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OXON HILL, MD Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told college Republicans Thursday night that the Republican Party needs to champion the rights of minorities and be "the party of justice" if its going to succeed.

Paul appeared at the "Big Government Sucks" rally as part of the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he and other potential Republican presidential candidates are wooing influential conservative activists. Paul will speak to all the conference attendees on Friday, hoping to win the CPAC straw poll for the third year in a row.

"If we want our message to resonate across the land, if we want our message to be inclusive, I tell people, look the Republican party needs to look like America," Paul said.

"White, black, brown, rich poor, with tattoos and without tattoos, with earrings and without earrings," Paul said to applause. "We need to take our message where its not been taken before."

Paul said the bill of rights needs to be for "the least among us," and offered as an example Kalief Browder, a 16-year-old African American from the Bronx who spent three years in jail with no trial or conviction.

"You think his friends and his family dont believe that big government is not treating them fairly?" Paul said.

Paul said minorities whose rights need protection can also include people with ideologies and religions outside the mainstream.

"If we as conservatives and Republicans can take the bill of rights and take it to people who havent been listening to Republicans and say, it isnt always about property, it isnt always about guns , although it should support both, its about protecting the least among us," he said.

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Rand Paul says Republicans need to embrace minorities

Today we are going to unveil that we are returning $500,000 to the Treasury. We invited several representatives of taxpayers from around the state to receive this check. This is a check for $500,000, or representative of $500,000, that we are returning from our office budget to the Treasury.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), speaking at a news conference, Jan. 13, 2012

Senator Rand Paul returns $480,000 to U.S. Treasury from Office Budget, has returned $1.8 million since taking office.

headline on Rand Paul news release, Feb. 20, 2015

A reader spotted a news item about Sen. Rand Pauls annual announcement that he has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds and returned it to the Treasury. He wondered how accurate that statement was, and so we decided to look into it.

Theres actually less to this claim than meets the eyeone made by not just Paul but a number of lawmakers. But Paul certainly makes a big deal out of it, including the visual image of a giant check made out to The U.S. taxpayer.

The money that every lawmaker receives is subject to annual appropriations, just like funds for the executive branch. As part of that allotment, each lawmaker in the House receives a members representational allowance (MRA) and each senator receives a senators official personnel and office expense allowance (SOPOEA).

The money is intended to be used for office and staff expenses; the procedures and formulas for determining the amount for each lawmaker are slightly different in each legislative body.

The average amount for Houses members was $1.255 million in fiscal year 2014 while senators will receive an average of$3.24 million in fiscal year 2015, according to the Congressional Research Service. Few lawmakers spent every cent of their allotment, and some (especially in the Senate) leave hundreds of thousands of dollars unspent.

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Fact Checker: Did Rand Paul really return money to the Treasury?

Published February 26, 2015

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blasted former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush late Wednesday for what he called "hypocrisy" on drug policy ahead of this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference.

Paul, who like Bush is considering whether to seek the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, contrasted Bush's opposition to legalizing medical marijuana with his admitted drug use while a student at Phillips Academy, an elite prep school in Andover, Mass.

"When Jeb was a very wealthy kid at a very elite school, he used marijuana but didnt get caught, didnt have to go to prison." Paul told "The Kelly File" Wednesday. "I think it shows some hypocrisy thats going to be very difficult for young people to understand why wed put a 65-year-old guy in jail for medical marijuana."

"What Im talking about is not the hypocrisy of wealth, its the hypocrisy of evading the law, because the law seems to target and seems to go after poor people, often people of color," Paul continued. "Whats hypocritical is if youre very wealthy, [if] youre able to escape the long arm of the law is then to really want to throw long sentences, 15 years, 20 years, 50 years in prison for marijuana at people, so I think thats where the hypocrisy comes in."

Last year, Bush opposed a proposed amendment to the Florida state constitution that would have legalized medical marijuana in the state. The measure came up short of the 60 percent threshold needed to be approved by voters.

Both Paul and Bush will be appearing at CPAC, which will be held in National Harbor, Md., outside Washington, D.C. Paul has won the event's straw poll in each of the past two years.

Link:
Rand Paul slams Jeb Bush for drug 'hypocrisy' - KURTZ: How much does Walker's Iowa lead mean?

Rand Paul has always been somewhat of a rock star at the Conservative Political Action Conference which, in past years, has shown a decided libertarian bent.

This year, Paul is hoping for more of the same. The Republican senator from Kentucky will address the conference Friday, laying out more of his signature message of small government and personal freedom.

"We must remember that our rights are unlimited, un-enumerated, and given to us by God," Paul will say, according to excerpts of his speech. "Your rights are who you are. Your rights are what you are. Your rights are in your DNA and the government can -- quite frankly - get lost!"

The potential 2016 presidential candidate has been widely embraced at the conference, bringing in throngs of supporters wearing "Stand with Rand" gear and handily winning its straw poll for the past two years. The conference has been a family affair of sorts; Paul's father, former Texas congressman Ron Paul, won the straw poll in 2010 and 2011.

Rand Paul cited familial ties on Fox News on Wednesday - but not his own. Instead, he took aim at former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a rival who will be looking to solidify his standing among the Republican base at the event.

Paul said that Bush's having a father and brother who were both president "tends to draw some attention," but he believes that Bush may have some issues at CPAC.

"We think there will be a lot of friendly faces for us. There's definitely a place for moderates, but it may not be the same level of enthusiasm for moderates at this conference," Paul said on "The Kelly File."

Paul has made clear that one of the core audiences he is trying to attract both at the conference and beyond is young people. Paul said that he can't predict the poll but that he has spent a "lot of time going to universities, talking to young people" about how the "government ought to stay out of their lives." It's a message, he said, that resonates with them.

Referring to another potential GOP presidential candidate. Paul said he did not know much about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, but he continued to hit Bush, saying that young people are "not very tolerant of hypocrisy." The idea that Bush admitted that he smoked marijuana while "in an elite prep school" but is "willing to put somebody in jail for medical marijuana," Paul said, won't play well among young people.

Katie Zezima covers the White House for Post Politics and The Fix.

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Rand Paul at CPAC: The government can quite frankly get lost!

Rand Paul Backpedals On Vaccine-Autism Link " I Did Not Say Vaccinations Cause Mental Disorders"
"Republican Sen. Rand Paul now says he thinks vaccinations are safe. The potential 2016 presidential contender, said Monday he was aware of "many tragic case...

By: TYT Nation

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Rand Paul Backpedals On Vaccine-Autism Link " I Did Not Say Vaccinations Cause Mental Disorders" - Video