Vote Rand Paul

Politicians often have a tendency to say they will do something, but never do it. Rand Paul is a man who says only what he believes, he is not a man who will sugar coat anything for the american people. The media can say that he changes his mind over issues, that he flip flops, yet they still attack him for speaking his mind. Rand has dealt with numerous attacks from the media and while some of his tactics can be seen by some as rude, the american public knows exactly what they are getting in their next potential president.

Throughout the opening stages of the campaign, Rand has never had a dull moment in an interview. Yes, sometimes he makes some questionable decisions, (shushing the interviewer) but he certainly is not going to be walked over by anyone in office. The United States needs a strong leader who will stand up for what they believe in, and no one can argue that Rand Paul doesn't do that. The fact that the media has ripped him to shreds for certain antics he has shown through interviews, and he still goes and does any interview that is asked from him.

America needs a strong leader, and one who isn't afraid to speak the truth. Rand Paul has the history of being very straight forward and not being afraid to say what is on his mind. Paul is the man for the position of President of the United States; he is the man who will stand up strong for our country. Rand Paul's ability to speak the truth separates him from all the other candidates, no one else will not waver at the ongoing pressure to satisfy the media. Rand Paul is the person needed in America today, so when it comes time for all of us to vote, remember to Stand With Rand.

Rand Paul vs The Media

Rand Paul has often had issues with the media. Whether it be from him hushing an woman interviewer or speaking his mind. Although in one case from September, the media had two very different ideas on Rand Paul.
A Fox News article, a long time conservative news organization, defends Paul from a "Washington Post hatchet piece." Fox News continues to defend Paul by stating that Paul never changed his viewpoints on ISIS. Fox News Proceeds to applaud Paul for sticking to his guns and knowing not to support even the early stages of ISIS. This article is more of a defense for conservatives against the liberal media, even going as far to say that the liberals are scared by the new conservative wave. An ironic part of this article is the line, "To my conservative friends, who believe every badly written story, even about their own allies, please think twice and proceed with caution." This article is clearly bias towards conservatives, and the writer just said to think twice about articles written just like this. While this article has little information on Paul, it still is showing a very different side of the media who is defending Paul as opposed to attacking him.
The so called "Washington Post hatchet piece" was an in depth piece trying to show how Paul flip-flops on almost all of his policies. This article goes straight at Paul using his own quotes from different times and articles he has posted. A lot of the information presented seems to have a lot of solid support, but there are a lot of questions that are never answered. With the quotes from interviews and from his advisers, we have no idea how the question was asked, you really wouldn't expect and adviser for a serious presidential candidate to trash talk the candidate to a news organization. If this was the only article people read on Rand Paul, they would  clearly come to the conclusion the Washington Post wants you to. And this is unfair, this article is clearly bias just from the wording. They start off by immediately calling Rand Paul a "fence rider" which is not a nice political term. The writer clearly has a bias to Rand Paul and uses this article to attack him.
Every politician has a tendency to change ideas when given more information, so this article doesn't prove Paul is anything other than a politician.

Rand Paul in Advertisements

Rand Paul ran for Senate of Kentucky in 2010. His advertisements were mostly positive, but there is one ad from his competitor that drew a lot of national attention. Before we get to this advertisement and Paul's response, it is important to understand some of Paul's earlier ads.
Rand Paul- Bluegrass Values

This is a clear image ad for Rand Paul and his campaign. It is no secret what the point of this advertisement was, but beyond that, the campaign made sure to throw in some family activities along with Paul speaking to veterans. This ad is not something that is really memorable for someone outside of Kentucky, but if you live in the state, this ad could very well strike home with you. I would say this ad does a good job in showing where Paul's interests really are, and the use of the line, "As surely as the sun will rise, Rand Paul will fight every day for Kentucky," leave a lasting messages to the voters. 

Rand Paul- Fighting Back

Feeding off the same idea of using the sun, Paul uses this advertisement to inform the voters that he is not the "career politician" like the current politicians. He sets fourth that he is there to "get our government back" while name dropping Sarah Palin as a supporter. A problem that I could see is in the clip of Palin, how do we really know she is talking about Paul? Again, Paul is using a challenger strategy by saying there is a need for new ideas in government. There was no incumbent in this race, but Paul still used the challenger strategies well.

Jack Conway Ad

This is the ad from Paul's competitor that drew a lot of national attention. Clearly the idea is that Paul is not a man of faith like most of the Republicans are in Kentucky. This ad leaves a lot for a person to think about, both with if the ad is fact based and about what kind of person Paul really is. From a neutral standpoint, it is very disappointing that faith would be thrown around like it was in this ad, but it could have a lasting affect on some people. Paul's campaign thought that there was enough of these people in Kentucky, so here is their response ad.  

