Mediaboss Marketing

Aaron Kall, Guest Contributor Published 11:51 a.m. ET May 31, 2017 | Updated 12:37 p.m. ET May 31, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says his directive that prosecutors should charge suspects with the most serious crimes is a "key part of President Trump's promise to keep America safe." (May 12) AP

In this April 7, 2017, file photo, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul recently introduced in Congress the Justice Safety Valve Act. The bipartisan legislation is also supported by Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy with the intent of amending current law to grant judges the authority to issue sentences below a mandatory minimum in the appropriate situations. Paul believes the country's rampant drug epidemic should be treated as a public health crisis, as opposed to a war that disproportionately impacts minorities. Despite the war on drugs that has spannedseveral decades, the size of the U.S. prison population has exponentially increased, in addition to the billions of dollars the country currently spends on incarceration.

Despite its noble intent, Paul's legislation is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Congress anytime soon. It's opposed by powerful Republican Senators such as Tom Cotton of Arkansasand David Perdue of Georgia. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had the opportunity to advance similar legislation to the floor before the 2016 presidential election but demurred because of the intraparty dispute over a controversial subject that could impact elections and spillover to other policy agenda items.Paul concedes the bill currently faces an "uphill battle" getting to the president's desk.

More: Rand Paul: Nobody wants war with North Korea

The impetus behindPaul's legislation was elevated by the recent directive of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for federal prosecutors throughout the country to charge criminal suspects with the most serious offenses possible.

This is a radical reversal from the Obama administration Justice Department guidelines that were constructed by Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. Sessions has a long track record as a federal prosecutor and U.S. Senator in supporting the imposition of mandatory minimum criminal sentences. He believes that such draconian sentences keep America safe from drugs and the crime associated with their trafficking and use.

As a U.S. attorney in Alabama during the 1980s, Sessions infamously said he thought the Ku Klux Klan were OK until he found out they smoked marijuana.

He attempted to single-handedly derail the bipartisan congressional efforts at criminal justice reform while in the Senate. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois has referred to Sessions as the number one opponent of the Senate's effort to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for low-level nonviolent drug offenses. In spite of this lengthy rap sheet regarding lengthy drug sentences,Paul voted to confirm Sessions as President Trump's attorney general on February 8.

Paul recently commented that Sessions' lack of sympathy and aggressive enforcement of mandatory minimum sentences really "surprised" him. Given his transparent history, this is a shocking amount of naivete and lack of deft political instincts from a senator.

Paul has had a very complicated relationship with Trump over the years but surprisingly has been a rubber stamp for all of his Cabinet picks.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., (left), Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget (center) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (right) converse after returning to the White House from a round of golf with President Trump at his golf course, Trump National in Virginia on April 2, 2017.(Photo: Pool, Getty Images)

More: Kentucky political racing form for Kentucky Derby visitors | Al Cross

Trump rudely complained that Paul shouldn't have been included in the 2015 Simi Valley Republican primary debate because of low polling numbers and said there was a lot of subject matter to attack regarding Paul's physical appearance.

The two played golf last month in Virginia to discuss health care reform despite their previous acrimony.

Rather than feign surprise by the predictable actions of Sessions and propose legislation that has zero chance of passing Congress,Paul should appeal to the better angels of his Libertarian tendencies and do a better job of holding the Trump administration politically accountable.

To date, the only measures taken in this vein were to vote against the confirmation of the CIA director (who received 66 votes) and abstain from voting on the confirmation as David Friedman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

This is hardly a profile in courage and a major departure from the presidential candidate that was willing to challenge Trump at every turn during the primary season.

Sessions was narrowly confirmed by a 52-47 vote in the Senate. If Paul could have convinced only three Republican Senators who opposed mandatory minimum sentences to vote against Sessions for attorney general, the need for his Justice Safety Valve Act would be moot.

This is the type of real leadership a presidential candidate and dealmaker exercises. If Paul has any future ambitions for higher office, bold moves like these are what he should do to best distinguish and prepare himself for such an important role.

Aaron Kall is the Director of Debate at the University of Michigan, editor/co-author of "Debating The Donald"and 2001 University of Kentucky graduate.

Read or Share this story: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/05/31/sen-rand-paul-not-example-profile-courage-aaron-kall/357991001/

See original here:
Sen. Rand Paul not an example of profile in courage| Aaron Kall - The Courier-Journal

Rare.us

Rare Review: War Machine, the satire movie Rand Paul says is required viewing Rare.us The movie Senator Rand Paul said should be mandatory for Congress to watch premiered on Friday. At its best, it pushes absurdity to the point of poignancy, offering a stinging rebuke to those legislators who seem, as Paul put it in a Facebook post ... and more »

Read more:
Rare Review: War Machine, the satire movie Rand Paul says is required viewing - Rare.us

(Breitbart) Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a leading ally of President Donald Trumps in the U.S. Senate, told Breitbart News exclusively in an interview in his office this week that at least six million U.S. jobs are at risk if President Trump does not pull out of the leftist Paris climate deal.

