Tag Archives: Rand Paul

How the Republican National Committee screwed up the 2016 primaries

Here’s one thing that was remarkable about Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Boulder, Colorado: It was just the third debate. By this point in the 2008 cycle, there had already been 12; at the same point in 2011, there had already been eight. Thus, in the 2016 cycle the public has had less chance […]

For Clinton, the new economy undercuts allies she depends on

There was an interesting dichotomy on display this week, as Hillary Clinton launched a new phase of her campaign (her third re-launch? her fourth?) with a focus on the economy. This was clearly a response to Bernie Sanders, the self-described socialist who has been drawing enormous crowds across the country as he began his campaign […]

If the GOP truly embraces small government, it can win

In Augusta and Washington in recent days, we have seen leaders of what is supposed to be the party of small government fail to fight for that philosophy. Though the debates were on very distinct issues, they both featured at least part of the Republican Party’s leadership defending big government, rather than fiercely fighting to reduce […]

Muddled 2016 field offers opportunities to Republicans

In the past, Republican presidential primaries have been fairly orderly, especially in contrast to the Democrats’. GOP nomination fights have frequently come down to the “insider” candidate versus the “outsider” candidate. Sometimes the insider choice was more conservative (see, for example, Bush vs. McCain in 2000); other times they were seen as more moderate (see […]

The real reason behind Obama’s immigration action

At first glance, President Obama’s announcement on Thursday that he intends to usurp the authority of the United States Congress on immigration reform seems counter-intuitive. Though immigration reform has been a top goal on the left for years, this is not the way to go about it. While it might please immigration activists, Obama’s taking […]

It’s time to take Rand Paul seriously

Though speculation and prognostication about the presidential race may seem all-consuming to those of us who obsess over such things, in fact most voters have barely begun to pay attention to the 2014 election, let alone 2016. While some of us have spent hours considering the flaws and advantages of all the potential candidates, many […]