Rand Pauluses and Minuses: Does 'Daily Show' Host's Quasi-Endorsement Help?
We're coming off an interesting week wherein we learned Speaker of the House John Boehner would be stepping down, and that the new 'Daily Show' host is a fan of ol' #Randypants. Will that even help? Let's discuss in this week's "Rand Pauluses and Minuses."New 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah claims political "romance" with Rand PaulRon Paul was a favorite of John Stewart, despite the popular talk show host's liberal leanings. However, Paul the elder was still too "fringe" for many voters to take seriously, and while his appearances with Stewart were heartening they didn't lead to boosts in the polls.Rand toes a line that's closer to center, but with some strong libertarian values that also coincide with the left, and with general rational thought. The new host of the recently releaunched 'Daily Show,' comedian Trevor Noah, confessed to being a Rand fan in a recent interview. From Reason and the Daily Beast:
“There are certain issues that I’ve seen, let’s say, from Rand Paul where I go, ‘Yeah, I like that,’ and I think that we can move forward in that regard. When it comes to Social Security reform, and looking at different ways to adjust benefits for people, there’s definitely a conversation to be had there. Now, I’m not an expert in it…But I believe progression can come from both sides.”Despite Paul’s lackluster standing and poll numbers in the 2016 primary, Noah says it was the senator’s two debate performances thus far that impressed him so much. “He was saying things that were sane at the debates, he really was,” Noah said, referring, in part, to Paul’s less “knee-jerk,” neoconservative, invasion-happy approach to foreign policy. “He wasn’t gung-ho. He did seem thoughtful. And that is progression for me. And maybe that’s a tiny step in the right direction.”
This is a fantastic "endorsement," and I put that in quotes, as it's not a true "go vote for Rand" statement, but it is quite a nice exercise in how Rand's policies can appeal to people who are open to viewing all political viewpoints rather than staying steadfastly in a Democrat or Republican mindset. While Paul isn't booked on the show yet, I'm sure it's a short amount of time until that's remedied, as there is clear interest.The question that arises for Rand Paul fans if of course: will this even help? As of now Rand is still polling at 3% even following this fairly well covered piece of news. Clearly, Republican voters don't take the 'Daily Show' or Trevor Noah as prominent sources of news or commentary. The viewers of the program also tend to coincide with the left, or at least with left-leaning independents at best. So unless Noah can inspire his audience to give Rand a "Colbert bump" by classifying themselves as Republican voters, this likely doesn't do a lot to assist Rand in the eyes of the GOP faithful.That being said, the attention paid to Rand could help drive viewership in upcoming debates, which could help to keep Rand included. Additionally, it's never a bad thing to have support voiced from a major political commentary outlet, so whether this actually will help or not, it still gets a...- PAULUSPaul calls for "fresh blood" leadership in wake of Boehner retirementRand has repeatedly called for limits to Congressional terms (as well as Supreme Court terms), so it's not shocking to see him voice support for some "fresh blood" in a leadership role following current Speaker of the House John Boehner's retirement announcement. Paul stated that he felt the new House Speaker should have served no more than three terms, in the hopes that he would be younger, more connected to the current voting population, and (my guess) a bit less of a cog in the political machine and more willing do try new approaches. From Breitbart:
I think really that we need some new blood in leadership and that would go a long way towards shaking things up. If you just go to the next person in line—which is likely to happen—then it’s just more of the same. People who stick around long enough to rise to that level are I think not strong enough to make the change that’s needed to take the fight to the president.
Rand also went on to talk about the "power of the purse" and runaway spending.
