Category Archives: Transhuman News

Last week, Michael Nystrom wrote a post at DailyPaul.com, a site he founded, that indicates its end is near. The site was for years a focal point of conversation and energy orbiting the stated and implied political philosophy of Ron Paul. Its animated logo unveils the site's mantra: P (eace) - AU (gold) - L (love).

No longer. "We'll watch the opening of the Rand Paul campaign. That should be interesting," Nystrom wrote in the post, nestled between a report on artificial chemicals from Infowars and critique of the State Department. "But then I'll have to go, because my alliance is not with any politician or any political party, but with Liberty herself."

Earlier this year, he offered more of a rationale. "The Ron Paul era is over. We're moving into the Rand Paul era. So out of respect to both men, but mainly to Ron, a chapter should officially be closed."

Since it became obvious that he would run for president -- something that is expected to become official on Tuesday -- two questions have surrounded Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) First, could he retain the energy of Ron Paul's vocal and generous base of support in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns? (Update: The Times reports that Ron Paul will attend the announcement.) And, second, could he distance himself from his father's more ... exotic beliefs? We've addressed the latter before; so far, he's emerged unscathed, even as Ron Paul keeps doing his own thing.

But what about the former? There's not much mention of Rand in the comments to Nystrom's farewell address. Over at Ron Paul Forums, though, the Paul family chapter seems to be continuing, rather than closing. "That was a great promo!," commented Bastiat's The Law on a post containing Rand's announcement video. "Reminds me of some of the passionate Ron Paul youtube videos."

There hasn't been polling showing how Ron Paul supporters from 2008 and 2012 are leaning in 2016. But we can compare Washington Post polling on the favorability of each as an indicator. We focused on age, because of the frequent assumption that Rand hopes to mobilize the young voters that powered his father's campaigns.

In March 2012, late into the campaign cycle, Ron Paul was seen less favorably than Rand is now, even though both were about equally well-known.

What's more, Ron hadweaker support and faced stronger opposition than Rand is seeing.

That suggests that Rand Paul's balancing act, which the Post reported on earlier Monday, might be working. Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine called Rand Paul "libertarian-ish," which probably isn't a huge negative for someone running in what will likely be a series of conservative Republican primaries.

The poll numbers above mightalso serve as a reminder that Rand Paul hasn't yet seen the sort of criticism that tends to wither a politician's base of support. That's where Ron Paul's base shined. It's been eight years since he first ran for the GOP nomination for president, and they've kept up active discussion groups dedicated to his principles. As the header at DailyPaul makes clear, Ron's fervent focus on less-trodden, outsider issueslike gold earned him that loyalty.

More:
The Fix: Will Rand Paul inherit the energy of Ron Pauls campaigns?

Updated: Tuesday, April 7 2015, 06:48 AM EDT By: CNN

WASHINGTON -- The launch of Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign -- expected to be officially unveiled in Kentucky on Tuesday -- may not have been possible without the work of his father, Ron Paul, the former Texas congressman and three-time White House contender.

The elder Paul, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988 and a Republican in 2008 and 2012, helped pave the way for Rand Paul by building a nationwide network of devoted supporters drawn to his message of limited government and non-interventionist foreign policy. But while Rand Paul has largely inherited the ideological roots of Ron Paul's political philosophy, he's not a carbon copy of his father.

The two are similar in many waysRon Paul says he agrees with 99 percent of what his son believes. In some cases, they merely take different strategic approaches to reach the same goal.

Still, Rand Paul expects to be treated as his own man, and in many ways he has proven to be a different type of politician. Here are some areas where they differ, even if slightly:

Russia: After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Rand Paul called for sanctions against the invading nation. Ron Paul warned against that, saying it could sink the U.S. dollar.

The NSA: Ron Paul wants the National Security Agency eliminated. Rand Paul says he's more interested in reining it in. NSA leaker Edward Snowden: Rand Paul thinks Edward Snowden should receive a light punishmentsuch as a few years in prison--for leaking classified information about the NSA to the press. Ron Paul wants to give him clemency.

The Islamic State: Rand Paul called for Congress to vote on a resolution to give the president power to fight ISIS. Ron Paul says it would be "foolish" for the U.S. to wage war on the militant group.

War on Drugs: Both men have wanted to move away from the status quo. While Ron advocates for full legalization of all drugs, Rand Paul has taken a less ambitious approach, favoring modest steps toward decriminalization. He's also sponsored bills in Congress to open the door to medical marijuana and supported measures to lower or eliminate penalties on non-violent drug users.

