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Rand Pauls raising money with the marijuana industry in Colorado. Hes holding private meetings with anti-government ranchers in Nevada. Ask him about same-sex marriage, and hell say the feds shouldnt be in the marriage business anyway it should be left for states to sort out.

The Kentucky senator has always held libertarian views. But hes leaning pretty hard into his anti-government cred during a campaign swing out West, championing states rights and excoriating Washington and federal overreach at every turn.

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Until recently, Paul had taken steps to make sure hes not just a carbon copy of his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. He sanded down the edges of what his rivals call an isolationist foreign policy, talking tough on Iraq and Ukraine. He spoke of reviving cities like Detroit and teamed up with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker to promote sentencing reform for young black men. Instead of playing up fringe causes like his crusade against the U.S. Federal Reserve, he urged the GOP to become a big-tent party of working-class folks; we need to have people with earrings, nose rings, tattoos, ties, without ties, ponytails, no ponytails.

He also signaled that his presidential campaign wouldnt comprise only operatives associated with the libertarian or tea party wing of the GOP through key hires such as Chip Englander, the former campaign manager for now Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Then came Pauls quasi-filibuster of the renewal of the PATRIOT Act, when the Kentucky senator once again seized the libertarian limelight to oppose what he called domestic spying and his primary opponents said was a vital tool in the fight against terrorism. It looked to many like a desperation move for a candidate starving for attention and struggling to raise the kinds of funds hed need to battle the likes of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. And it certainly didnt help rebut Republican hawks accusations that a President Paul would be weak on terrorist groups like the Islamic State.

But it might have been a strategic pivot born of the recognition that going mainstream just wasnt working.

The return to Rand Paul 1.0 comes after weeks of trying to break out of a crowded GOP pack. His poll numbers arent terrible the Real Clear Politics average of national polls puts Paul at sixth place among 15 Republican contenders for the nomination, enough to put him on stage at the first GOP debate in August but show a worrisome lack of upward momentum. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, hes stuck in fourth place.

Pauls move back into his comfort zone also underscores a key priority for his presidential campaign: Lay the groundwork for a strong showing in caucus states where strong organization can pay off and where the live-and-let-live mentality thrives. An early state like Nevada is a plum target for any Republican in the field but holds special appeal for Paul, whose father won the second-most delegates in the past two Republican presidential caucuses there.

A win there or even a strong showing would help Paul distinguish himself among a large Republican primary field that is clamoring to dominate in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina. If Paul were moving through, say, South Carolina, with a large contingent of Republican evangelical voters, he might be trying to do something different.

Originally posted here:
Rand Paul 2016: Libertarian politics and his campaign ...