Category Archives: Rand Paul

candidate, New Hampshire, News, Rand Paul, Syndication, US

GOP Presidential Candidate Jim Gilmore on John Fredericks Show Tuesday!

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore was on the John Fredericks Show yesterday and here’s the audio of it.

I do not have a lot of time this morning for analysis but I generally think Gilmore is still a wonderful candidate and would be a great President (or for that matter Vice President).  He’s thoughtful and not a shrill headline-grabber.  I disagree a bit with Gov. Gilmore’s criticism of Sen. Rand Paul as I can see the potential abuse of unlimited access to phone numbers of US parties (the government could, for example, determine one of its critics or a key vote on a key bill is say frequently phone sex sites and decides to blackmail the official to silence or to vote their way; also technology is so pervasive that if we lose our freedoms, we cannot hope to unite to regain them) but I also considered the measured way Gilmore is trying to balance security and freedom.

The former Virginia governor says he’s on the ballot in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.  I agree he has been treated unfairly (George Pataki was in more debates than Jim Gilmore and I am sure Gilmore has more support than the former NY governor.) but people can help.

Go to Gilmore for America site and download the petition and get Gilmore on the ballot!  If I were in a spot to go to Iowa or New Hampshire, I’d go and help the governor.  Maybe I’ll have to mull whatever influence I have and focus it toward Iowa and NH…

Article written by: Elwood "Sandy" Sanders
Donald Trump, Opinion, Rand Paul, Republican Establishment, Syndication, Ted Cruz

What This Republican Primary is All About

If you would have asked me in April, what the top 5 issues of the Republican Primary would be, I’d have said, without blinking, “Obamacare, Spending, Debt, a sputtering economy, and ISIS”. I would have been wrong on all counts. The Republican Primary isn’t about any of those things. It’s about Donald Trump, The Donald, Trump, China, and illegal immigration.

I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t see this coming. The grassroots, having fought ferocious battles with the Republican Establishment for six long years, seemed primed for the fight of their lifetime. But who would be their standard-bearer? Would it be Ted Cruz? Rand Paul? Scott Walker? Marco Rubio? Or would Bobby Jindal or Rick Perry improve upon their national popularity and unify the Republican Party? They all began positioning themselves to lead, tauting their records, their conservative bonafides. Ted Cruz kept reminding voters about the importance of a consistent record of Conservativism, and for the briefest of moments, conservatives were attentive.

Then, Donald Trump stepped out of an airplane and told illegal immigrants, the federal government, and the media to go screw themselves – and all hell broke loose. Conservatives, no longer interested in the long hard battle, lined up to throw fruit and garbage at all those elites that have always spat upon them from atop the towers of establishment hegemony. If only Rand Paul would have just come out and said, “Federal Government, Go F Yourself!”. He’d be leading in the polls. Conservatives would yell, “Somebody finally said it!”.

And I guess at the end of the day, that’s really where we are… ready to burn the whole damn thing to the ground. And why not? What’s left? As Mark Levin has said, it really doesn’t matter if we win one election. This is a century long battle staring us in the face and a century is a very long time. And sure, we’ve complained about all of Obama’s illegal executive orders, but what if, in the style of a South American Big Man, we elected a powerful American tycoon, to issue a couple illegal executive orders of his own and to use the depth and breadth of the Oval Office to lay waste to everything these corrupt Republicans and Democrats have built since FDR?

We don’t think Ted Cruz or Rand Paul can do it, but we think that Trump can. Why? Because he’s The Donald! He’s rich and powerful and he looks down on these lifetime politicians that he’s purchased for pennies on the dollar. See, we can trust Trump, because he knows how corrupt these establishment politicians really are. When Trump wants to take somebody’s land, he just buys the right politicians, and then, like magic, through eminent domain, the government just gives him the rights to the land and the plebes are shaken off. He knows how this system works! He can change it!

I don’t know folks. Maybe I’m reading this all wrong, but I don’t think Donald Trump is bread and circuses. I think he’s Caesar. I could be totally wrong. I mean, Trump is killing everyone in the polls. He’s more popular with African Americans and Hispanics than almost any other Republican candidate. He probably could win if he sticks it out. I just don’t feel comfortable putting my liberty and my constitutional rights in his hands. My greatest fear is that under such a President, we would no longer be citizens, but employees; and yes, his employees love him, right up and to the point he squints his eyes, extends his finger, and says, “You’re Fired!”.

Article written by: Steven Brodie Tucker
Donald Trump, Election, Opinion, Rand Paul, Republican Party, Syndication, Tea Party, Ted Cruz

I’m Done With Trump

It makes no sense for someone who writes for an audience to insult someone their audience supports. However, like Donald Trump, I’m not loyal to one party or any group of financial supporters. Unlike The Donald, I do this for free. Granted, there is probably a reason for that. So I endorse all comments calling me an amateur.

That said, Ladies and Gentlemen, can we please dispense with Donald Trump? He’s not a conservative. He has supported, at one time or another, everything we oppose. He’s also supported everything we’re for. He’s given money to most of the people we support and also given money to most of the people we despise.

