GOP Senator Rand Paul kicks off US presidency bid

US Senator Rand Paul, the son of the famous long-time US representative Ron Paul, has officially announced that he will be running for president in the US presidential election next year.

Whoever wins that election will no doubt take the place of current US President Barack Hussein Obama who is currently serving the rest of his second and last 4-year term in office.

Republican Senator Paul, the junior senator, one of two representing the eastern state of Kentucky, made international headlines on Tuesday after he announced his presidential bid even thought it was widely anticipated by US media that he would do so.

“I am running for president to return our country to the principals of liberty and limited government” was quoted during a speech he made at his campaign opening.

Although Paul is a GOP senator, he thrives from the little-known but growing-libertarian wing of the Republican Party.

However, Senator Paul is preaching a different message than many presidents or presidential contestants before him. Western main stream media including the Washington Post, Fox News, and even the New York Times pointed this out by making a fuss about his campaign slogan -- defeat the Washington Machine. Unleash the American dream.”  

In fact, the senator seems to have made enemies even before announcing his presidential bid. An ad paid for by a controversial organization, the “Foundation for a Secure & Prosperous America, reportedly belonging to hawkish US Republican Senator John McCain, has invested a million dollars so far to wage a media war against Paul using a smear campaign. The ad reads “Rand Paul is wrong and dangerous; Tell him to stop siding with Obama”.

“Today I announce with God’s help, with the help of liberty lovers everywhere, that I’m putting myself forward as a candidate for president of the United States of America” Paul told a roaring crowd on Tuesday in the state of Kentucky.

He went on to give his word to a large crowd of his supporters that he will smash the “Washington machine that gobbles up our freedoms and invades every nook and cranny of our lives”.

Rand Paul was obviously showing his anger which is in sync with many American’s over the establishment’s growing power against its own citizens, a growing trend that was revealed by whistle blowers most notably Edward Snowden who leaked classified information and is now taking refuge from Washington in Russia.  

As far as his foreign policy goes, Senator Rand Paul has on many occasions throughout his political career showed discontent with the idea of huge military spending, unprecedented military presence around the globe and US involvement politically or militarily in every continent of the world.

These are very similar traits of his father retired Republican House Representative Ron Paul who was a presidential contestant 3 times in his several-decades of political career.

Ron Paul, Rand’s father, was a well-known critic of the government’s foreign and domestic policies including unlimited spending. Also, he was a critic of the existence of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, the US military-industrial complex and other unique approaches that have made him garner enemies from Democrats and Republicans alike as he preached what he called a message of “outside the system”. 

Rand Paul is exceptionally different from his father Ron in the sense that his father sought after the support of more grass-root movements during his political career. Rand, on the other hand is seeking support from a much more difficult source of support including what is labeled as “mainstream Republicans”.

Already the battle has begun for those supporters as Rand is the second contender as a Republican to enter the 2016 Presidential race following Senator Ted Cruz from Texas.

Paul will soon begin his travels across the 50 states to compete, his campaign advisers say “in every primary election and caucus”.

HDS/GJH

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