stakes out libertarian claim

AMES, IowaIn a tour this weekend across central Iowa, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) delivered a trio of wide-ranging speeches heavy on the themes of personal liberty, smaller government, tighter monetary policy and a less bellicose role on the world stage.

It was, in other words, a return to his libertarian roots.

Mr. Paul spoke to three receptive crowds in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Ames, delivering speeches heavy on the libertarian themes that helped propel his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, into the national spotlight during his two presidential runs.

Though Iowa is known more for the power of traditional conservative activists concerned about family values and social policy, Mr. Paul called for a more thoughtful American foreign policy, praised the Obama administration for efforts to reduce the penalties for nonviolent drug users and called formajor new changes to the Federal Reserves banking practices.

In his approach to the state, Mr. Paul is hoping to improve on his fathers two disappointing showings in the first-in-the-nation presidential contest. In 2008, the elder Mr. Paul finished fifth in the caucuses and failed to crack 10% of the vote. In 2012, he improved to third, drawing about 21% of the vote. Social conservative darlings Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, who campaigned on family values,won in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

Mr. Paul has long walked a tightrope between staying true to many of the libertarian principles and ideas that made his father a thorn in the side of the GOP establishment, while trying to grow that coalition to include young people, minorities and other voters typically not inclined to support Republican candidates.

Theres a great opportunity for us to reach out to new people who havent been interested in the Republican message if we are the party that believes in justice; we are the party that believes you are innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Paul told a group of college students at Iowa State, during a speech in which he criticized National Security Agency wiretapping and free-speech zones on college campuses, and hit a variety of other privacy themes.

This weekends trip was on Mr. Pauls terms. He was noticeably absent from the Iowa Freedom Summit last month where nearly two dozen other party leaders, including many potential presidential candidates, showed up to speak to conservative activists. Instead, he came to the state two weeks later, without having to jostle with any other GOP candidates for press coverage, stage time or voter attention.

The Kentucky Republican arrived in Iowa after a challenging week in Washington where he found himself on the defensive over his stance on the safety of vaccinations and whether such inoculations should be mandatory.Mr. Pauls view is that most childhood vaccines should be voluntary, a view that thrilled some libertarian conservatives.He used the trip to further fire up his fathers longtime supporters.

Hes more likely to describe himself as a constitutional conservative than a libertarian, but on Friday he tossed red meat to a constituency near and dear to his fathers heart: the voters who want to bring more transparency to the Federal Reserve. In remarks to an older crowd at a Des Moines winery, Mr. Paul raised concerns about the state of the U.S. currency and pinned the blame on the Fed.

Originally posted here:
In Iowa, Rand Paul Returns to His Roots

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