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Rand Paul Tag

Last week, President Donald Trump's administration and the GOP in Congress released a framework for possible tax reform. The details are vague, noting that more will happen once tax reform switches to committees. However, two GOP senators have already voiced doubt over the framework: Kentucky Republican Rand Paul and Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, who recently announced he will not seek reelection next year.

Sens. Billy Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) hope to pass their Obamacare "repeal and replace" bill by the end of the month, but have encountered opposition from a few in their own party. Sens. John McCain (AZ) and Rand Paul (KY) have already said no while Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) remain on the fence. Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has said "that he's not yet on board with the legislation." This has led to a few changes to the bill, which includes boosts for Arizona, Alaska, Kentucky, and Maine as a way to entice these senators to vote yes.

The U.S. Senate has voted to table Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) amendment to repeal the 2001 and 2002 war authorizations that have allowed the U.S. military "to fight terrorism across the globe" in everlasting wars. Paul wanted Congress to "reassert its authority to declare war from the Executive Branch." Paul and others, including Democrats, have said that "the Senate is ceding its constitutional war powers" with these amendments.

Thursday, Senate Republicans finally unveiled their version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). It's almost as much of a stinker as its House counterpart. If you were hoping the GOP would make good on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, then I have some disappointing news: the latest Republican health insurance brainchild does neither. As we discussed when dissecting the unimpressive House AHCA, the Senate GOP bill is also limited in what it can accomplish for one reason -- reconciliation. Senate Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation mechanism to pass their first health care overhaul with a simple majority vote.

While in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom. The White House has claimed the deal "includes defense equipment and other support to help the Arab nation and the rest of the Gulf region fight again terrorism and the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran." But Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has a problem with the munitions part of the deal due to Saudi Arabia's continued coalition in Yemen against the ousted government.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has passed Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which means it will finally proceed to the Senate floor. This is a major victory for us who despise too much regulation. From Reason:
Sponsored by Sen. Ran Paul (R-Kentucky), the REINS Act would require every new regulation that costs more than $100 million to be approved by Congress. As it is now, executive branch agencies can pass those rules unilaterally, and even though those major rules account for only 3 percent of annual regulations, they are the ones that cause the most headaches for individuals and businesses.

Payback is a . . . Rand Paul. After John McCain, speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, accused Paul of "working for Vladimir Putin," Paul had a crushing comeback on today's Morning Joe. Said Paul of McCain, "he makes a really, really strong case for term limits. I think maybe he's past his prime. I think maybe he's gotten a little bit unhinged."

What in the actual... Yes, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed on the Senate floor that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) now works for Russian President Vladimir Putin because Paul voted against allowing Montenegro into NATO:
McCain tried to call up the treaty and warned that anyone blocking it would be helping Russia maintain its influence over the small country across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. "If there's objection, you are achieving the objectives of Vladimir Putin," McCain warned. "If they object, they are now carrying out the desires and ambitions of Vladimir Putin, and I do not say that lightly."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wanted to view the House GOP Obamacare replacement bill, but could not gain access to it from a secure room. This did not please the senator, who wants to keep everything transparent:
“If you recall where Obamacare was passed in 2009, 2010, Nancy Pelosi said we’ll know what’s in it after we pass it. The Republican Party shouldn’t act in the same way," Paul said in a circus-like atmosphere outside the offices of House leaders. “This is being presented as if it were a national secret, as it if it were a plot to invade another country. … That's wrong. It should be done openly in the public. And conservatives who have objections that don't want Obamacare-lite should be able to see the bill."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has delivered his plan to replace Obamacare. The GOP wants to repeal the law as soon as possible, but Paul has urged the party to wait until they have a proper replacement plan in place to activate. He also noted that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) agree with him. The Hill reported:
Paul’s plan includes a tax credit of up to $5,000 per person to use as part of a Health Savings Account to pay for medical care. That tax credit appears to be larger than those offered in other Republican healthcare plans.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that President-elect Donald Trump backs his plan to appeal the Affordable Care Act only if the government has a replacement at the same time:
“He called after seeing an interview that I had done [talking about] that we should vote on Obamacare replacement at the same time,” Paul said in an interview on Monday. “He said he was in complete agreement with that.”

