Libertea Party
05-14-2011, 08:44 PM
Kind of weird but tons of interesting information and perspective from our old pal Trey.
Here all of Grayson's statements in that story which really seems like an interview with Trey about Rand Paul: (http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/5-things-you-dont-know-about-ron-paul/11117881)
"I think there was more of a consensus on foreign affairs four years ago within the Republican party and Congressman Paul was outside that consensus, and it disqualified him from being considered a serious candidate," says Trey Grayson, director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "Four years later, especially after the death of Osama bin Laden, there's a lot less consistency in the Republican party on foreign affairs."
Few can offer as much insight into Paul's popularity as Grayson, who served as Kentucky's secretary of state from 2003 until January, capping his second term with a run against Paul's son Rand Paul in a race for the vacant Senate seat of Republican stalwart Jim Bunning. Despite endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Grayson lost the election by 23 points as Rand Paul's popularity with tea party supporters and libertarians swept him into office.
...
"For many of the Ron Paul supporters, it's like a lifestyle or a calling," Grayson says. "I don't want to equate it to a church because that sounds cultlike and that's not fair, but people who believe in Congressman Paul have this sort of bond and kinship that causes them to do other things."
Though Paul was unsuccessful in 2008, supporters have been instrumental in pressuring members of Congress for more auditing of the Federal Reserve and retained their relevance throughout the 2010 midterms. During his race against Rand Paul, Grayson says his campaign monitored the Ron Paul forums and chat rooms just to see how his followers were reacting and what they were planning.
"I don't know that these people can actually win, but they can impact the debate now," Grayson says. "None of the other candidates have that: They might have more supporters, but they don't have supporters for whom this is such an important part of their life
...
"One of these groups endorsed Rand in the primary and then, months later, sent us their endorsement questionnaire," Grayson says. "We didn't fill out the questionnaire because they endorsed him, so why bother, so then they sent out a mailer to their mailing list saying that Trey Grayson didn't fill out his questionnaire and therefore he must be anti-gun, pro-labor union or whatever it happened to be, which is absurd."
...
"Rand will say that he would have voted to declare war in Afghanistan," Grayson says. "He wouldn't say what we're doing is unconstitutional because we're at war without a declaration of war, but that's kind of how his dad would approach it."
While libertarianism informs a lot of the Republican party platform and the views of Republican party candidates and is more popular today than 10 years ago, Grayson says the reality of the Republican primary process is that Paul's brand of pure libertarianism just doesn't play on a national level. While Grayson acknowledges that a lot of Republicans might want to dismantle certain functions of government, Paul's desire to eliminate the Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Federal Reserve and other government elements is too much for most mainstream Republicans and even his tea party-friendly son.
"They're both out of the mainstream, but the way Rand markets it may be a little bit softer and sounds more mainstream even if it's in line with his father," Grayson says. "I don't think Rand would say anything about heroin users like his dad said in the debate last week -- he might have the same view, but he'll never say it."
...
"The money bombs are unique to him, Rand and the movement, but it's not enough to get past more than a couple of primary states -- you run out of money," Grayson says. "If Rand and I had been running in California, I would have been able to raise a lot more money as the establishment candidate, but he wouldn't have been able to raise that much more as the son of Ron Paul and a tea party candidate."
Here all of Grayson's statements in that story which really seems like an interview with Trey about Rand Paul: (http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/5-things-you-dont-know-about-ron-paul/11117881)
"I think there was more of a consensus on foreign affairs four years ago within the Republican party and Congressman Paul was outside that consensus, and it disqualified him from being considered a serious candidate," says Trey Grayson, director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "Four years later, especially after the death of Osama bin Laden, there's a lot less consistency in the Republican party on foreign affairs."
Few can offer as much insight into Paul's popularity as Grayson, who served as Kentucky's secretary of state from 2003 until January, capping his second term with a run against Paul's son Rand Paul in a race for the vacant Senate seat of Republican stalwart Jim Bunning. Despite endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Grayson lost the election by 23 points as Rand Paul's popularity with tea party supporters and libertarians swept him into office.
...
"For many of the Ron Paul supporters, it's like a lifestyle or a calling," Grayson says. "I don't want to equate it to a church because that sounds cultlike and that's not fair, but people who believe in Congressman Paul have this sort of bond and kinship that causes them to do other things."
Though Paul was unsuccessful in 2008, supporters have been instrumental in pressuring members of Congress for more auditing of the Federal Reserve and retained their relevance throughout the 2010 midterms. During his race against Rand Paul, Grayson says his campaign monitored the Ron Paul forums and chat rooms just to see how his followers were reacting and what they were planning.
"I don't know that these people can actually win, but they can impact the debate now," Grayson says. "None of the other candidates have that: They might have more supporters, but they don't have supporters for whom this is such an important part of their life
...
"One of these groups endorsed Rand in the primary and then, months later, sent us their endorsement questionnaire," Grayson says. "We didn't fill out the questionnaire because they endorsed him, so why bother, so then they sent out a mailer to their mailing list saying that Trey Grayson didn't fill out his questionnaire and therefore he must be anti-gun, pro-labor union or whatever it happened to be, which is absurd."
...
"Rand will say that he would have voted to declare war in Afghanistan," Grayson says. "He wouldn't say what we're doing is unconstitutional because we're at war without a declaration of war, but that's kind of how his dad would approach it."
While libertarianism informs a lot of the Republican party platform and the views of Republican party candidates and is more popular today than 10 years ago, Grayson says the reality of the Republican primary process is that Paul's brand of pure libertarianism just doesn't play on a national level. While Grayson acknowledges that a lot of Republicans might want to dismantle certain functions of government, Paul's desire to eliminate the Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Federal Reserve and other government elements is too much for most mainstream Republicans and even his tea party-friendly son.
"They're both out of the mainstream, but the way Rand markets it may be a little bit softer and sounds more mainstream even if it's in line with his father," Grayson says. "I don't think Rand would say anything about heroin users like his dad said in the debate last week -- he might have the same view, but he'll never say it."
...
"The money bombs are unique to him, Rand and the movement, but it's not enough to get past more than a couple of primary states -- you run out of money," Grayson says. "If Rand and I had been running in California, I would have been able to raise a lot more money as the establishment candidate, but he wouldn't have been able to raise that much more as the son of Ron Paul and a tea party candidate."