Rand Paul in Speech at 2011 CPAC conference
On Government Reform:
FactCheck: No, Kagan never she'd regulate vegetable eating
In talking about the constitutionality of the health care law, Sen. Paul distorted a comment by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. Paul said, "Recently in committee hearings asked Elena Kagan, [she was asked] do you think the government through the
commerce clause could regulate that you eat three vegetables a day. Her response was yes."Kagan's response was not "yes." During the 10-minute exchange, she outlined precedents set by the Supreme Court and how the commerce clause has been applied,
but she did not give a response to Coburn's hypothetical question about vegetables.
Kagan, June 29, 2010: "The commerce clause has been interpreted broadly. It's been interpreted to apply to regulation of any instruments or instrumentalities or
channels of commerce, but it's also been applied to anything that would substantially affect interstate commerce.. the Congress can't regulate non-economic activities."
Source: FactCheck.org on 2011 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 15, 2011
On Budget & Economy:
Debt crisis is approaching a point of no return
We face a looming debt crisis. It's worse than you can imagine. It really is coming upon us quickly. I went to a presentation this week and they said that Japan reached a point of no return. They say when its debt equals its economy, when your total debt
is about equal to your gross domestic product you approach a point of no return. We're quickly approaching that point, and what kind of leadership are we getting, though? The president of the United States wants to sound like he's now a conservative.
Says he's going to freeze spending. Well, he's going to freeze this much of the budget, at inflated levels of spending, and over five years he's going to add $3.8 trillion to the debt. It's unacceptable. The House
Republican proposal will freeze this much of the budget at 2008 levels and will add $3 trillion to the debt over five years. It's too little. It's not enough. It's too timid, and we must be more bold.
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
On Health Care:
Restrain ObamaCare from using Commerce Clause
For 60 and 70 years now we've been working with this notion that the Commerce Clause says that our government can do anything. Until ObamaCare came along. They scoffed at us when we said it wasn't constitutional. This Supreme
Court case that will be more, about much more than health care. It's going to be about whether or not we believe that our government should be restrained by the Constitution. I think for 60 or
70 years we've been gradually going down this road of becoming more of a majoritarian rule, a democracy. Jefferson said democracy would be nothing more than a mob rule. Our Founding Fathers knew the difference between a republic and a democracy.
Our understanding of the Commerce Clause has become so broad that I often will say, if my shoes were made in Tennessee, they'll regulate my walking in Kentucky.
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
On Homeland Security:
Remove waste from last decade's doubling of military budget
There is one compromise we will have to make as conservatives: We will have to look long & hard at the military budget. The most important thing that our government does is our national defense. But you cannot say that the doubling of the military budget
in the last 10 years has been done wisely and there's not any waste in it. If you refuse to acknowledge that there's any waste can be culled from the military budget, you are a big-government conservative and can you not lay claim to balancing the budget
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
On Social Security:
Raise retirement age gradually; allow opting out
With regard to entitlement reform, it has to happen. There isn't any question that it will happen. It's whether we do it gradually in a rational manner, or whether we wait until there's a collapse of the country and we have to do it dramatically.
Everybody knows the answer. I said it in my campaign. The Republicans attacked me for it and so did the Democrats. The age of Social Security will have to gradually rise. I got a note from a young man who worked in the campaign, and he may be here today.
He said, thanks for proposing the $500 billion in budget cuts, thanks for tackling the Social Security problem and then, I wouldn't mind opting out of Social Security. Is there anybody here who would like to opt out of Social Security? We need bold
leadership. We can't have this incrementalism. It's not going to be enough. You need bold leaders who will stand up & say, this should be done in Washington, but this should be left to states and localities respectively. One person can make a difference.
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
Page last updated: Dec 03, 2018