Rand Paul on Mitt Romney: `We Weren #39;t Successful #39; in 2012
Jan. 14 - The junior senator from Kentucky says the GOP nominee should be someone who "attracts new voters." (Source: Bloomberg)
By: Bloomberg Business
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Rand Paul on Mitt Romney: `We Weren't Successful' in 2012 - Video
LOL! RAND PAUL Slams ROMNEY the 2016 GOP Traveling CIRCUS - Chris Hayes
In a GOP/Republican field that seems to get more crowded by the day, the Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is attempting to distinguish himself by going on the attack against his presumptive opponents....
By: PlanetEarth Trimtab
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LOL! RAND PAUL Slams ROMNEY & the 2016 GOP Traveling CIRCUS - Chris Hayes - Video
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) slammed 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney again on Wednesday, saying a potential third presidential run by Romney would be insane.
When you do the same thing and expect a different result, its sort of what Einstein said, that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result," Paul said, according to the New Hampshire Journal.
Paul, who earlier called Romney "yesterday's news," said Republicans need "a new approach, a fresh approach" to attract voters in 2016, even after a successful run in the midterm elections.
We had a great 2014 but really a presidential election is a completely different election," Paul said. "Twice as many people vote and a lot of the people who vote in presidential elections seem to vote for the Democratic Party.
Romney recently told donors he's considering a third presidential run, and is currently working to assemble a team for a potential campaign.
Paul was in New Hampshire, a key presidential primary state, to meet with state legislators, constituents and advocates of gun rights and education, among others. Paul hired strategist Chip Englander this week as a campaign manger for a potential presidential run.
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Rand Paul: Mitt Romney Running Again Is 'The Definition Of ...
In a recent speech, Senator Rand Paul urged an audience of conservatives to embrace judicial activism. According to Paul, judicial activism is a good thing because it advances liberty and furthers conservative goals. Legislatures do bad things, Paul argues, and judicial activism is helpful to stop that: Judicial activism can overturn liberal laws such as Obamacare and the employment laws at issue in Lochner v. New York.
According to Senator Paul, there is a role for the Supreme Court to mete out justice. As a result, he considers himself a judicial activist in debates over Locher, the New Deal in the 1930s, Brown in the 1950s, Griswold in the 1960s, and the challenge to Obamacare more recently. Paul suggests that Roe v. Wade is a tougher case for him because abortion involves a clash of rights. Senator Paul also endorses co-blogger Randy Barnetts idea of replacing the presumption of constitutionality with a presumption of unconstitutionality (what Barnett calls the presumption of liberty). According to Paul, he doesnt like judicial legislation but he does want judges defending his freedom.
Three brief thoughts.
First, I noted here, the phrase judicial activism can have several different meanings. I gather Senator Paul is mostly assuming meanings #2 and #5 from my prior list, covering the expanding the power of the courts sense of activism and the striking down legislation sense of activism.
Second, Senator Paul is surely right that judicial activism (at least in the #2 and #5 sense) will favor libertarian policies. In our legal system, the usual remedy for finding a constitutional violation is legal subtraction. The court generally will strike down the law or enjoin the government practice. As a result, its natural for libertarians to want judges to read constitutional protections broadly. The more judges read the constitution broadly, the more they will strike down laws; and the more they strike down laws, the fewer laws will be on the books.
Third, kudos to Senator Paul for being candid and interesting, especially when facing a relatively hostile crowd of conservatives (rather than libertarians). I wasnt convinced, as you might guess. As regular readers know, Im the VCs in-house advocate of judicial restraint. But I thought it was great that Senator Paul took on a big idea and made his case.
Orin Kerr is the Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor at The George Washington University Law School, where he has taught since 2001. He teaches and writes in the area of criminal procedure and computer crime law.
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Volokh Conspiracy: Rand Paul: Im a judicial activist.
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2015 file photo, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks at the Heritage Foundations Conservative Policy Summit in Washington. Campaigns for president in 2016 havent officially started. But Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is among several Republicans testing the political waters, and hes making a stop in Nevada with the states first-in-the-West Republican caucus is a little more than a year away. Aides say Pauls campaign-style stops Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 at a Las Vegas Strip restaurant and Saturday in downtown Reno will focus on meeting local pastors, business leaders and politicalactivists.
Associated Press
Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 | 8:28 a.m.
Campaigns for president in 2016 haven't officially started, but Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is due to make campaign-style stops Friday at a Las Vegas Strip restaurant and Saturday in downtown Reno.
Paul is among several Republicans testing the political waters, and Nevada's first-in-the-West Republican caucus is a little more than a year away.
Aides say Paul's Nevada visit will let him meet local pastors, business leaders and political activists.
The trip also could be important beyond Nevada's caucus schedule.
Paul's father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, had strong support from Nevada conservative Republican party faithful for his presidential bids in 2008 and 2012.
Las Vegas is also home to casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of the world's richest people and one of the GOP's most powerful financial donors.
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Rand Paul making campaign-style Nevada stops in Vegas, Reno