Senator Rand Paul has said lock her up, but not as a campaign rally chant. He really means it. Paul shares the feeling of many Americans that Hillary Clinton got a free pass for something that would have sent other people to jail. The New American reports:
Rand Paul Launches Effort to "Hold Hillary Accountable" Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is marching on in his quest to hold Hillary Clinton accountable for her misuse of classified material while serving as secretary of state in the Obama administration.

After finishing fifth in the Iowa caucus with less than 5% of the vote, Senator Rand Paul has announced that he is suspending his presidential campaign in order to focus on his Senate campaign in Kentucky. CNN reports:
"It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House," Paul said in the statement. "Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

After being relegated to the Republican presidential primary undercard debate last week, presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul decided not to attend. Mind you, debate stage rankings are based on national polling, but whatever. Childish? Perhaps. But nowhere near as cringe-worthy as this ad released not by an unaffiliated PAC, but by Paul's campaign. "Audit the Ted" takes aim at fellow Republican contender, Sen. Ted Cruz for his close ties to big banks. As evidence of this, the ad cites Cruz's Goldman Sachs loans. Two crudely animated characters with British accents (?) chat with one another about Cruz's "inside connections" and Paul's standing as the only liberty-oriented, good-haired candidate. Meanwhile, the voices are from a rudimentary talk and play program. The whole ordeal is terrible from beginning to end. Without further ado, "Audit the Ted."

Despite his and his team's efforts, Rand Paul's presidential campaign has simply not taken off.  The global unrest and Islamic terrorist threat work against him in this cycle, and he's clearly shaken by how little support he has managed to acquire.  In addition to refusing to appear in the undercard debate, Rand is now taking a stand against Donald Trump. In an interview on The Alan Colmes Show, he vowed to spend his "every waking hour" to "try to stop Donald Trump." The Hill reports:
Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul on Thursday pleged to spend "every waking hour" trying to keep rival Donald Trump from winning the GOP nomination. "Donald Trump takes us in the wrong direction. He would be a disaster. We’ll be slaughtered in a landslide," Paul said in an interview on the Alan Colmes radio show, as first reported by BuzzFeed. "That’s why my every waking hour is to try to stop Donald Trump from being our nominee." "I think we, the Republican Party, becomes the party of angry people that insinuate that most immigrants are drug dealers or rapists, that’s a terrible direction for our party," he said.

Fox Business News announced the line up for the January 14, 2016 Republican Debate. This is the last debate before the Iowa caucuses. Mercifully, we are down to just 7 people on main stage. The Big Names not on stage anymore are Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina. Jeb is now on the edge, physically and metaphorically. Looking back, it's interesting how there has been a realignment. Jeb is moving on down, and Christie fought his way back. What has not changed is Trump in the center position, and a solidifying of what everyone knows -- it's Trump at the top, Cruz as the main challenger. Carson is a goner. Jeb is a goner.  Rubio, Kasich and Christie are vying for the non-Trump, non-Cruz candidacy. Here's how things looked at the mid-December 2015 CNN debate:

According to polling rules set for Republican primary debates, Rand Paul may find himself demoted to the lower tier while Christie comes back to the main stage next Tuesday. Steven Shepard reports at Politico:
Rand Paul could be booted from main debate stage Rand Paul, once considered the main contender for the anti-establishment GOP vote, will likely be pushed off the debate stage next week when CNN announces the lineup for the fifth Republican forum. Chris Christie, however, has clawed back in the polling thanks to a rebound in New Hampshire, virtually ensuring he will be promoted to the main event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, according to POLITICO’s calculations...