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Thread: Rand talks about why he signed the letter to Iran

  1. #31
    I wonder if he regrets signing it.



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  3. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by twomp View Post
    The issue here is NOT about Executive Power
    I don't speak for the signators, but I am willing to bet that with Rand it was about reigning in the President. In fact I think he even said so.
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  5. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Collins View Post
    I don't speak for the signators, but I am willing to bet that with Rand it was about reigning in the President. In fact I think he even said so.
    Then he has reading comprehension problems. It wasn't "An Open letter to President Barack Hussein Obama." The first line read....

    An Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
    Sen. Flake had it right...

    Sen. Jeff Flake was another Republican who declined to sign the letter, telling reporters Tuesday that there was already “a lot of animosity” between Congress and the White House, and that the Iranian nuclear threat was “too important to divide us among partisan lines.”

    “I just didn’t feel that it was appropriate or productive at this point. These are tough enough negotiations as it stands, and introducing this kind of letter, I didn’t think would be helpful,” Flake said.
    http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...dumb-idea.html
    Last edited by phill4paul; 03-12-2015 at 10:49 AM.

  6. #34
    This is one of my first major disagreements with Rand. I can even sort of understand some sanction votes. This is just ridiculous, however. I fear that Rand is just getting bullied by the the neocons. He needs to have a bigger backbone, like the one he had when he filibustered Brennan.

  7. #35
    Meanwhile, a bit of reporting on the Republicans who did not sign:

    The seven Republicans who declined to sign the Cotton letter – Sens. Alexander (TN), Corker (TN), Murkowski (AK), Flake (AZ), Cochran (MS), Coats (IN), & Collins (MA) – are now claiming that the effort to insult the Mullahs will backfire. They are scared of their shadow – of being accused of undermining negotiations with people who are committing acts of terror and testing ICBMs during the negotiations. It might sound absurd, but this is the perverse thinking of people whose sole audience for every policy issue is the beltway media.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
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  8. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Collins View Post
    The issue at hand (Iran) doesn't matter.
    Well, at least you're honest. May I be honest, too?

    Rand winning the presidency won't matter.

  9. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by cindy25 View Post
    I wonder if he regrets signing it.
    He should. Amazing how Rand can cozy up with neocons to the point where his face is flashed alongside them with the word TRAITORS on the front page of a newspaper. And it's not just a single newspaper that feels the same way.
    Last edited by ChiefJustice; 03-12-2015 at 07:00 PM.

  10. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    Meanwhile, a bit of reporting on the Republicans who did not sign:
    I'd rather be on their side of the fence. The Republicans who signed the letter are the ones who will prove to have egg splattered on their faces.

  11. #39
    I don't really have much of a problem with Rand signing this letter, but what's with this Facebook post by Rand? Almost all of the comments are negative, with hundreds of his father's supporters saying that he's now lost their support. I'm in favor of Rand watering down the foreign policy message to some extent in order to have a chance to win, but this is really just going way too far in my opinion. I'm kind of stunned and disappointed by this.

    https://www.facebook.com/RandPaul/ph...type=1&theater

  12. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Brett85 View Post
    I don't really have much of a problem with Rand signing this letter, but what's with this Facebook post by Rand? Almost all of the comments are negative, with hundreds of his father's supporters saying that he's now lost their support. I'm in favor of Rand watering down the foreign policy message to some extent in order to have a chance to win, but this is really just going way too far in my opinion. I'm kind of stunned and disappointed by this.

    https://www.facebook.com/RandPaul/ph...type=1&theater
    This was the reason so many people, including myself, flipped out when he endorsed Mitt:



    A good chunk of us would have understood the 'hey, I'm a Republican, I'm going to support my party's nominee for president' argument, even if that argument itself is pretty dumb. But going out and saying this sort of thing (in addition to saying Mitt was with us on issues of the Fed lololol) was simply insanity.
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  14. #41
    LOL funny graphic, the heart is a nice touch.
    It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds. -Samuel Adams

  15. #42
    I understand Rand's explanation but it seems like once a week he does something and then comes behind to say to his base, "oh its okay because this is really why I did it." Far to often he seems to try to play both sides. I understand it would be for "the greater good" if he got elected president but it makes it harder for me to trust him.
    “When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out, and by the Eternal, I will rout you out!”
    ― Andrew Jackson

  16. #43
    this will pass, he will be forgiven again. after all, its such a minor issue.

    once more-probably, but if it becomes too often , or the issue is too serious the base will fold. hopefully a lesson was learned.

