According to many news sources, Sen. Rand Paul will be announcing his candidacy for president Tuesday and will then engage in a five-state, five-day announcement tour. Paul, who is the son of former Congressman Dr. Ron Paul, is an ophthalmologist-turned-politician who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and has not been one to shy away from controversy. While many Republicans go with the flow of the Grand Old Party and often do not hesitate to inflate the deficit or ignore major problems, Paul has been one of the few shining stars of the party. He addresses the concerns of middle-class Americans, and his commitment to libertarian conservatism and advancing liberty makes him stand out from the crowd.
The best way to judge a politician is through his or her record, and Paul has proven he embraces liberty over special interests. In my column last week, I mentioned how Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a budget that increased capital for the military through the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, a fund that is exempt from budget caps. This money is not paid for; it must be borrowed. To counteract this and provide relief from debt, Paul introduced an amendment that provides this funding only if other costs were cut to cover it. Paul explained that “Congress can and should pay for our top priorities and not use budgeting gimmicks to evade spending limits.” While most Republicans turn a blind eye to the ever-growing deficit and debt, Paul is committed to balancing our budget and ending our reliance upon other countries, like China and Japan, to bail us out.
Some citizens feel as if the GOP does not care about minorities, but Paul actually has a history of standing up for minorities. For example, Paul has introduced the REDEEM Act, which would allow for non-violent felons’ records to be expunged once they have completed prison time. There is no reason why a non-violent offender should have the rest of his or her life ruined as he or she checks off a box that he or she is a felon on a job application, nor should he or she lose the right to vote. Paul has said that “the War on Drugs has had a disproportional effect on minorities and our inner cities. Our current system is broken and has trapped tens of thousands of young men and women in a cycle of poverty and incarceration.” Additionally, civil forfeiture — a process where government can seize and sell assets without convicting, or even charging, someone with a crime — often leaves poorer minorities defenseless against overbearing authorities, who can disregard property rights and due process. Paul has introduced the FAIR Act, which gives better legal representation to victims of civil forfeiture and increases the government’s burden of proof.
In modern elections, it’s more important than ever to attract young and independent voters if you wish to be elected to federal office, and these groups like candidates who work with all ideologies. Recently, Paul has worked with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to sponsor the CARERS Act, which would essentially make medical marijuana legal on a federal level. It does this by amending the Controlled Substances Act to allow states to set their own medical marijuana policies without fear of prosecution and by reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Currently, the Drug Enforcement Administration lists pot as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD. A Fox News poll from May 2013 found 85 percent of Americans think that adults “should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician prescribes it.” Additionally, a Pew Research poll found that 63 percent of Republican millennials said that recreational marijuana should be legalized, not just medical marijuana. The public support for this initiative has shifted over time, and Paul realizes that liberty over this matter should triumph.
Finally, I am looking forward to having a candidate who is willing to stand up against the National Security Agency, which has too much power to intrude on law-abiding citizens’ electronic records. At the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, Paul asserted that “phone records of United States citizens are none of (the government’s) damn business.” It’s refreshing to have a candidate who realizes that we can fight terrorism while also not meddling in Americans’ privacy.
When looking for a candidate in the crowded 2016 race, consider Rand Paul, who champions liberty and understands that prosperity and freedom go hand in hand.
Nick Eagle is a UF economics and political science senior. His column appears on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 4/6/2015 under the headline “Rand Paul: the presidential candidate GOP needs”]
