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Rand Paul Slams Romney for Weighing 2016 Run
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
January 15, 2015
All Rights Reserved.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) slammed former GOP
presidential nominee Mitt Romney for considering another shot at the presidency
in 2016. While it’s true Romney’s
run twice and came up short, it’s also true he made some bad decisions,
especially vitiating his moderate credentials picking House Budget Committee
Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate.
If Paul recalls 2008, Romney faced a seniority issue with Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.), where the GOP deferred to McCain only to watch his fortunes
tank picking former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
While Obama rode a tidal wave of popularity at the prospects of breaking
the race barrier in presidential politics, McCain hurt himself badly in 2008
picking Palin. Romney made the same
mistake as McCain, picking a running mate generally seen as trying to undo
popular government entitlements like Medicare and Social Security.
Weighing a run in 2016, Paul should be focusing on himself, especially
what makes his candidacy different, more desirable on a national stage that
other Republican candidates.
Ripping Romney before he announces reflects badly on Paul, violating the late
President Ronald Reagan’s covenant:
Thou shall not attack a fellow Republican.
Reacting to Romney’s possible interests in mounting another presidential
run, Paul disparaged the effort as making the same mistake twice. “When your do the same thing and
expect and different result, it’s sort of what Einstein said, that the
definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a
different result,” Paul said, not seeing the Jan. 13 Iowa Caucus poll that put
Romney ahead of Jeb Bush 21% to 14%, with Rand polling only 8%. Paul should be encouraging all
Republicans candidates to make their pitch to voters.
Whatever happened to Republicans in past presidential elections, it’s no
assurance that it will happen again.
While it’s true that national elections are another ball of wax that
Midterm elections, it’s also true that anything can happen between now and
Election Day. Whatever positive
economic news today, it could unravel before the 2016 election heats up. Romney tried to make hay out President Barack Obama’s economy, urging voters to changes
horses in 2012. With economic
metrics, like unemployment, jobs growth, GDP, Wall Street, all pointing in the
right direction, Romney had a tough sell to voters. Calling Romney “yesterday’s news,”
Paul hopes to establish himself as the best option other that Jeb. Paul doesn’t know for sure that Jeb
has the legs to run for president, other than his name recognition and recent
announcements that he’s considering jumping in.
Polling at only eight percent, Paul shouldn’t lecture Romney what to do
or not do about running for president.
Saying voters needed “a new approach, a fresh approach” in 2016, Paul
might as well tell Bush to throw in the towel too. Paul hopes his libertarian views
resonate with voters, much like his father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul,
did in past elections. Unlike his
father who was viewed as eccentric by most voters, Paul hope to be a mainstream
candidate, despite holding a high rating with the Tea Party, hoping to make
inroads in 2016. Tea Party voters
seek to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, limiting government
spending to national defense. Paul holds the same view as his father, Ron, that the Founding Fathers never envisioned
today’s welfare state. Paul had no problem shutting down and defaulting the U.S. government in 2013 to make the
point that the government should not be in the national health care business.
Starting off on the wrong foot, Paul shouldn’t lecture others what to do
with their presidential ambitions.
When donors look a various candidates, they want to know they have a shot at
winning in 2016. No donor wants to
back a candidate that fails achieve their objectives. “We had a great 2014 but really a
presidential election is a completely different election,” said Paul, precisely
making the point why moderate candidates like Jeb and Mitt appeal to Democrats
and independents, the groups likely to pick the next president. Midterm elections focus much more on
local, regional and statewide issues, not cutting across a national voting bloc. “Twice as many people vote and a lot
of people vote and a lot of people who vote in presidential elections seem to
vote for the Democratic Party,” said Paul, making Romney’s argument more
compelling: That moderation prevails.
When matched up in a hypothetical 2016 presidential race with presumed
Democratic frontrunner former First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Paul runs 20 points behind, worse than Rep. Paul Ryan
(R-Wis.) who already took himself out of running. While the same Dec. 28 poll showed
Jeb running 13 points behind Hillary, it didn’t include Romney, considered, at
least in Iowa, a favorite over Bush by seven points. While it’s premature to jump to
conclusions about recent polls, it shows that moderate candidates have a better
shot in mainstream elections. When
Romney picked Ryan in 2012, he no longer seemed mainstream, because of Ryan’s
conservative credentials. If Romney
sticks to his guns and doesn’t pander to conservatives, he’ll compete well
against Hillary, should she run.
Right wing candidates will frighten off voters in a general election.
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