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The Water Cooler Title: Rand Paul out-DeMints Jim DeMint Move over Jim DeMint — you’ve got new competition. For the past four years, the South Carolina conservative has repeatedly put his Senate GOP colleagues in awkward positions, forcing them to take stands that pit them between their conservative base and Republican moderates. But in the opening weeks of the new Congress, freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has commanded a high-profile role as a conservative aggressor, proposing measures that go further than DeMint’s and would implement his libertarian political philosophy. DeMint has proposed cutting $250 billion per year for the next decade. Paul has proposed $500 billion worth of cuts for just one year. Paul has vowed to oppose on constitutional grounds an extension of the PATRIOT Act, an anti-terrorism law DeMint has repeatedly backed in the past. While DeMint supports Paul’s goal on budget cutting, he said it’s a “political quagmire” to pinpoint specific programs to cut before Republicans try to push through a constitutional amendment to force Congress to balance the budget. Paul, on the other hand, has already laid out an aggressive series of cuts — including ones slashing foreign aid to Israel. DeMint has said it’s a “real mistake to suggest we might reduce support to Israel.” Citing states’ rights, Paul was the lone senator to vote against an amendment that would criminalize the shining of laser pointers at aircrafts — but DeMint said there’s already a federal role on aviation security and backed the plan. Paul — who is embracing elements of the libertarian philosophy espoused by his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) — said his early stands are consistent with the campaign pledges he made last year when he vowed to implement the tea party’s small-government philosophy in Washington. But whether Paul ends up driving the debate on the right or is simply dismissed by his colleagues as an outlier with fringe views remains to be seen. So far, the Bowling Green eye surgeon’s ideas have generated a wide range of reactions within the GOP conference, with some embracing his push, others clearly surprised that a freshman would take such aggressive stands right out of the gate and some downright opposed to a number of his proposals. Republican leaders have said they welcome Paul’s ideas to the debate — but they are certainly greeting them cautiously. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said cutting $500 billion in one year “may be a heavy load” but that he “would rather have people thinking big about what can be done than making up excuses for not doing anything.” DeMint said he hopes Paul will become the most conservative Republican in the chamber, adding, “He has been a great ally already and a great leader.” “I want someone to take some spotlight, so you’ll talk to him instead of me,” he said with a laugh. Paul said he’s not trying to assume a larger role in the Senate other than to initiate a serious debate over federal spending and the role of the government, which he’ll do soon when he unveils a plan to overhaul Social Security. But he’s clearly relishing his new platform, and he plans to unveil a new book later this month titled “The Tea Party Goes to Washington.” “I’m just doing what I think is right; I think you’ll find that with every vote that I’ve taken and everything that I’ll do up here,” Paul told POLITICO. Speaking about his colleagues, he said: “Some of them think these are risky positions; I see them as very popular positions with the people of Kentucky.” Asked whether that means some GOP senators are out of touch with what the country wants, Paul said: “There is a disconnect between Washington and the states.” While Paul appears to be positioning himself as a hard-nosed conservative in a bid to pull his party further to the right, a number of his colleagues aren’t so sure they want to go there with him. Paul, along with Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), offered a proposal to amend the Constitution so that a person born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants does not automatically gain citizenship. Asked about that idea, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — another tea party favorite and a prominent Hispanic Republican — pushed back. “I’ve been on record since the campaign saying I don’t really think that’s the problem we’re facing,” Rubio told POLITICO. “The problem we face is a broken illegal immigration system and immigration laws that are not being enforced.” Added Kyl, an attorney and a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee: “That’s the kind of thing you don’t do without laying the groundwork until you understand — first of all — what the law is.” Paul hails from an agriculture state but believes there should be about a 30 percent cut in agriculture spending, which he said would save about $45 billion. Sen. John Hoeven, a Republican freshman from North Dakota who sits on the agriculture appropriations subcommittee, said he believes the “farm program, as it’s structured now, is cost-effective.” Added Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, another freshman who sits on the subcommittee, said agriculture programs “need to be treated fairly” as appropriators gauge which programs to cut. Some of Paul’s colleagues aren’t taking too seriously the Tea Party Caucus he co-founded with DeMint and freshman Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. “For the moment, it doesn’t appear to be a particularly active situation because most Republicans, including new senators, have chosen to work within the Republican caucus,” said veteran Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), who is being targeted by tea party activists in his 2012 reelection bid. But Paul said that Republicans need to show the country that they are seriously committed to reducing spending, and he sharply criticized House GOP leaders for putting forth an initial spending plan to cut $32 billion, saying it was “incrementally better” than the president’s plan. “We need to be bolder,” Paul said. And that was the message he took to last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, where he was greeted like a rock star. “You need bold leaders who will stand up and say, ‘This should be done in Washington, but this should be left to states and localities, respectively,” Paul said. “We are shaking it up.”
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Rand Paul is exactly what this country needs right now. Rand Paul 2012
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