Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 27, 2015
CAROLYN KASTER — AP
OXON HILL, Md. — A crowd of conservative activists chanted “Pre-si-dent Paul” as Sen. Rand Paul called Friday for limits on foreign intervention, an end to the bulk collection of Americans’ phone data and no more federal funding of “origami condoms.”
Paul, in blue jeans, red tie and rolled-up shirtsleeves, spoke in often-florid prose to an adoring crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, bashing the government and declaring that “lovers of liberty must rise.”
“I say your phone records are yours,” the Kentucky Republican said, referring to the National Security Agency’s collection of phone data. “I say the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business.”
The annual gathering of conservatives, a draw for young, Libertarian-leaning activists, is friendly ground for Paul, who hopes to win the conference straw poll Saturday for the third year in a row. His father, former presidential candidate Ron Paul, won in 2010 and 2011.
Paul and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker drew the loudest cheers Friday when Fox News commentator Sean Hannity asked the ballroom crowd which potential presidential candidate they liked.
No one else was even close, with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie getting boos. Paul will need the help of these conservative activists to have a chance at winning the presidential nomination, as he’s faced with Bush’s fundraising prowess and polling that finds Walker with a big lead in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus state, which will vote a year from now.
Paul promised the crowd he’d soon propose a plan for “the largest tax cut in American history,” in addition to spending cuts.
He didn’t offer specifics, other than to mock $2.4 million in federal funding for “origami condoms.” The National Institutes of Health grants are for a company called Origami to develop better condoms, to help prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, according to the fact-checking website Politifact, and have nothing to do with the Japanese art of folding paper to form animals.
Paul has a contrasting foreign-policy stance with other potential Republican presidential candidates who spoke at the conference, who portrayed the world as a dark and dangerous place where America must be aggressive in the face of threats and got big applause for doing so. Paul has been criticized by some Republicans, who suggest his foreign-policy views aren’t forceful enough, and the conference has been hawkish in tone.
Paul sought to portray himself as strong on defense but cautious on intervention.
“As conservatives we should not succumb to the notion that a government inept at home will somehow become successful abroad,” Paul said, drawing his own big round of applause from supporters. “That a government that can’t even deliver the mail will somehow be able to build nations abroad.”
Paul said the United States must defend itself against threats such as the Islamic State and should have a powerful military, but had made problems worse by overthrowing foreign despots and leaving chaos behind. Paul also bashed “torture” and mass domestic surveillance conducted in the name of national security.
He thundered that “we must rise and stand with our forefathers, who stared down the king; we must rise as free men and women and reclaim our birthright.”
“Your rights are in your DNA, and the government can, quite frankly, get over it,” he said.
He also threw out red meat by bashing Hillary Clinton, a potential Democratic nominee for president, saying that as secretary of state she’d bungled Libya.
In a question-and-answer-session after his speech, Paul said that, if he could have just one amendment to the Constitution, it would be one requiring term limits for members of Congress.
Paul intends to announce his candidacy plans this spring. His supporters hope that enthusiasm from the conservative conference will give him a boost after a recent rough stretch, when he was criticized for saying that “I’ve heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.” (Paul later said he didn’t mean to suggest that vaccines caused mental disorders.)
He was a star at the conference, signing books, getting his picture taken with fans and speaking at a “Big Government Sucks Rally” by a Republican youth group.
Kevin Caputo, a junior at Penn State University, said he was a Democrat before Paul’s father brought him into the Libertarian/Republican fold. He said he liked Rand Paul’s positions on foreign policy and other issues, and that he thought Paul could go farther than his father.
“I think he’s a much better politician, appeals to more people,” Caputo said.
But Ryan Spaude, a junior at Princeton University who’s supporting Walker for president, said Paul’s appeal was limited to “just one part of the party” and that he worried the senator was too soft on foreign policy.
He said he worried Paul wouldn’t “call our enemies out for what they are.”
Email: scockerham@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @seancockerham.
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