Paul is not really attacking Conway as much as he is trying take the focus off his faith. Paul quickly answers the faith question by saying that he, "keeps Christ in his heart and in the life he shares with his wife and three boys." This shows that he is a man of faith, and that Christ is a part of their family life. Once this is established, Paul begins to claim that the ad was shameful and that he clearly is not suitable for the job if he would sink this low. The final picture of the ad speaks wonders, "Jack Conway False Witness leaves a lasting impression on anyone who would watch this ad. Really, it is shocking that an advertisement like this had to be made, but it worked in Paul's favor as we ultimately won the election.

Overall, the Paul campaign kept a positive outlook and eventually leading to his election. Paul most likely won some points for the very negative ad ran by the Conway campaign, most likely making it easier to focus on his positives rather than the negatives of Jack Conway. Paul, like most potential presidential candidates has the past success of political campaigns, so I am curious to see how a presidential campaign would look for Rand Paul. 

Advertisements in Order

Bluegrass Values

Fighting Back

Conway Ad 

Paul Response

The Rand Paul Polling Power

As was discussed in class, the recent CPAC straw poll has Rand Paul winning the republican nomination. It is very important to acknowledge that this poll is TWO years out from the actual election. This still shows the major hold the Rand Paul has on republicans with just his name. There is not a whole lot that can be taken from this poll, other than the fact that Rand Paul is the most well-known candidate this early in the race.

Again, it is important to still note that Rand Paul has not formally announced that he running for president in 2016. It is also very important to notice that this poll only asked republicans and it is not the the only poll out from this past week. The Georgia Poll tells a completely different story.
This Georgia poll has Rand far behind the second place candidate from the CPAC poll, Scott Walker. Rand Paul only received 4 percent of the vote, well behind the 26 percent behind Scott Walker.
When looking at the participants in both polls, it is very easy to see a difference right away. First off, in the Georgia poll, the voters all have voted in the last 4 Georgia Republican Primaries, and this equates to 6,745 people. Whereas the CPAC only asked 3,007 republican voters, demonstrating a clear difference in the poll takers. This difference does not bode well for Rand in future. It is clear that while his name is recognized by the uninformed, he clearly is not at a great standing with the serious republican voters at this time.

The biggest takeaways from both of these polls is that Paul is a well recognized name to the uninformed voter, and that he currently is not backed by the "republican super voters" if you will. This creates an interesting situation for Rand Paul moving forward. The uniformed know his name, but the people who are active in politics clearly don't support his idea for the nation moving forward. Paul needs to take the positive that he is well known, while working to gain support from the political wonks if he plans to make a serious run for President in 2016. 

There is plently of time left for Paul to lose or gain support, but both of these polls provide a solid insight as to where he stands today with the voters. And while the CPAC poll never predicts the national candidate right, Paul needs to use this poll victory as a stepping stone to future success. 

Sources:

CPAC Poll 

Georgia Poll

Political Language of Rand Paul

As I have stated before in just about every other blog post, Rand Paul is known for being very straight forward in interviews. When it comes to press releases, Rand appears to do a better job in keeping things political rather than personal. Political releases are very straight forward, and Rand happened to release on on February 11,2015 on the Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act. While, this is just a small statement, it still provides a solid input into how Rand Paul uses political language to influence his supporters.

Hunting for your vote

Rand is very self oriented in his political language throughout this statement. There is so many uses of "I" in this short statement. He is stating his belief on this issue and not connecting with the people who will try to help this act pass. Typically, politicians like to use the term "we" instead of "I". Considering the fact that this is still early in campaign process, it's obvious that Rand Paul is just trying to get his mission out and making everything clear.
When you look at what Paul is saying, it also becomes clear that he is trying get on a good side with voters, while raising the amount of people who can vote. If he is able to make the these ex-criminals vote again, they almost certainly will vote for the person who gave them this right back. Rand also makes the clarification that these people who would be able to vote again are people who are "non-violent ex-offenders" preventing from the expected backlash that these people don't deserve to vote. 
This is an important distinction for Rand Paul to make, he will get the good press, while not allowing for people to assume he wants violent people to vote. This is required, and well played by Rand because it allows for all the positives with almost none of the negatives. 

Strong Finger point

The farther we look into this one simple statement, the better idea we gain on what it is that Rand is really trying to accomplish with this statement. Rand is going after the people trying to gain positive image with voters. Which if this passes, Rand will receive a large bump in his possible Presidential campaign.  

