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Rand Paul Money Bomb

By W. James Antle, III on 12.16.09 @ 2:48PM

Like father, like son. Less than 12 hours into his latest online "money bomb," Rand Paul had already raised more than $100,000 for his race to win the Republican senatorial nomination in Kentucky. Buoyed by scientific polling that shows the Bowling Green ophthalmologist and son of Ron Paul leading Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the party establishment's favorite, Paul has begun to attract the kind of mainstream conservative support propelling primary campaigns by Marco Rubio and Chuck DeVore.

Rand Paul has already won the endorsement of RedState's Erick Erickson and Sen. Jim DeMint might be next. The younger Paul has been able to win over the kind of traditional Republicans who balked at his father's presidential campaign. If this success continues, it may more closely resemble Ron Paul's return to Congress in 1996, when the elder Paul put together a coalition of Old Right libertarian types and such mainstream conservatives as Steve Forbes and ace pitcher Nolan Ryan to defeat Democrat-turned-Republican Greg Laughlin in the GOP primary -- against the establishment's wishes. Either way, this has emerged as a race to watch.

View all comments (18) | Leave a comment

Red Phillips| 12.16.09 @ 5:36PM

Wow. If Erick Erickson has endorsed Rand Paul, that is something. Erick and his Red State blog were fanatically anti-Ron Paul, even at one point banning supporters of Ron Paul from registering to comment. Is Erick softening in his opposition to non-interventionism or just looking for a way to stick a thumb in the eye of the Establishment by helping their boy Grayson go down?

Red Phillips| 12.16.09 @ 5:44PM

Erick is getting some grief in the comments from the Ron Paul haters.

William R| 12.16.09 @ 7:07PM

Redstate. Most censored conservative blog in cyberspace. Stalinist tactics over there. After being invited to join in 2005 by my old friend Mark Kilmer, I was banned in 2007 for simply writing that Ronald Reagan supported the Gold Standard. Then they upgraded their website and somehow I was a member in good standing again up till a few weeks ago for simply talking about Reagan's support of what else, the gold standard. Neil Stevens and Leon Wolf are chief enforcers for what's allowed at Redstate which means old school conservatives are not allowed. It truly is a pathetic site. Glad to hear Erickson has gotten behind Rand Paul. If DeMint comes out for him then they're going to have their hands full over there. Neil Stevens is already setting the tone by calling Rand Paul's father evil.

William R| 12.16.09 @ 7:14PM

Closing in on 200 thousand

http://randpaulgraphs.com/

Red Phillips| 12.16.09 @ 8:13PM

William, Erickson runs a Georgia political blog called Peach Pundit and they threatened to ban someone there for talking about the gold standard and abolishing the Fed. I really do not know what that is about because sound money and opposition to central banking are clearly THE conservative position. My hunch is that either someone who gives them money to support the site doesn't want it talked about and/or someone thinks any kind of opposition to modern banking/monetary practices is coded anti-Semitism.

William R| 12.16.09 @ 9:05PM

Well the antisemitism radar is sky high over at Redstate. I was following a debate the other day and a long time member was banned for simply saying criticism of Israel is not antisemitic.

It's an establishment Republican site, but I suspect most of its readers are more of the tea party types. If both Jim Demint and Sarah Palin endorse Rand Paul there will be a civil war at Redstate. Notice how all the establishment types like Limbaugh, Ingraham , Hannity all love Marco Rubio in Florida but refuse to even mention Rand Paul.

Rand Paul up to 219 thousand. Could get to the magic quarter mil before the night is over.

Red Phillips| 12.16.09 @ 10:08PM

"It's an establishment Republican site, but I suspect most of its readers are more of the tea party types."

It's an establishment movement conservative site, willing to some degree to question the GOP Establishment, but not movement conservative dogma.

Sites that ban people so casually are not interested in debate, they are interested in enforcing orthodoxy.