Youth outreach: Both men regularly speak on college campuses. Ron Paul held many standing-room rallies with students, and Rand Paul has similar appeal. Rand Paul has also made it a point to take his message to minority communities, including several visits to historically black colleges.

Read the original post:
Can Rand Paul escape his father's shadow?

Last week, Michael Nystrom wrote a post at DailyPaul.com, a site he founded, that indicates its end is near. The site was for years a focal point of conversation and energy orbiting the stated and implied political philosophy of Ron Paul. Its animated logo unveils the site's mantra: P (eace) - AU (gold) - L (love).

No longer. "We'll watch the opening of the Rand Paul campaign. That should be interesting," Nystrom wrote in the post, nestled between a report on artificial chemicals from Infowars and critique of the State Department. "But then I'll have to go, because my alliance is not with any politician or any political party, but with Liberty herself."

Earlier this year, he offered more of a rationale. "The Ron Paul era is over. We're moving into the Rand Paul era. So out of respect to both men, but mainly to Ron, a chapter should officially be closed."

Since it became obvious that he would run for president -- something that is expected to become official on Tuesday -- two questions have surrounded Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) First, could he retain the energy of Ron Paul's vocal and generous base of support in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns? (Update: The Times reports that Ron Paul will attend the announcement.) And, second, could he distance himself from his father's more ... exotic beliefs? We've addressed the latter before; so far, he's emerged unscathed, even as Ron Paul keeps doing his own thing.

But what about the former? There's not much mention of Rand in the comments to Nystrom's farewell address. Over at Ron Paul Forums, though, the Paul family chapter seems to be continuing, rather than closing. "That was a great promo!," commented Bastiat's The Law on a post containing Rand's announcement video. "Reminds me of some of the passionate Ron Paul youtube videos."

There hasn't been polling showing how Ron Paul supporters from 2008 and 2012 are leaning in 2016. But we can compare Washington Post polling on the favorability of each as an indicator. We focused on age, because of the frequent assumption that Rand hopes to mobilize the young voters that powered his father's campaigns.

In March 2012, late into the campaign cycle, Ron Paul was seen less favorably than Rand is now, even though both were about equally well-known.

What's more, Ron hadweaker support and faced stronger opposition than Rand is seeing.

That suggests that Rand Paul's balancing act, which the Post reported on earlier Monday, might be working. Nick Gillespie of Reason magazine called Rand Paul "libertarian-ish," which probably isn't a huge negative for someone running in what will likely be a series of conservative Republican primaries.

The poll numbers above mightalso serve as a reminder that Rand Paul hasn't yet seen the sort of criticism that tends to wither a politician's base of support. That's where Ron Paul's base shined. It's been eight years since he first ran for the GOP nomination for president, and they've kept up active discussion groups dedicated to his principles. As the header at DailyPaul makes clear, Ron's fervent focus on less-trodden, outsider issueslike gold earned him that loyalty.

Originally posted here:
Will Rand Paul inherit the energy of Ron Pauls campaigns?

Kentucky Sen. Rand Pauls presidential campaign is less than a day old but already suffers from an identity crisis. Paul wants to win, but he can only do so if he is seen as more mainstream than his father, Ron Paul, who ran for president in 2008 and 2012. At the same time, Paul cant completely jettison the far-left and far-right positions that have made him a hero to the substantial number of Republican libertarians who made up his fathers base.

In Pauls dream world, hell satisfy everyone. In the most likely real world, hell end up satisfying no one.

The most obvious path for Paul to win the GOP nomination is to build on the 21 percent of the vote his father earned in Iowa in 2012, and the 23 percent Paul Sr. picked up in New Hampshire that year. In a divided primary field, that might not seem so difficult; 25 percent might be enough to win both states. And with wins in the first two contests, Paul might be able to ride the Big Mo to the nomination.

But right now, Paul isnt anywhere close to where his father ended up in either state in 2012. Paul is polling at a little less than 9 percent in Iowa and nearly 11 percent in New Hampshire. Thats far closer to the percentage of the vote earned by Paul Sr. in both states during his 2008 bid for the presidency, which was far less relevant than his 2012 run.

In fact, Paul is losing support across the board. While he was initially able to outpace his fathers 2012 success, his national numbers have been dropping over the last year.