Paul told Breitbart News of the Paris deal:

I think it would be terrible for our country. We have the potential of losing 6 million jobs and it would cost $3 trillion. Really, I dont think President Obama had the right to do it. He did it by himself without the approval of Congress. One of the problems we have in government is we let one person have so much power that he could do something that could cost 6 million jobs and nobody gets to vote on itI think thats outrageous. It kind of looks like a treaty. If its a treaty, it should come to the Senate and be passed. But I think President Trump has the ability and he indicated during the campaign that he wanted to get rid of and get out of the Paris accord so we hope we will. We have introduced a resolution to send it to the president to encourage him to get out of the Paris accord.

What do YOU think? Why didnt Trump announce decision on Paris climate deal? Sound off in todays WND poll.

Continue reading here:
Rand Paul: Paris climate deal would kill 6 million US jobs - WND.com

Sen. Rand Paul's planned bill disapproving of the arms deal comes as Trump completes the first leg of an overseas trip that began with a warm welcome from the Saudi royal family in Riyadh. | AP Photo

By Elana Schor

05/23/2017 05:32 PM EDT

Updated 05/24/2017 10:05 AM EDT

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul is expected to offer legislation as soon as Wednesday that would block President Donald Trump's $110 billion weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

Paul's planned bill disapproving of the arms deal, confirmed by a Senate source familiar with the timeline, comes as Trump completes the first leg of an overseas trip that began with a warm welcome from the Saudi royal family in Riyadh. Paul recently joined three Democrats in proposing to make future arms sales contingent on reining in Saudi military involvement in Yemen's civil war, and he is likely to take advantage of a 1976 law that allows any senator to force a vote on halting overseas arms sales.

Story Continued Below

Paul is going to be joined on the forthcoming resolution by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, his partner last year in forcing a Senate vote to halt then-President Barack Obama's plans for a $1.15 billion Saudi arms sale. Their effort was defeated on a 71-27 vote, with Republican Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Mike Lee of Utah joining 23 Democrats in voting to block the deal.

Murphy tweeted early Wednesday that the bill would not look to stop all $110 billion of Trump's planned sales, but instead "target munitions used" in the ongoing violence in Yemen. Humanitarian groups have warned that the new Trump-backed sales are likely to be used against rebel factions in Yemen that the Saudi government sees as aligned with Iran.

Your guide to the permanent campaign weekday mornings, in your inbox.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The Connecticut Democrat also has spoken out against Trump's Saudi arms sales, warning in a Saturday column that the inclusion of precision-guided munitions goes further than Obama's weapons deal and runs the risk that "more not fewer civilians will be killed" in the ongoing Yemeni conflict. It remains unclear how many Democrats are preparing to join him in signing onto the latest disapproval measure.

Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

Continue reading here:
Rand Paul to tee up vote on blocking Trump's Saudi arms deal - Politico

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Paul told Breitbart News of the Paris deal:

I think it would be terrible for our country. We have the potential of losing 6 million jobs and it would cost $3 trillion. Really, I dont think President Obama had the right to do it. He did it by himself without the approval of Congress. One of the problems we have in government is we let one person have so much power that he could do something that could cost 6 million jobs and nobody gets to vote on itI think thats outrageous. It kind of looks like a treaty. If its a treaty, it should come to the Senate and be passed. But I think President Trump has the ability and he indicated during the campaign that he wanted to get rid of and get out of the Paris accord so we hope we will. We have introduced a resolution to send it to the president to encourage him to get out of the Paris accord.

President Trump promised the American people during the 2016 presidential campaign he would pull out of the Paris deal since it is a job-killer. Paul was not sure why Trump has not yet pulled out, since it would be very easy for him to do so to unleash the U.S. economy and protect jobs, but he said Senate Republicans stand ready to back up the President when he does pull out of the deal.

He has a few other things on his plate, maybe, Paul said when asked why Trump has not yet pulled out of the Paris deal. I dont have an answer to that. We want to encourage him and let him know we have his back and are going to point out how terrible it is for our jobs in America.

Pauls interview with Breitbart News on this front came as a group of 22 Senate Republicans including Paul and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote to President Trump this week urging him to pull the United States out of the job-crushing Paris climate deal. In the letter, they detail how the institutional leftTrumps sworn political enemiesare using the deal to gain power. Paul, in his interview with Breitbart News, adds that the deal helps benefit other countries like China at the expense of the United Statessomething Trump ardently campaigned against.

They say that basically we have caps to lower our emissions, but China doesnt have to live by any caps, so that doesnt seem very fair, Paul said. The caps are essentially you have to cut your industry. If you cut your industry, you cut jobs. Particularly in my state, Kentucky, the Obamas and Clintons have devastated our state already with the war on coal. We dont need to continue that war. What we really need is to get the government out of the way so we can get back to producing energy.

Paul also wrote an op-ed in Fox News about this topic.

Read the original here:
Exclusive Rand Paul: Paris Climate Deal Would Kill 6 Million American Jobs - Breitbart News