I kept an open mind. I intended to keep an open mind for months, because that would be the smart thing to do.

Sure, if detonating the Republican Party explosive prematurely is the smart thing to do, then I’ll count myself out and call it a day.

Donald Trump can package messaging. He can rally the disenfranchised. He can say and do anything, poke his finger in the eye of the establishment, and mock our ridiculous political process. We love it, right? He’s a fighter. He tells it like it is. He says what others won’t say. So I guess he’s just like John Stewart and George Carlin. Why the hell hasn’t the Republican Party ever nominated them?

For the last 6 years we’ve had politicians fighting for their lives in Washington DC. Elected by us to do the People’s business, and thwarted at every turn by a Republican Party bought and paid for. Mike Lee, Justin Amash, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, Mark Meadows, and Dave Brat. We sent these guys to Washington D.C. and let them loose on the establishment. Scott Walker fought the Unions… and won! They tried to recall him. He won.

But what? We threw a pebble at a mountain and it didn’t come down, and so now we need someone who will pretend to act as angry as we feel? We need low-class politics and pejoratives to make our case to a conservative base that already gave the Republican Party the House of Representatives without Donald Trump; and gave them the Senate without Donald Trump?

That the Establishment is fighting us more ruthlessly than ever isn’t a sign of failure, but of success! We don’t need Donald Trump. We need Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Hell, we even need Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal, and Ben Carson. But we don’t need Donald Trump.

Early on, I tried to explain the Trump appeal, because I thought that the folks that supported him would recognize why they were supporting him. Now… now that he’s proven himself to be an impossible candidate, you still support him, and I want an explanation.

Do I need to speak Trump? OK, then. Damn it, I want an explanation!

donald-trump-obama-ivy-240I want to understand why Trump is better than Ted Cruz. I want to know what Trump has done for the American People that Ted Cruz hasn’t. Where was Trump when Obamacare was moving through Congress? I want to know why Trump is better than Rand Paul. I want to know what Trump has done for the American People that Rand Paul hasn’t. Where was Donald Trump on NSA spying?

I want to know why Trump is better than Ben Carson. When Trump fails, he uses our laws to get out of taking responsibility, by filing for bankruptcy. If Carson fails, people would have died. Trump made money buying off Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell.

Ben Carson saved lives.

Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker have fought merciless battles that conservatives support, while Donald Trump played God on a reality TV show.

You are going to ignore all these gentlemen, because of the celebrity and perversity of Donald Trump?

If you’ve read my other articles, you know I know why you love him. You know I’m not mad at you or disrespecting you for loving him.

I just can’t believe that you’d ignore men and women who have been fighting for your positions, desires, philosophies, and values in Congress, while The Donald paraded himself around television so easily, and without second guessing yourselves. What has Donald Trump done for you, besides give voice to your anger? You don’t think these Governors, who refused Medicaid expansion, were taking risks for you? You don’t think these Senators that opposed ObamaCare and Planned Parenthood and threatened to shut down the government, were taking risks for you? All their trials and tribulations meant nothing?

Why?

Because Donald Trump can’t be bought?

You think Ted Cruz was bought when he called McConnell a liar?

I’ve heard the rhetoric. Everyone but Donald Trump is for sale.

You think Rand Paul was bought when he opposed NSA spying?

Friends – Please! Are we going to ignore the people who have been fighting day and night for us since the day we raised that Gadsden Flag?

To back Trump?

Look, I get it, I really do. I’m not trying to bash him or call him out. But I’ve been in this fight since 2006 and I never saw him at a rally and I never saw him backing one of our candidates. I never saw him fighting McConnell or Boehner. I saw him buy them off. And as he said, the reason he purchased them was because they were for sale in the first place! I mean, damn it, people, what are you doing? Really?

You are conservatives and libertarians and constitutionalists, and you’ve fought hard! You are going to abandon everyone you helped elect because that guy from Celebrity Apprentice wants to run the country?

I know this is a rant. I know its not a real “blog”. I just hate losing and I hate getting side-tracked by celebrity and media and $!#$!$%!#%$!# FCC Violations.

Take a minute tonight, would you? Look at Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and Ben Carson. Even look at the guys who have debated well that I can’t stand. Look at Mike Huckabee. Look at Carly Fiorina. Look at Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker.

I love Sandy Sanders – Hell, look at Jim Gilmore!

Please don’t threaten me with Trump. Not for the Republicans or Libertarians or Independents or Anyone. Stop it. Please. I get why you like him. I get why you are angry. Just consider what I’m saying, please, for a minute or two, and ask yourselves if Trump is really the guy for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

 

 

 

Article written by: Steven Brodie Tucker
Opinion, Rand Paul, Senator Ted Cruz, Syndication, Tea Party, Ted Cruz Speech, United States Senate

My Personal Struggle with Senator Ted Cruz

Every morning I wake up with the desire to write one article: I Endorse Rand Paul for President. Every morning I want to pull that trigger. Rand Paul is the closest thing this country has ever had to a Constitutional Libertarian. I am a Constitutional Libertarian.