  17. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by cindy25 View Post
    this will pass, he will be forgiven again. after all, its such a minor issue.

    once more-probably, but if it becomes too often , or the issue is too serious the base will fold. hopefully a lesson was learned.
    I agree. Rand has been continuing to build a bank of "I'm strong on defense" compromise gestures to draw on to protect him from the war party, but I think he should have stopped doing so last year, and transitioned to a more clear cut pro-peace foreign policy going forward. You've got enough ammo, Rand, time to confront the real enemy at least some of the time. One neat way to do that would be to use Obama and Hillary as a partisan shield. Attack pro-war positions specifically made by those two, which may put neocon GOP rivals on the spot---would they really want to risk defending the Administration and Hillary?
    Last edited by Peace&Freedom; 03-18-2015 at 07:44 PM.
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  18. #45
    From Rand:

    There are checks and balances and separation of power, particularly with regard to the Iran sanctions. Congress passed those so only Congress can undo them. There are waivers—the president can waive sanctions for a while. But to remove sanctions, even the administration has admitted that. I really signed the letter, and I mean this sincerely, to strengthen the president’s hand and to get him to negotiate from a position more of strength than weakness.

    What I mean by that is when it is made explicit to the Iranians that an agreement will have to approved by Congress, they know the president is being backed up by people who may want a better deal than the president wants. So I think it strengthens his hand. It should cause him to negotiate from a position where he says, “look, this is going to have to pass Congress. I can’t just let you have 19,000 centrifuges, etc.” So my hope is that it strengthens his hand. I still do want negotiations, I think negotiations are preferable to war. Any sanction relief would have to be passed by Congress because Congress voted the sanctions into place.

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...uck-president/
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  19. #46
    Isn't it funny that Obama who is a Constiutional lawyer didn't get educated about the Constitution till he became President. His whole life he was taught BS from his civics teachers, pre-law and law professors. It wasn't till he crossed Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Thomas Woods, Cliven Bundy, Oathkeepers, etc that he finally is taught what the Constitution is really about?

  20. #47
    I've been a bit hesitant to write this, but perhaps others will have similar situations.

    my state and my district are blue. most of my friends and family are independents with a strong lean toward democrats (but after hanging around me, 95% of them would have voted for Ron Paul). as a libertarian it's easy to engage them in conversations about civil liberties, foreign policy and the follies of republicratic decision making. "peace" (and varying definitions of freedom) is something we all want.

    when Rand stands with neocons it gets harder to sway these folks.
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  21. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by ifthenwouldi View Post
    Rand winning the presidency won't matter.
    I'm afraid this is what it may boil down to. A CFR driven, establishment-as-usual administration with meaningless libertarian talking points. Sort of like Reagan.



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  23. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Collins View Post
    I dont have a problem with Rand signing the Senate letter and I am one of the most hardcore libertarian-Republicans around.
    Obama openly said he was going to ignore the Constitution by bypassing the advice and consultation of the Senate. This letter was the Senate's reasonable response to Obama's action.
    The issue at hand (Iran) doesn't matter. This is about reigning in the President who is acting in a unilateral, lawless manner and they called him on it as they should have.
    Could have made a few edits, signed it, and published it like so:

    I agree Tom... just some minor edits. Thanks old friend!



    Last edited by Libertea Party; 03-21-2015 at 07:54 AM.
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  24. #50

  25. #51
    There has been no attempt by Rand or anyone else to check Trump's abuse of executive privilege to user in face scanning cameras by the TSA. There was some muted GOP resistance to Trump using executive order to try to implement gun control. (Bumpfire ban attempt.) Why is that? /rhetorical question.
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