Margie| 12.16.09 @ 10:38PM

Rush, Laura & Sean Establishment types?! Oh my, that is seriously hilarious! I don't wish to argue, but I will say that they are actually anti-Establishment types. They are NOT in favor of Non-Interventionism, however, and I suspect, and in all sincerity, that's why you do not appreciate them.

William R| 12.17.09 @ 1:07AM

They're the epitome of establsihment. The new Republican party is fighting endless war in the Middle East. Whereas the Gold Standard of the Republican party, Ronald Reagan favored a position of neutrality in the Middle East.

Lisa Graas| 12.17.09 @ 7:33AM

Rand Paul can't win the general election. Kentucky isn't a libertarian state. It's a conservative Democrat state. Paul won't get support from pro-lifers here. Judy Brown rightly calls the so-called 'Sanctity of Life Act' he supports as being pro-abortion, not merely pro-choice. He says he's prolife, but his support for his father's 'sanctity of life act' shows his incompetence on the issue. He's far too libertarian for Kentucky. If Rand Paul wins, the Democrat will get the seat. I'm supporting the Reagan conservative candidate, Bill Johnson.......because it's the right thing to do.

William R| 12.17.09 @ 10:08AM

Of course he can win the general election. 2010 is going to be an anti incumbent and anti establishment year. . And who cares what Judy Brown thinks. Norma McCorvey endorsed Ron Paul in 2008 and she carries more weight than Judy Brown!

Red Phillips| 12.17.09 @ 12:53PM

Judy Brown is a sincere but self defeating maximalist. Of course who am I to talk because I'm a maximalist also, or I wouldn't be carrying on about the Gold Standard and the Fed, but her objections to the Sanctity of Life Act are wrongheaded. She thinks anything less than a constitutional amendment banning abortion is selling out. I support a constitutional amendment, but the votes are not there and will not be there for the foreseeable future. The Sanctity of Life Act, which would strip the SCOTUS of jurisdiction to rule over abortion can be passed by a simple majority. It should have been passed when the GOP controlled both houses and the Presidency but the GOP was too spineless and unprincipled to do it. If control over abortion was taken from the courts, some states would ban it, some would restrict it and some would maintain the status quo. This is why Judy Brown does not like it. Because it would leave open to the states the option to allow baby killing. But it has the potential of saving some babies now. Stamping your feet for an amendment that isn't going to pass barring Divine intervention is not saving any babies. The Sanctity of Life Act will.

Red Phillips| 12.17.09 @ 8:55AM

Like I said with Red State, Rush, Laura and Sean are not so much Establishment Republicans as they are Establishment conservative movement. They see themselves as the opposition to the Establishment GOP, Rush probably more so than the other two. But they are MUCH closer in realiy to the Establishment GOP that they believe they oppose than they are to an authentic Constitutionalist like Ron Paul and there is no better example of this than gold and the Fed. Rush et al see those issues as archaic, eccentric, not relevant, etc., but sound money and opposition to central banking are THE conservative positions. A conservatism that does not support them is no conservatism at all. One can acknowledge that it will be difficult to get there from here. One can chose not to put those issues at the forefront. But they CAN NOT scoff at those who hold those position and have any credibility as a conservative because the conservative bona fides of both positions are unassailable.

Joe Simpson| 12.17.09 @ 12:06PM

Rand Paul can win in the General election. If Jim DeMint endorses him that would be a huge plus for him. He is not as Libertarian as people like to make him out to be. Either way the GOP needs an infusion of Libertarianism. As the GOP establishment IDOL Ronalds Reagan said "Libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism"

S.L. Toddard| 12.17.09 @ 7:52PM

Right when things look bleakest. I need to send Dr. Paul some money.

Darryl Schmitz| 12.18.09 @ 8:31AM

The people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky have the opportunity to lead the wave of Constitutionalist (libertarian, if you want to call it that) representation in Washington. When he takes the oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, he is actually going to MEAN it.