Ron HartIt’s that time again. Every four years, the GOP interviews presidential hopefuls to determine who will be its nominee, who will have a show on Fox and who will be doing reverse mortgage commercials on TV.
So many candidates are running this time that the Republican debates won’t have room for a moderator on stage. Instead, they will need the fire marshal to OK that many folks in the building.
Here is my early take on the candidates:
Given his libertarian roots, Rand Paul has the best appeal to broaden the GOP’s base. He is truly for minimal government and has set himself apart from the war-hungry hawks in his party. He took a principled stand on the NSA snooping on us, protecting the Fourth Amendment. Any time you make both Democrats and establishment Republicans angry, you have probably done something right.
Paul must win New Hampshire to get early traction. He won’t win Iowa since he does not favor calling out the National Guard to arrest gays wanting to marry. Over half of Republicans are OK with gay marriage; the others are running for president. Libertarian Paul approves legalizing pot and not prosecuting prostitutes. At a minimum, he will have the best post-election party.