G.O.P. Hopefuls: The 2016 Race is ON: Rand Paul

Republicans are pretending that Barack Obama never got reelected, or that he stole the election, or that he bought the election with "goodies" for his supporters. So, the G.O.P. is moving on to 2016's presidential race.

Alright, no one admits to running for President of the United States at this point in the game, potential candidates are easy to spot, even if they deny conventional wisdom that they are candidates in the 2016 presidential race. Chris Cillizza points out two things in the Fix blog, Washington Post: 1.)There are only so many spots in either party's race for the top and 2.) There are about 1030 days until the Iowas Caucuses. So, we'll take an early look at the Republican field over the next few weeks, beginning with Senator Rand Paul.

Rand Paul-U. S. Senator-Kentucky
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. Also a member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian.


Sen. Paul is pro-life and begins with conception. He believes that abortion is a state right, not a power of the federal government. His views on gay marriage are vague, but he doesn't believe in any government involvement in marriage. He opposes amnesty for "illegal aliens" and believes the 14th Amendment does not intend the children of "illegal aliens" to be citizens.

Sen. Paul opposes the 2009 health care reform bill are large numbers of people unable to access health care. government involvement in medicine destroys free competition and prevents cost from being lowered. He opposed TARP and the stimulus bill. He believes government can't create jobs and that stimulus doesn't build wealth.  he supports the vote for authorization to use force in Afghanistan, but would have been against authorization of use of force in Iraq.

This week media sources claim Paul boosted his prospects as a 2016 presidential candidate when he held the Senate floor for 12 hours 52 minutes and 11 seconds in a talking filibuster of John Brennan's nomination to be CIA Director. His challenge to the administration's drone policies left Republicans feeling in control of the day. While Paul's beliefs are outside the main stream, his sense of the dramatic might prove useful.

Sen. Paul says he'll wait until 2014 to decide whether to run for president, but he believes voters are ready for a Libertarian-minded Republican candidate. As always, time will tell it all.