Rand Paul is not a fan of the United Nations, and on a campaign-style swing through New Hampshire on Wednesday, the likely Republican presidential hopeful said that he would support dissolving the international governing body entirely.
Speaking to a room full of gun rights advocates at the Londonderry Fish & Game Club, Paul said that while the concept of having a multinational body to "discuss diplomacy" isn't necessarily a bad one, he objects to the current structure, in which the United States has to foot "a huge chunk" of the U.N.'s bill.
“I dislike paying for something that two-bit Third World countries with no freedom attack us and complain about the United States,” Paul said. “There’s a lot of reasons why I don’t like the U.N., and I think I’d be happy to dissolve it.”
The Kentucky senator’s swing through the first-in-the-nation primary state came a day after The Washington Post reported that Paul has hired a campaign manager for his now all-but certain White House run.
Paul was in his element among the libertarian-leaning crowd here, as he took a range of questions on gun policy and noted that he began his successful 2010 Senate bid at a machine gun festival in Kentucky.
“From a freedom perspective, I’m against limiting magazines,” Paul said in response to one question about ammunition. “From a practical point of view, I’m not that great a shot, so I need a few more chances.”
The remark drew laughter from the standing-room crowd that had gathered near the club’s gun range.
Though Paul’s 2016 candidacy is not yet official, the freshman senator mostly dispensed with any attempt to play it coy as he asked for the club members’ support.
“I don’t think you’ll probably find anybody in our primary who’s going to come up here and say they don’t support the 2nd Amendment and they’re not for gun rights,” he said. “So really the job of voters sometimes is sifting through who they think can best advocate for the position, who has advocated for the position, and how do we do it best. I think there’s a lot of overlap between all of the people you’ll see and hear from. But I think one thing that may be unique about my message is that I try to intertwine and make it not just about guns and not just the 2nd Amendment. I tend to make it more about freedom.”
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by dannno
Connect With Us