Rand Paul raises funds and talks about support from pro-TARP senators (David Weigel)

[bobbyw24]

Wednesday night, Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul spent two hours of a D.C. fundraising trip at the Phoenix Park Hotel, meeting with supporters at a low-dollar, low-key fundraiser. The buy-in to meet Paul, his father Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), and Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), was only $25, and that drew in 40-odd young libertarians and veterans of the Ron Paul presidential campaign. Some clutched copies of Reason and the Cato Institute magazine Regulation as they chatted with the candidate. It was the kind of crowd in which long-haired interns would stop the taciturn Bunning and say "Sir, I want to shake the hand of the most principled conservative in the Senate."

In the run-up to his D.C. trip, Paul had generated headlines by scheduling meetings with senators who supported the Troubled Asset Relief Package -- in the primary, he declined support from anyone who did so. Bunning, who met with Paul before the event, said the candidate had yet to meet with the offending senators, and generally shrugged off the story.

"Rand met with the steering committee today," said Bunning, "the ones who are supposed to be conservatives. I don't follow what the NRSC does, or what Senator McConnell does. I just follow what I do. I don't know what they're going to do."

In short remarks at the fundraiser, Bunning explained why he backed Paul in the primary over party favorite Trey Grayson -- he was worried, said the senator, about Grayson's past support for Bill Clinton. And while he was "proud" of Paul, he warned him to be more careful about talking to the press.

more

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/06/rand_paul_raises_funds_in_dc.html

[MRoCkEd]

Sounds like it was a fun event.

[sailingaway]

I liked this part: " Paul also criticized Republicans who voted for TARP, and thanked Bunning for opposing it. That led the Post's Felicia Sonmez and me to ask why Paul had decided to accept support from the senators who supported it.

"I think the Republican Party, as you've seen, after the new administration came in, has been fairly unified in saying no more bailouts," said Paul. "And even some who voted for it will quietly say I don't think it was a good vote, and I might not have done it again. Some still say we don't know what would have happened, it would have been calamity if they didn't do it. I don't think they're bad people -- I disagree on the vote but we disagree on a lot of things."

Paul emphasized that by accepting the support of pro-TARP senators, like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), he had not changed his stance on the issue.

"I think it does show that I will work together with other Republicans I don't necessarily agree with," he said. "I think them endorsing me and giving me money shows that they are endorsing my candidacy; it's not me endorsing their candidacy. It shows the party does want to retain this seat in Kentucky."

--
and yes, it does sound like it was fun. They didn't let people know it was happening until awfully late, but I guess they wanted it to be for supporters, not for whatever media had nothing to do on a Wednesday night. Weigel just follows the tom toms better.

[JVParkour]

Yup! I was able to contribute to the "young libertarian" crowd there! It was very cool, Ron was there too, and he gave a lil speech as well!

[sailingaway]

Yup! I was able to contribute to the "young libertarian" crowd there! It was very cool, Ron was there too, and he gave a lil speech as well!

Excellent!!

[MRoCkEd]

Yup! I was able to contribute to the "young libertarian" crowd there! It was very cool, Ron was there too, and he gave a lil speech as well!
More details please :cool:

[JVParkour]

Mmk!

There were probably 20-30 people there max. Rand and Ron were there for about an hour or so just talking to people, and socializing, not really anything in particular. Then Jim Bunning got there, and he chatting with Rand and some other people for about 15 minutes. After that, everyone was called into this little room, and Bunning, Ron Paul, and Rand Paul gave short speeches.

Bunning was first, and he talked about why he was supporting Rand. He said things roughly along the lines of, "He won't compromise." "When you are in the Senate, you are somewhat frowned upon if you don't follow the lull and flow of the 'mainstream opinion' and I know Rand won't fold to that." Then he talked about why he didn't support Trey Greyson. He said he knew him since he was knee-high (he literally motioned with his hand knee level) and how he wanted to pick someone that would remain principled. He said the fact that Trey was Clinton's campaign manager didn't sit well with him...lol. He then just re-iterated how Rand would vote his conscious and not be swayed, and if he did that, Bunning would be proud.

I was fortunate enough to be in the very front of the small crowd gathered, so no one was in front of me and I could see very well. Bunning was like 5 feet away from me during the speech. The vibe I was getting from him was sort of a fatherly appreciation of their son. It really seemed like he was proud of Rand in a sort of fatherly way. I guess it was a combination of the speech, his tone, and his hand motions, but that was the vibe I was getting. I think this is going to be very influential, because Bunning is behind Rand 100%, and is going to be giving him advice all the way.

Ohh, Bunning also said that he tried to get to Rand after he won his primary in order to tell him that the media is now his enemy, but he couldn't contact him in time...lol.

Then Ron Paul spoke for a few minutes. Ron's talk was not as official, and more rambling, in a classic Ron fashion. He talked about how Rand was well read when he was younger, and he knows Austrian Economics, etc. He talked about how Rand was not named after Ayn Rand...lol. He said something like "Carol had the kids, so she got to name them." Then Ron said something about how he is trying not to call Rand "Randy", because Rand doesn't want him too, lol.

Ron then gave props to Bunning for supporting Auditing the Fed, and complimented Bunning on some other things. Ron also talked about how Rand has exceeded his expectations, and how he is doing a lot better than Ron was doing at his age.

Then Rand spoke, and he mentioned how Bunning didn't support the bailouts. He talked about how he is going to work hard, etc. As mentioned in the news article, he talked about how what is extreme is a 2 trillion dollar budget deficit.

If I remember correctly, Bunning closed, and with confidence about Rand winning, said something like, "Get ready to work hard, and come November, party like hell!" LOL

It was epic.

[JVParkour]

Ohh, Ron gave a few hints on what his new book would be about. He is basically going to be fleshing out his views on individual topics, like Marriage, etc. It is going to go in depth on what Ron believes on specific things. Should be awesome!!!

[sailingaway]

Thank you!

I wish more people had been there, but it was barely publicized. If it had been publicized more there would likely have been more press, though, and they couldn't have let down their hair as much, so to speak.

[JVParkour]

Yea...here is a reporter I met. She just wrote up an article.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/rand-pauls-balancing-act.html#more

[Aratus]

Jim Bunning and Geoff Davis have a rally near Cincinnati on July 10th that coincides with
a TEA PARTY event the same day... the two events are more than 100 miles apart or so, and
given that most likely Rand obviously wants to have more people who are Tea Party backing him,
it behooves us all to get some rEVOLUTIOn people up to the 10 a.m event with Senator Bunning!!!

[thomas-in-ky]

Thanks JVP... great write up!

[Imperial]

Ohh, Ron gave a few hints on what his new book would be about. He is basically going to be fleshing out his views on individual topics, like Marriage, etc. It is going to go in depth on what Ron believes on specific things. Should be awesome!!!

Sounds like a campaign book for 2012?