Every morning, I’m stopped from writing that article, because of Ted Cruz. I don’t agree with Cruz as often as I agree with Rand Paul. Though I find them both far more important to the national debate and to the value of the Republican Party than I do folks like Donald Trump – the Johnny Come Lately.

I want you to watch Ted Cruz’s Speech on the floor of the United States Senate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

ted-cruzI’m not withdrawing my support from Rand Paul. I am merely saying this: that I want a man like this to be President of the United States. I feel the way I felt when I watched Rand Paul filibuster the NSA. I’m saying that I have a decision to make. I think we all do. These are two great men who have been fighting tooth and nail against the Republican Establishment, despite all the hate and lies and media stories issued against them. They haven’t compromised. They represent you and I every day in a parliament devoid of any consideration of our lives and liberty. Both these men deserve our support, but only one of them can win.

I think it is a shame that all we can talk about is Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, though I fully understand the reasons for both.

Listen and watch this speech. This is leadership. This is greatness. This is something we desperately need in Congress.

Article written by: Steven Brodie Tucker
Democrats, Establishment Republicans, Opinion, Rand Paul, Syndication, Tea Party, Ugly

Rand Paul: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

randpaulRand Paul is unique amongst Republicans running for President in 2016. Anything but average, the Rand Paul campaign has been brilliantly tactical, patient, modest, and methodical (after some inside campaign shakeups at the beginning); however, this is a candidacy waged against all odds. Rand Paul is a libertarian-Republican with a 93% Liberty Rating from Conservative Review. Only Mike Lee (100%) and Ted Cruz (96%) enjoy better ratings. Yet, Rand Paul endorsed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (52%) against an outstanding conservative primary opponent; a move which has spared Senator Paul from targeting by the Washington Establishment.

Currently, Hillary Clinton leads Democrats in the polls (a reality I believe will change over the coming months, and change dramatically after she opens her mouth during the first Democrat debate). Rand Paul polls better, nationally, against Hillary Clinton than any other Republican Candidate including Jeb Bush (with an unfavorable review) and Donald Trump (with a mixed review). In Iowa and New Hampshire, Rand Paul is polling in the top 4, though he is struggling mightily in South Carolina, where its’ native senior Senator, Lindsey Graham (47%), has decided to run a campaign on an anyone-but-Rand-Paul platform.

Rand Paul’s voting record is one of the best in the Senate, yet, he spends a great deal of time reaching out to Democrat constituencies, a fact that makes many Republicans uneasy. However, at the end of the day, I don’t care how he plays politics with our nations ridiculous demographics, so long as he votes in accordance with his principles.

Unlike other TEA Party candidates, Rand Paul is playing Balderdash (aka. politics) with the best of them – realizing that his ultra-conservative voting record is not likely to come up during the elections. Americans don’t vote on records. They vote on impressions and image. If Republicans voted on principle, then all they’d need to do to win is to nominate Senator Mike Lee and call it a day. No Republican is as consistent a conservative and a Republican as Senator Mike Lee.

Alas, this is not how Republicans vote. Republican voters tend to vote for candidates they feel have an impressive public image. This is the case primarily because they don’t understand their Democrat opponents, but are aware that anyone that looks and sounds conservative is going to be viciously attacked in the media, so Republicans avoid those candidates (not because they disagree with their politics, but, frankly, because they DO agree with them). Republicans are terrified of nominating someone they like, because they know that anyone they like will be despised by the media.

Then there is Rand Paul. A much softer, friendlier, easier on the ears candidate than his father, Rand Paul is neither trusted nor hated by the Establishment or the Grassroots. He lacks enemies within the party, other than the creature Lindsey Graham, and Democrats don’t exactly know what to make of him. He goes after the black vote and isn’t despised in that community like most Republicans. Hispanics haven’t made up their mind whether to peg him as a racist. Younger voters like him.

Once every couple of months, Rand Paul shows up at a hospital or clinic somewhere and performs free surgeries for patients.

Rand Paul’s two biggest issues in the Senate have been ObamaCare and NSA Spying. Now, both of these issues make Establishment Republicans uneasy, but voters take both issues seriously.

Where it gets ugly and daunting for the junior Senator from Kentucky is on foreign policy and border security. What is his plan to defeat ISIS? How does he plan on dealing with Russia and China? How does the United States gain traction and influence in Africa and South America (two high priority targets of the Communist Regime in China)? How would he handle some inevitably bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill if he were President?

With Domestic Terrorism looking like it is going to become a common thing, how does he plan on addressing it? Why hasn’t he been more outstpoken on ObamaTrade?

It is safe to say, for these reasons, that Rand Paul is running an incomplete campaign which requires further investigation and a great deal more explanation from him on these issues going forward; but for all of that, this is not a poorly run campaign. Nor should the Senator be underestimated by the Establishment and Grassroots.

 

Article written by: Steven Brodie Tucker