Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told New Hampshire Journal it was “the definition of insanity” for Mitt Romney to launch a third White House bid.
Said Paul: “It’s 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.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “announced the hiring of a campaign manager for his likely 2016 presidential bid, part of an aggressive effort to build a national political team as the race for the White House heats up,” the Washington Post reports.
“The hiring of strategist Chip Englander, who recently guided a gubernatorial candidate to victory in Illinois, marks a clear step forward for the Kentucky Republican as he prepares to transform his cadre of loyalists into a full-scale campaign.”
“If Romney runs to the right of Jeb Bush, he’ll still be to the left of the rest of the party, so it may be a difficult spot to occupy. Look, I like Governor Romney, I like him personally, I think he is a good person, I think he was a great businessman. But you know that’s yesterday’s news.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by the Louisville Courier Journal.
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is back in insurgent mode, lobbing bombs at his potential Republican presidential rivals and looking to take back a political spotlight that Bush and Romney have been hogging lately,” Politico reports.
“Paul is also heading to New Hampshire and Nevada this week, hoping to strike a fire with voters who want a new voice to carry the GOP’s message to the White House.”
Said Paul: “You need a candidate who reaches out to new constituencies and is able to bring new people into the party. Because if we do the same old, same old candidates, we are going to get the same old result.”
Rick Santorum dismissed possible 2016 primary competitors Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as “bomb throwers” with few achievements, the New York Times reports.
Said Santorum: “Do we really want someone with this little experience? And the only experience they have basically — not Rubio, but Cruz and Paul because I don’t think Rubio is going to go — is bomb throwing? Do we really want somebody who’s a bomb thrower, with no track record of any accomplishments?”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is bringing on Republican strategist Chris LaCivita as a senior adviser as he prepares for a likely presidential campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“As Mr. Paul seeks to bridge the gap between his tea party base and the party’s establishment wing, Mr. LaCivita can offer perspective from both sides. Most recently, he was dispatched to Kansas to help Sen. Pat Roberts beat back a challenge from an independent candidate, Greg Orman. Mr. LaCivita worked as political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002 and in 2010, during Sen. Paul’s Senate campaign.”
National Journal: “Rand Paul could have a financial edge over many of his prospective presidential rivals… due to a quirk in timing and election law that allows him to tap his biggest donors for campaign cash twice. Paul has said he plans to seek Senate reelection and, if he runs, the Republican presidential nomination simultaneously. And because he would be campaigning for two federal offices, he would be eligible to have two open federal campaign committees.”
“While federal rules do limit how he could spend the money, veteran election lawyers say diligent accounting could allow for legal cost-sharing between the two committees.”
Kelley Paul, wife of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), will begin a tour for her forthcoming book, True and Constant Friends: Love and Inspiration from Our Grandmothers, Mothers, Sisters, and Friends, the Bowling Green Daily News reports.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is hitting back against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Cuba in a preview of a possible debate between two presidential hopefuls,” The Hill reports.
“In a series of tweets at Rubio on Friday afternoon, Paul called the Florida senator an ‘isolationist’ for opposing the opening to Cuba announced by President Obama on Wednesday, turning a label often used against himself around.”
Washington Post: “The feud is the loudest public dispute so far between potential GOP 2016 candidates and lays bare the divergent world views of traditional hawks — including Rubio and past Republican presidents and nominees — and the emerging, younger libertarian wing represented by Paul.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that starting to trade with Cuba “is probably a good idea” and that the lengthy economic embargo against the communist island “just hasn’t worked,” the AP reports.
He added: “If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn’t seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship.”
“Paul became the first potential Republican presidential candidate to offer some support for President Barack Obama’s decision to try to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba. The president’s surprise announcement on Wednesday was slammed by several potential GOP candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who said it amounted to appeasing the Castro regime.”
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) told WHAS-TV that she might take Sen. Rand Paul (R) to court to block him from running both for president and reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2016.
Said Grimes: “The law is clear. You can’t be on the ballot twice for two offices.”
She added: “We’ll look to the court for any guidance that is needed. And at the end of the day, we’re not going to be bullied.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered an explanation for why Jeb Bush announced his likely presidential bid so early, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Said Paul: “Maybe he has more ground he needs to gain. He’s been out of this a while so maybe he needs to get back in and practice up a bit.”
Time: “Hours after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced he would ‘actively explore’ a run for the White House, the political action committee for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who appears certain to announce a bid for the Oval Office in the coming months, took out a Google search ad on his name, with a subtle dig at the more moderate Republican.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) gave a very positive reaction to TPM to the news that Jeb Bush announced his exploration of a White House bid: “You know, I think the more the merrier.”
He added: “I think we have a big tent, and we can use moderates, conservatives, libertarians — we need ’em all.”
“Let’s just say I wasn’t a choir boy when I was in college and that I can recognize that kids make mistakes. And I can say I made mistakes when I was a kid.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in an interview with WHAS, when asked about his previous marijuana use.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told CNN that he plans to endorse Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in his widely expected bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Said McConnell: “I’m almost certainly going to be doing that at some point.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took a shot at Jeb Bush (R) saying that he doesn’t understand the Republican party, The Hill reports.
Said Paul: “I think your first mistake is when you talk about conservatives in the third person. If you don’t consider that it’s a ‘we’ rather than ‘them,’ you really miss what’s going on in the Republican Party. We are a conservative party. As a conservative, I can’t understand really even referring to conservatives in the third person.”
Paul also indicated he would make a decision about running for president “in the March-April timeframe.”
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “brain trust has spent months developing an exhaustive political and legal battle plan to ensure he can run for both Senate reelection and the White House in 2016—despite a Kentucky law that suggests otherwise,” National Journal reports.
“They have developed backup plans for their backup plans in an all-out effort to safeguard Paul’s Senate seat should he falter in the presidential sweepstakes. The contingencies range from changing Kentucky into a presidential caucus state to filing a lawsuit challenging the law, from daring Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to keep him off the ballot to taking her out next November if she does.”
Paul told the Lexington Herald-Leader that while he was still “four to six months” away from making a decision about a White House run, “the one thing we’ve decided is that I’m definitely running for re-election.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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