Rand Paul in Speech at 2015 CPAC conference
On Crime:
Defend the whole Bill of Rights, including speedy trials
Rand Paul said at CPAC that "we have to defend the whole Bill of Rights. To defend the Second amendment, you have to defend the Fourth Amendment," he continued. "You need the First Amendment to protect the Second Amendment. The Fifth, the Sixth--we
should have speedy trials in our country." Paul cited the case of Kalief Browder, an African-American teenager accused of a crime who spent three years in jail without even getting a trial. While behind bars, he tried to commit suicide several times.
Browder "lives in that 'other America' that Martin Luther King talked about," Paul said.If the GOP wants to appeal to minorities and other voters beyond its core conservative base, he said, it must defend the entire Bill of Rights.
The party should make the case that "big government's not only a problem as far as regulation and taxes, [but also] with sometimes not giving justice to those who deserve it."
Source: CBS News on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 27, 2015
On Homeland Security:
National defense should be unencumbered by nation building
At CPAC, Paul defended his non-interventionist foreign policy positions. He argued that the U.S. should be less involved in foreign affairs in order to build up a stronger defense."When I look at government,
I think the most important thing we do at the federal level is defend our country, without question," he stressed. "I envision an America with a national defense unparalleled... and unencumbered by nation building."
Source: CBS News on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 27, 2015
On Crime:
Defend the 4th & 5th Amendments against Big Government
Paul said conservatives need to reach beyond traditional audiences like gun-rights defenders to anyone who has been mistreated by Big Government, including "businesses mistreated by Big Government regulations" and "poor people mistreated by
Big Government and over-criminalization.""No one really has taken the same message of Big Government incompetence to widely disparate groups and said to all of them: 'I will defend the Bill of Rights,'" Paul said. "I think that is a message that is a
unifying message, not a dividing message."
Paul said his "new way" means that conservatives "take the defense of the Bill of Rights and instead of only sort of talking about the Second Amendment, we take the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment,
the Fifth Amendment to all kinds of audiences who are ready and waiting to hear this."
Paul said his mission is to "get these kids excited" and convince them "that you're going to really do something to make their future better."
Source: Poltiico.com on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 26, 2015
On Drugs:
End hypocrisy and over-criminalization of marijuana
[In a CPAC interview] Rand Paul offered backhanded advice to Jeb Bush: "Younger voters in particular don't like hypocrisy. Him saying recently down in Florida that he would still incarcerate people even for medical marijuana, and then it turns out--him
basically acknowledging that he'd been using recreational marijuana as a kid. I don't think anybody faults him for youthful indiscretions. But if you look at the people who end up getting caught up in the war on drugs, they're often not elite kids at
prep schools. They're poor kids with no school."Paul said conservatives need to reach beyond traditional audiences like gun-rights defenders to anyone who has been mistreated by
Big Government, including "businesses mistreated by Big Government regulations" and "poor people mistreated by Big Government and over-criminalization."
Source: Poltiico.com on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 26, 2015
On Homeland Security:
Kids are concerned with privacy & the surveillance state
Sen. Rand Paul will drop by a College Republicans reception, then pose for hundreds of pictures at a "liberty reception" hosted by the Young Americans for Liberty. In an interview with POLITICO to preview his CPAC remarks, Paul offered backhanded advice
to Jeb Bush: "A lot of kids are concerned with privacy, and the fact that he's come out to be a big advocate for the surveillance state and the dragnet, collecting all the phone records--if he's smart, he won't probably bring that up at CPAC."
"Younger voters in particular don't like hypocrisy," Paul continued. "Him saying recently down in Florida that he would still incarcerate people even for medical marijuana, and then it turns out--him basically acknowledging that he'd been using
recreational marijuana as a kid. I don't think anybody faults him for youthful indiscretions. But if you look at the people who end up getting caught up in the war on drugs, they're often not elite kids at prep schools. They're poor kids with no school."
Source: Poltiico.com on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 26, 2015
On Tax Reform:
Balanced budget and a simple, fair tax system
We need to return to our founding principles and stand up for the entire Bill of Rights. Our future can include a road back to prosperity--back to respect at home and abroad. It should include a balanced budget and a simple, fair tax system.
It should include a government that protects your rights and your security. It should include a stronger, better and more agile military. It's time for a new way. A new set of ideas. A new leader: One you can trust--one who works for you.
Source: Speech at 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 26, 2015
Page last updated: Jul 18, 2019