Paul said the lesson from Boehner’s departure as Speaker, and from Cantor’s ouster—both of which establishment Republicans haven’t seemed to learn from yet—is that Americans want Republicans in Congress to fight harder against an out of control executive."We took over the House a few years ago, took over the Senate now, and people want us to do something. Part of the frustration is that the power of the purse needs to be exercised. It is our obligation and duty to not spend so much money and put controls on the spending to try to regulate the president’s spending of the money and I think frankly the voters are frustrated because we’re not doing that. I hope this is the beginning of getting the message from the voters that we need to do a better job controlling spending."When asked if he thinks this development is a repudiation of the establishment—and an affirmation of conservatism—Paul said he did.“Yeah, this is what I’ve been saying along,” Paul said.To vote for any Continuing Resolution is to vote to continue the borrowing and spending and debt. That’s why here last week, I was one of the few to vote against the Continuing Resolution because it continues to add debt. The current Continuing Resolution right now, if you look at the numbers in it, it adds $400 million of debt over the next year. So it’s just a real failure — it’s a crummy way to run government. In fact, I’ve said I won’t vote for any Continuing Resolution.The only way I’ll vote for any spending bill is if we do all of the appropriations bills. Since Planned Parenthood has been so offensive, I would separate it out as its own funding bill or at least have it in an appropriations bill where it’s not included. This is where I think people get things backwards: Many in leadership in Washington will say we don’t have 60 votes in the Senate to defund Planned Parenthood.It should be the opposite—if the money expires, it should require 60 votes to reinstitute it. We should hold firm on that—and in fact I think we should add thousands of instructions on how we want money spent. That means not supplying money for a host of things, Obamacare, regulations, you name it. There’s hundreds and hundreds of policies and objectives—we just shouldn’t fund them."
Boehner isn't the only one with the word "retirement" circling around him. Paul also wouldn't commit to supporting his one-time partner in questionable policy - especially where Israel was concerned - Mitch McConnell, as Senate Majority Leader in the wake of calls for his resignation. That rift looks like one that is growing bigger all the time. Could Rand have simply used Mitch for political gain? We all surmised it was possible but not probable, yet the actions that continue to develop seem to say that Rand is over the McConnell collaboration.
“By no means am I finished,” he told host Alisyn Camerota on CNN’s “New Day.” “I’m just getting started.”“We wouldn’t do all this if we were planning on dropping out,” Paul said, citing his campaign’s outreach in key voting states and on college campuses nationwide.“I think we’ll be around just as long as Trump, if not longer,” the Kentucky lawmaker added.Paul then argued that Trump, who is leading the polls, is not a suitable choice for the Republican presidential coronation in 2016.“How can anyone in my party think this clown is fit to be president?” he asked Camerota. “How did we get the race for the most important office in the free world to sink to such low depths?”
I can't say I disagree with Rand that Trump is indeed a clown. But Trump's acceptance by a population that has been dumbed down by television, closed-ecosystem masturbatory social media outlets, and the fear that our government has instilled in the unknown (Iran, immigration, terrorism, etc.) means that his popularity comes as no surprise.As of now I still support Rand running his presidential campaign, though it may have hit the point where its providing very limited returns. There will come a time when it may become vital that he retain his seat in the Senate, and depending on where he stands in the race, that may dictate he retire his efforts for the 2016 presidential candidacy.I just don't know if that time is now quite yet, when there is so much more campaigning left to do, and at least some of the mainstream media are starting to get behind him.I'm giving this a push for now.- PUSH
The Current “Paulus-Minus” Tally:107 Pauluses / 34 Minuses / 7 PushBe sure to check out our latest companion podcast edition of Rand Pauluses and Minuses, Never miss an episode and subscribe to the Lions of Liberty Podcast - released every Monday and Thursday - for free via iTunes - don't forget to leave us a rating and review ;) - or the Stitcher Radio App,. The show also airs on our affiliates at LibertyTalk.FM at 6pm EST every Saturday and Sunday, and throughout the week at LRN.FM, the Liberty Radio Network! Check out our full catalog of interviews in the podcast archive!Check out the full “Rand Pauluses and Minuses” Archive!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Check out our YouTube Channel!Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!Join our Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum