Rand Paul vs. GOP establishment (+video)

Potential 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul is in the Northeast, meeting with Republican operatives and fund-raisers. Conservatives are wary of some of his recent comments.

Perhaps its genetic, but US Sen. Rand Paul seems to have the same effect on more traditional Republicans as his father former US Rep. Ron Paul did.

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Rep. Peter King (R) of New York says Sen. Paul whos been making clear moves toward a presidential run in 2016 would be disastrous as president.

Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona included the younger Paul among Republican wacko birds filibustering the appointment of John Brennan to head the CIA. (McCain later apologized for the comment, which also had been aimed at Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Justin Amash.)

Rand Paul consistently tops the list of possible GOP presidential candidates in 2016, including a Quinnipiac University poll in Colorado this week in which he beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton 48-43 percent.

The poll in Colorado might also shed some light on where Paul could outflank his GOP counterparts among young voters, according to Politico.com.

While Clinton leads Jeb Bush by 21 points and Mike Huckabee by 11 points among 18-to 29-year-olds, Paul matched the former secretary of state in the age group, with both scoring 43 percent, Politico reports. Paul also had a strong edge against Clinton among respondents who identify as independent voters: 48 percent of independent voters favored Paul, while just 37 favored Clinton.

But if he is to go farther than his father (whose runs for president were significant even though they failed), Paul will have to do more than attract a loyal, energetic following of young libertarians, plus those tea partyers who dont mind his straying from conservative orthodoxy on some international and social issues.

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Rand Paul vs. GOP establishment (+video)