Sources

http://www.paul.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1297

The Online Presence of Rand Paul

Rand Paul already has numerous websites dedicated to his recent activity. He has a Senate website which I have used already to gain the background knowledge listed in blog post one. He also already has a Paul 2016 website, although this is only for his current Senate seat. Both of the websites have a clear layout, with tabs that allow undecided voters to understand Paul's stance on issues they find important. His Senate 2016 website is full of his latest activity, including interviews, or articles that state his stance on the issues. Along with these articles and videos, the first tab you can click on is a "Donate Now" tab. Again Paul is clearly preparing for something big whether that means running again for Senate, or as more people predict, running for president. Here is a quick link to Rand Paul's 2016 website, for those who are more interested.
Rand Paul also still have a super pac website that is currently up and running. This super pac website is clearly designed to raise money for Rand's running for president, which is rumored to be announced in March. This website even shows how many people like/follow Rand Paul on social media websites. Along with a donate button, the website again has the latest news involving Rand Paul, which allows for followers to stay up to date with what he is up to politically.
On social media, Rand Paul (and his army) is very active. As I stated in the second blog post, Rand's Facebook page is always posting something. A lot of the recent activity has been surrounding his ventures into the typical swing states (Iowa and Ohio). Paul is again clearly planning on something big, and his followers are getting a first hand account of his activity. Also Rand plugs his websites for donations all over his Facebook page. His layout is clearly designed to be easy to follow, while keeping people on his page and getting to know his stance on policies better.
A quick glace at his twitter feed also shows a lot of recent activity. This continues with his recent events that he has spoken at, allowing him to seem very personable. While there is no real viral videos connected to his social media sites, he is passing on petitions surrounding Obama's executive amnesty. Paul clearly states what he is about and it remains consistent on both his political websites as well as his social media sites.
While Rand has not publicly come out and announced he is running, things are shaping up for a Paul 2016 presidential campaign.

Rand Paul Number 2

Rand Paul is typically seen by the voters as a man who is very straight forward. His image is consistent with a man who is very comfortable speaking his mind whether or not that is the politically correct thing to do. The news tends to portray Rand Paul as a rude man who holds nothing back. Again I go back to the Washington Post article about Dr. Paul shushing his interviewer. Rand has also been in the news recently for his stance on vaccines as well as the rise of ISIS.
A quick look at Rand Paul's Facebook page shows that he is very direct in his posts. The most recent post on his Facebook page is about how he blames Hilary Clinton for the rise of ISIS. This is a huge move from one politician against another before Paul has announced he is running. Rand Paul clearly isn't afraid of the media and the image the paint of him.
A look at Rand Paul's senate page shows what his is trying to portray himself as. Not only does the "About Rand" tab list his stances on current issues, it also finished by giving information about Rand's home life. He has been married for 24 years and has 3 kids. Simply by including this with his political stances, it clearly shows he is trying to portray himself as a family man.
Rand Paul clearly has a few strengths going for him in the upcoming election. Dr. Paul is already well known around the Conservative voters. Also his political is impressive as he has spent time in Senate while being involved in many committees. According to Rand Paul's senate page, he also has gained an image for his independent positions on many polices which can be intriguing to swing voters. Paul does has some weaknesses for this upcoming election. Many people will not like his straight forwardness and sometimes lack of respect. Again this is proven with the Washington Post article. For opportunities, Dr. Paul's independent stance of many political issues can serve as a great opportunity to reach the swing voters. Threats to Dr. Rand Paul's campaign could be other Conservative political figures who might sway some of the votes away from Paul.
Paul tends to be very conservative with his stance on the budget. He clearly has a very strong stance on ISIS and how to handle them, based on his Facebook page. Another issue that he has been in the news for recently has been his stance on vaccines. Again Rand used his Facebook page to post an image of him getting a vaccine as well as posting a video of an interview he did on vaccines. I image Paul's main issue being the budget as well as taxes.
I end this blog like I ended the last one, Rand Paul is a name to watch in this upcoming presidential election.  

Your Boy Rand Paul

Rand Paul is currently an United States Senator for the state of Kentucky. He is a Republican who originally was elected to Senate in 2010. It is important for voters to understand how Rand Paul would describe himself, his websites claims that he is, "an outspoken champion for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility, and a warrior against government overreach."
Rand Paul was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1963, clearly meeting the age and nationality specifics for President, and leaving little to debate about where he really was born. Paul has been happily married for 23 years to Kelley Ashby, a born Kentuckian, and they have three children. Paul has proven to be a family man, as he has kept his family life outside the nations view with no scandals. 
It is important for people to understand that Paul is not the best at saying what everyone wants to hear. Rand has a tendency to be a straight shooter and that can even be seen from his most recent interview with CNBC. Paul clearly says what comes to his mind and at one points shushes the interviewer, and states that interviews that are so slanted toward one thing is a major problem in America. Here is a link to a Washington Post article which is a good look into how Rand Paul speaks his mind ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/02/this-rand-paul-interview-with-cnbc-didnt-go-well/). Just from this article, people can get the wrong view of him, but for the fan of the straight shooter, Rand Paul appears to be a very solid candidate to back.
People will most likely either enjoy Rand Paul's straight forward approach, or they will be very against him due to the fact that he is unlike the typical presidential candidate. It would be very important for the undecided voter to learn more about Rand Paul's upbringing and political work before reaching a judgement on him. Although his political image will most likely hold people back, Paul has the political work to meet the qualifications required to be President.  
His political qualifications include a plan for cutting 500 billion dollars from federal spending within the next five years. He also serves on the Foreign Relations, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business Committees in Senate. 
With years of experience, it is easy to see that Rand Paul has met all the qualifications to run for the next president of the United States. Paul is also a Graduate of Duke University School of Medicine, and still provides eye care work for the people of Kentucky. 
Rand Paul is a clear potential candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination for 2016.