jct74
03-26-2014, 09:37 PM
Paul lays out plan to revamp Republican party at Maryland fundraising event
By Colin Campbell, The Baltimore Sun
11:16 p.m. EDT, March 26, 2014
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul knows the Republican party's base isn't big enough, especially in Maryland.
But, he told a group of the state's GOP candidates and donors Wednesday night, becoming "the Democrat Lite" party isn't the answer.
"If we want to win again, if we want to be a bigger party, we have to go to different people with a message of hope and optimism," the junior GOP senator from Kentucky said at a fundraiser for the Maryland Liberty Political Action Committee at the BWI Westin in Linthicum.
Part of the issue is the party's image, Paul said. Republicans need to prioritize privacy and the Fourth Amendment, he said, along with their emphasis on balancing the federal budget.
...
But focusing on Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure isn't just important for phone records and privacy, Paul said. The war on drugs has been a failure, he said, and while roughly the same amount of black and white youths smoke pot, the black youths are more often imprisoned because of economic and racial disparities in the justice system. If the Republicans say, "We'll defend your freedom," he said, it would make the party more attractive for minorities that are now voting Democrat.
...
Eugene Craig, 23, of Perry Hall, said he thought it was one of the best political speeches he'd ever heard. He and Iris Somberg, 26, of Washington said Paul made compelling points about how to expand the GOP.
...
read more:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-rand-paul-20140326,0,5196877.story
By Colin Campbell, The Baltimore Sun
11:16 p.m. EDT, March 26, 2014
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul knows the Republican party's base isn't big enough, especially in Maryland.
But, he told a group of the state's GOP candidates and donors Wednesday night, becoming "the Democrat Lite" party isn't the answer.
"If we want to win again, if we want to be a bigger party, we have to go to different people with a message of hope and optimism," the junior GOP senator from Kentucky said at a fundraiser for the Maryland Liberty Political Action Committee at the BWI Westin in Linthicum.
Part of the issue is the party's image, Paul said. Republicans need to prioritize privacy and the Fourth Amendment, he said, along with their emphasis on balancing the federal budget.
...
But focusing on Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure isn't just important for phone records and privacy, Paul said. The war on drugs has been a failure, he said, and while roughly the same amount of black and white youths smoke pot, the black youths are more often imprisoned because of economic and racial disparities in the justice system. If the Republicans say, "We'll defend your freedom," he said, it would make the party more attractive for minorities that are now voting Democrat.
...
Eugene Craig, 23, of Perry Hall, said he thought it was one of the best political speeches he'd ever heard. He and Iris Somberg, 26, of Washington said Paul made compelling points about how to expand the GOP.
...
read more:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-rand-paul-20140326,0,5196877.story