Well see a lot of ups and downs in the 2016 campaign, but theres reason to read more into Pauls recent polling slide, as hes spent the last year trying to increase his appeal with the GOP establishment, particularly on foreign policy.

When was the last time you heard Paul accused of being an isolationist? He used to advocate for cutting foreign aid to Israel, but now he offers pro-Israeli bill after pro-Israeli bill to cut off funding to the Palestinians. He once seemed to favor President Obamas diplomatic overtures to Iran, but he signed Sen. Tom Cottons letter aimed at hurting those negotiations. Paul was once reluctant to get involved in fighting the Islamic State, but he now wants more airstrikes.

There really isnt good public data on the views of libertarian Republican voters, but interviews and internal polls suggest that Pauls evolution on foreign policy has been too successful in separating him from his father, and has eroded his libertarian credentials. Ron Pauls 2012 Iowa campaign chairman Drew Ivers would prefer if [Rand Paul] had a different strategy than meeting [mainstream Republicans] in the middle. Aaron Day of the libertarian Free State movement in New Hampshire sees less enthusiasm for Rand Paul than for his dad.

To get to 25 percent in the two early states, Paul cant afford many libertarian defections in either. A recent internal Liberty Iowa poll showed that Paul was the choice of about two-thirds of Ron Pauls Iowa convention delegates. That may seem like a lot, but if Paul wins only 70 percent of his fathers backers that puts him at 15 percent of the vote in Iowa. Hed need to build on his dads support by 10 percentage points from one of the GOPs other wings.

See the original post here:
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's presidential campaign is less than a day old but already suffers from an identity crisis ...

18 photos

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on March 2 announced the launch of an exploratory committee. The move will allow him to raise money that could eventually be transferred to an official presidential campaign and indicates he is on track with stated plans to formally announce a bid in May.

18 photos

South Carolina's Lindsey Graham has said he'll make a decision surrounding a presidential run sometime soon. A potential bid could focus on Graham's foreign policy stance.

18 photos

Hillary Clinton continues to have an overwhelming lead over other possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidates. Although the former first lady and secretary of state has not said whether she'll run, a group of PACs and advocacy organizations have begun the process of raising money and aiding a hypothetical campaign.

18 photos

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is considered a possible Republican candidate, but he told CNN that his priority is to first help the GOP capture the Senate in next November's midterms.

18 photos

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican rising star from Florida, was swept into office in 2010 on the back of tea party fervor. But his support of comprehensive immigration reform, which passed the Senate but has stalled in the House, has led some in his party to sour on his prospects.

Here is the original post:
Can he escape his father's shadow?

Sen. Rand Paul examines a patient's eyes in his Bowling Green, Ky., office in 2010. Paul, an opthamologist, worked on his father's campaign while in medical school. Joe Imel/AP hide caption

Sen. Rand Paul examines a patient's eyes in his Bowling Green, Ky., office in 2010. Paul, an opthamologist, worked on his father's campaign while in medical school.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is expected to announce his bid for the White House Tuesday in Louisville. The 52-year-old former ophthalmologist's Libertarian roots set him apart from the expansive field of Republican hopefuls, most notably in foreign policy and issues like defense spending.

His father Ron Paul, also a physician, gained notoriety in the late-1980s as a presidential nominee for the Libertarian party, but there are signs the younger Paul is moving more mainstream Republican.

Here are five things you may not know, or remember, about Paul:

He doesn't have a bachelor's degree

Paul holds a medical degree from Duke University, but he was a few courses shy of earning a bachelor's degree from Baylor University. The Kentucky senator was enrolled at Texas Christian College, where he studied biology and English, from fall 1981 to summer 1984. He left the program after receiving his acceptance to medical school. At the time, Duke did not require a bachelor's degree for admittance, but the policy has since changed.

A fact-check conducted by the Washington Post revealed two instances on the same day in February where Paul stated that he held degrees in Biology and English. A spokesman for the senator later argued to the paper that a medical degree is a biology degree.

He worked on his father's presidential campaign while attending medical school

Despite the demanding workload of medical school, Paul worked as a volunteer for his father, Ron Paul's, 1988 Libertarian Party campaign for president. According to The New York Times, the two would hold regular debates during road trips on topics such as foreign policy and military interventions, with Paul taking stances that skewed closer to Republican ideology.

Read the original here:
5 Things You Should Know About Sen. Rand Paul