Rand Paul Says The Republican Brand Is 'Broken'

by Theodore Schleifer.       Presidential candidate Rand Paul has christened himself a different kind of Republican, and now he's embracing a unique moniker: tree hugger. In a new book released on Tuesday, Paul said he composts and believes in clean air and clean water. Paul notes that he has planted giant sequoias in his yard and repurposed old    ... MORE

VIDEO: David Boaz - Libertarianism & The Republican Party

Who is John Galt? Ayn Rand, Libertarians And The GOP

by Gene H. Bell-Villada.      Ayn Rand (1904-82) has arisen from the dead. Over the last decade the pop philosopher and propaganda fictionist extraordinaire has moved steadily from the cultish margins to the mainstream of US conservatism. Her ghost may even haunt the current presidential race with the candidacy of Republican Senator Rand ... MORE

Thomas Sowell: Chaos In The Primaries

Rationality in politics is a formidable long shot.   Painful as it is to realize that both the Democrats and the Republicans will still be holding their primaries a year from now, that is one of the high prices we pay for democracy. Seldom does the initial "front-runner" in either party's primaries end up being the actual candidate when election    ... MORE

Jesse Walker: How About A Religious Nanny For President?

Mike Huckabee is your guy.     Mike Huckabee didn't confirm tonight that he's running for president, but he told us when he'd let us know. Interviewed by Fox News' Bret Baier, the Republican said he'd make a formal announcement in Hope, Arkansas, on May 5. Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, last ran for president  ... MORE

Rand Paul and Ted Cruz: Separated at Birth? Uh, No.

by J.D. Tuccille.         Job one for Sen. Rand Paul in his new role as Republican presidential aspirant is to somehow distinguish himself from ideological doppelganger Sen. Ted Cruz and kneecap his rival for the GOP nod. Or so say some media outlets that may be driven as much by an appreciation for good political bloodsport as by a touch of       ... MORE

Rand Paul Unveils Populist, Anti-Establishment Slogan

by Mike Allen. Sen. Rand Paul gave POLITICO a sneak peek at the slogan he will unveil at his presidential campaign announcement on Tuesday: “Defeat the Washington machine. Unleash the American dream.” The slogan, beneath the RAND PAC logo of a torch flame, will set the tone as the Kentucky Republican kicks off a five-day, five-state       ... MORE

Can Libertarian Rand Paul Win A Republican Primary?

by Mara Liasson.    Rand Paul is not like other potential presidential candidates. The Kentucky senator, who announced his candidacy for the White House on Tuesday morning, doesn't fit neatly into the molds of either party. Socially liberal on issues of crime and punishment — especially when it comes to drug sentencing — against a federal  ... MORE

Rand Paul Polling Ahead Of Hillary In Important Swing State

by Jana Benscoter.     Pennsylvania is in play for its 2016 presidential election. Philadelphia has been the chosen location for the Democratic National Convention, and Democrats could have their work cut out for them to keep the state blue. On March 31, Pennsylvania Democrats posted on their website a delegate selection plan that allows for    ... MORE

Ted Cruz’s Presidential Campaign Launch: Good And Bad

by Craig Biddle.   Senator Ted Cruz—who may prove to be the best (or least-bad) candidate America will see in the 2016 presidential race—just launched his campaign for the presidency in a markedly mixed way. He launched it at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University and did so with additional pandering to the so-called “religious right” (which, in fact, is not ... MORE

Ian Hanchett: Jeb Bush Is 'Nervous' About NSA Criticism

Hostility to the Fourth Amendment.  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush stated that he is “nervous” about criticism of the NSA and that he wished the president would do a better job defending government surveillance systems on Monday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show.” Bush said that lone wolf terrorism “is a serious threat in a world where we’re so   ... MORE

Shane Goldmacher: Rand Paul’s Big, Risky Bet on Youth

Can appeal to the young win with the Grand OLD Party. When Sen. Rand Paul makes his first visit to Iowa as an official presidential candidate next month, he will head to the campus of the University of Iowa. The location—one of the state's biggest liberal strongholds—seems unusual for a Republican, but Paul is headed there in the hopes  ... MORE

Off-Target: California GOP Embraces Gun-Grab Program

by Steven Greenhut.     With friends like this, who needs enemies? Republican legislators are known for their support of gun rights, yet a letter they sent regarding state Attorney General Kamala Harris last week has a man-bites-dog quality about it. A dozen state GOP senators called for an oversight hearing to examine why Harris has been too    ... MORE

Why No Real Change Is Likely: Ron Paul Supporters Bolt Rand Paul Camp In Response To Mainstream Concessions

by Ben Schreckinger.   As he pulls together his expected presidential campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. Rand Paul is confronted by defections from an unexpected quarter: the die-hard idealists whose energy powered his father’s campaigns. That network of committed supporters was expected to convey to Paul, the natural successor  ... MORE

The Man Who Would Repeal ObamaCare And Abolish IRS

by Rebecca Nelson. Ted Cruz's official campaign announcement was slow-rolled over the weekend with leaks and, ultimately at midnight Monday, a tweet. But on Monday morning, Cruz made his first official opening pitch at a special edition of one of Liberty University's weekly convocations. "I believe God is not done with America yet," he said. "I believe in  ... MORE

GOP Senators Rip FCC's Net Neutrality Decision

by Grant Gross.    Ted Cruz: "An abuse of its authority." The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's new net neutrality rules could open the door to rate regulation and could drive some small broadband providers out of business, some Senate Republicans said Wednesday. Some Republican members of the Senate Commerce, Science and    ... MORE

Why Government Doesn't Like Individual Property Rights

by Laura Lundquist.   Government serves agencies, not people. More than two dozen Republican legislators are cosponsoring a bill intended to strengthen private property rights by prohibiting state agencies from taking any action that might affect a person’s enjoyment of their property. But several agencies and attorneys say that could have negative  ... MORE

Marijuana Federalism Is Principled And Popular

by Jacob Sullum.      At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month, Ted Cruz responded to a question about marijuana legalization in Colorado by endorsing a federalist approach to the issue. "I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called 'the laboratories of democracy,'" the Texas  ... MORE

Obama Thanks Big Government Republican Governors Like John Kasich For Caving To Obamacare Medicaid Expansion

by Charlie Spiering.   Stampede of the RINOs. Speaking to governors at the White House, President Obama pointedly praised Republican governors that caved to his Obamacare plan of expanding Medicaid. “I want to thank all the governors, Democrats and Republicans, supporters and some opponents of the ACA who have expanded Medicaid to millions   ... MORE

Could Rand Paul Spark a Libertarian Political Surge?

by David Boaz, CATO. Tens of millions of Americans are fiscally conservative, socially tolerant, and skeptical of American military intervention…. Whether or not Rand Paul wins the presidency, one result of his campaign will be to help those tens of millions of libertarian-leaning Americans to discover that their political attitudes have a name, which will make for a stronger and more influential political faction. ... MORE