United Liberty

This probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those of us that have been involved in the Liberty Movement, but in an interview with ABC News published yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) didn’t deny that he was interested in a bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he’s interested in mounting a 2016 presidential bid.

“I’m not going to deny that I’m interested,” Paul told ABC News in an interview published on Tuesday.

A bid for the Republican nomination would continue a family tradition. Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), has repeatedly sought the party’s nomination. The elder Paul is retiring at the end of this congressional term.

The younger Paul emphasized that he was not yet ready to announce his candidacy, but said he believed his brand of libertarianism could open up the map for Republicans.

“I think we have to go a different direction, because we’re just not winning, and we have to think about some different ideas,” said the Kentucky lawmaker, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement.

Among his proposals: undertaking immigration reform, making defense cuts and allowing individual states to legalize marijuana.

“States should be allowed to make a lot of these decisions,” Paul says. “I want things to be decided more at a local basis, with more compassion. I think it would make us as Republicans different.”

First, I like Paul’s message. There is only a little disagreement. It’s much like his father’s message, but I think the younger Paul is better at presenting it to ordinary voters. Secondly, I think there is a role for Paul to play in shaping policy for Senate Republicans over the next four years. Paul is the type of politican that shines in a minority.

Paul briefly kicked around the idea of running for the GOP nomination last year before his dad jumped into the race. At that point, he’d only served in the Senate for a very short time, so such a move would’ve been a bad idea. Paul will have served in the Senate for almost an entire term if he were to make a run for president.

He’s going to have a network already built in. Of course, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are sounding a lot like national candidates lately. Both would have an advantage over Paul, who will no doubt be met with skepticism by Republicans because of his father. But if Paul does decide to run, I’ll tell you now, I’m on board.