Alderman David Ahrens Akin To Senator Rand Paul

Madison Alderman David Ahrens is our Rand Paul—and that is not a positive comparison.

There are times when a city is required to take an action that is not perfect but clearly needed–as was the case at the last council meeting.  The last thing needed is to revisit what has been settled–by unanimous vote!

The Judge Doyle building project has been one of the longest to get off the ground due to antics of some who claim they are for the over-all project but still need to attempt to inject their personal grievances.  With no care for the forward movement that is in the best interest for the city some like to maneuver and plot ways to undermine what has already been decided.

So here comes Ahrens.

Ahrens was out of town last week when the council met and so missed the vote to spend the additional $11 million.   But fear not late-night lovers of all-night council proceedings.  The alder will ask his colleagues to reconsider the proposal.    This is an excuse for him to pontificate on camera over the Judge Doyle project. 

Like Paul in Washington, Ahrens in Madison is annoying and frustrating.  He seems to get his nose out of joint with some degree of regularity.  How the council will handle him for what is a meeting item no one wants will be most interesting.

I would suggest alders bring a book to read.  No one will blame them for getting a few chapters of light reading done for the day.

Senator Paul Not Keen On Mike Pompeo Becoming Secretary Of State

One of the flaws in new reporting over the past 24 hours is the idea that anyone in a cabinet position, or in higher offices, can be switched around job-to-job as if there is no unique skills required for each department.

It is one reason I am heartened by Senator Rand Paul’s actions. 

The libertarian-leaning GOP senator said Wednesday that Pompeo’s earlier support for the Iraq war and defense of enhanced interrogation techniques — or ‘torture’ in the view of Paul and many other senators — is disqualifying. And the Kentucky senator indicated he may be willing to filibuster both Pompeo’s nomination and CIA director nominee Gina Haspel, who he says is ‘gleeful’ in her defense of torture techniques.”

Paul’s opposition to Pompeo will be more immediately felt because he serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the GOP enjoys just a one-seat advantage. With Paul opposed, Pompeo could receive an unfavorable committee verdict if Democrats join him in opposition, which would be a serious black mark on Pompeo’s nomination.

Rand Paul Out Of Presidential Race, Rick Santorum Sure To Follow

They are dropping like bad fruit off an infected tree.

Rand Paul has dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination.  I have always stressed that his bid for the White House was an odd one to wage from with the GOP.  His views on foreign policy was never going to wed him to a powerful and needed segment of the party.    While I very much disagree with his positions there is no one that will not admit he makes for an interesting exchange of ideas.  Question is now how much passion he has for politics after failing to reach this goal.

Then there is  the papist, Rick Santorum.

It is hard to even place his name with that of Paul in the same post.  There is just so little of consequence with the former Pennsylvania senator who has stated that contraceptives are “not okay” or that gay parents are worse than convicts.   The reason he entered this race–one has to assume–was his hope that lightening would strike and somehow transform the populace into total idiots.    Short of that there was no way this man was ever going to register anywhere.

The reason Santorum needs to sneak away from this race and go back to where those who carry around miscarriages hang out is that he can not even get his own precinct captains to support him!  MSNBC interviewed a Santorum precinct captain who readily admitted that even he didn’t vote for the guy he was working for!

OMG!

This is just too funny.

Willie Nelson’s Message To Rand Paul

Can you guess which Republican  is not making the main debate stage?

Sen. Rand Paul “thinks it’s time to do away with the undercard Republican presidential debate,” Politico reports.

Said Paul: “I’m not sure where the purpose is anymore, if there ever was one. I think if you have a national campaign, you’ve raised a significant amount of money, you’re on the ballot, you’ve employed staff and you’re actively campaigning, you’ve got to be in the debate.”

If one looks at the schedule of Rand Paul it is hard to say he is running a national campaign.  If you try to find  his level of support in the polls you need a shovel to dig down far enough to hit his numbers.  The lack of Paul’s understanding about what drives the base of the GOP–the ones who select the nominee–is astounding.  There was never a time–even without Donald Trump sucking all the air out of the election coverage–that Paul was ever going to be a warm thought to the majority of the Republican base.  While there is a libertarian streak in the GOP it is not enough in strength to crack an egg shell let alone allow a guy like Paul to get the nomination.

So instead of whining about the purpose of the undercard debate Rand Paul might use his time to explore the reason he even has a campaign anymore.   It might be useful for Paul to consider the words from a Willie Nelson song.

“Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”

Is Rand Paul Soon To Leave His Quest For The White House?

UPDATE—Rand Paul will be on debate stage this week only after CNN  tweaked its criteria to add a ninth podium for the Kentucky senator.  Like adding a special ramp for the politically challenged. 

(Candidates qualified if they achieved an average of 3.5 percent in national polls conducted since late October – or 4 percent in either Iowa or New Hampshire.  According to POLITICO’s calculations, Paul was at 2.8 percent nationally–hence the special accommodations for Paul.)

At some point reality has to strike for a number of the Republican candidates seeking the party nomination.   For Senator Rand Paul that may come very quickly.

I have thought him an odd candidate for the GOP nomination as he does not mesh with where the base is on a number of issues. And as terrorism takes hold of the national conversation in the manner it has–and in large part by the way it is being used as an election issue–places Paul even more outside the box of his party.

I differ in larger measures to where Paul stands on issues.  I also fault how he arrives at his positions due to his failing to understand the constitution is a living document.  But having said that I still find him interesting and engaging as a speaker.  He is certainly provocative.    So he gets at least one point.

But he is not anywhere near to the place that his party is when it comes to seeking a nominee for the party.  Therefore he is close to shuttering his campaign apparatus and fading back into the senate.

Though Paul stated he “is confident he will be on the primetime Republican debate stage Tuesday, but if he falls short, he will make an announcement this week about what comes next,” the Boston Globe reports.

Paul has a political future like his father, Ron.   Bet that makes for a shaky hand when shaving in the morning.

Rand Paul Making Republicans Nervous About Control Of Senate in 2016

There was never a chance the national GOP was ever going to embrace Rand Paul’s brand and why he felt there was ever a way to the nomination does makes one wonder how clueless he really is.    His stance on defense and military matters and how they are used internationally does not mesh with the majority of his party.   He is a great novelty within the party but can never lead it.  After all being a leader mean others are following you.  If not, that means you are just out for a walk.

Time for Paul to pull the plug on his dreams about the White House.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is under increasing pressure from Republicans here and in Washington to pull the plug on his stagnant presidential campaign and instead recommit his resources to keeping his Senate seat in GOP hands,” Politico reports.

“D.C. Republicans think Paul’s poll numbers have flat-lined — and operatives worried about retaining control of the Senate are ready for him to start spending a lot more time in Kentucky and a lot less time in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

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Rand Paul Makes Correct Point About 2016 Election

(Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.)

Sen. Rand Paul is attributing GOP presidential rival Donald Trump’s rise in the polls to a momentary “loss of sanity,” The Hill reports.

Said Paul: “I think this is a temporary sort of loss of sanity, but we’re going to come back to our senses and look for someone serious to lead the country at some point.”

I guess we now know who the next person Trump will spew pea soup at in the campaign.

Rand Paul Seeking The Bottom

Long time readers to this blog know I have no warmth for Ron Paul or his son Rand. To them government is something just to dismantle and scorn. They always like to make it seem they are so erudite and as such the people should hush, listen, and learn as they tell the story of how once upon a time our nation was stolen from us by unconstitutional means. There is always the sense that black helicopters are lurking just over the horizon.

I follow those who I find adrift from reality but seek public office. (Yes, my days are busy.) As such I am following the campaign of Rand Paul in his quest for the White House.

My first thought on the day he entered the contest is the same I have today.  What is he doing in the Republican Party?

Paul does not agree with Republicans on many matters, such as foreign and military policy, and they do not think him worthy of their time.   There seems no one willing to quench Paul’s thirst which results from Potomac Fever.

The latest story to make the news sums up the pitfalls that is now the Paul campaign.

Something is awry at the Rand Paul campaign. The main super PAC supporting his presidential bid raised just $3.1 million in the first half of 2015, about $100 million less than Right to Rise, a super PAC backing Jeb Bush. In fact, the pro-Paul group’s fundraising total was lower than that of every other major super PAC that is backing a Republican candidate and has announced its totals. On Sunday, a new NBC News/Marist poll showed support for the Kentucky Republican declining to just 4 percent in New Hampshire (compared with 14 percent in February).

The Des Moines Register and Quinnipiac University polls found that Paul’s net favorability had dropped in Iowa by 18 and 14 percentage points, respectively, compared with the beginning of the year. In New Hampshire, Paul’s net favorability rating has sunk by 15 percentage points according to the University of New Hampshire and 11 percentage points according to Suffolk University.