Tagged: rand paul

Speaking to reporters at an event organized by the Christian Science Monitor, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., blasted President Obama for using the families of gun violence victims in his push for legislative reforms.

From Huffington Post:

"I think gun control is a legitimate issue for us to debate," Paul said. "I hate to see using people, I think, as props and politicizing people's tragedy. When I see the father and the mothers and them testifying - and I know they're coming voluntarily, and they want to come and be part of this debate - but it still saddens me just to see them, and I think that in some cases the president has used them as props. And that disappoints me.

The president has reached out to family members of victims from the Newtown massacre in the aftermath.

One mother stood in for Obama during one of his weekly presidential addresses. In that speech Francine Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son was murdered during the shooting spree, pleaded for stricter gun control laws.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is asking Louisville’s African-American community to consider his vote.

Paul spoke to students and faculty members at Simmons College of Kentucky on Friday.

This follows his appearance this week at Howard University in Washington D.C. where Paul tried connecting black history to the Republican Party.

A group seeking full voting representation for Washington, D.C. residents in Congress is holding a demonstration ahead of Republican Senator Rand Paul's speech at Howard University, calling the Tea Party favorite a hypocrite.

The address is being promoted as an attempt by Kentucky's junior senator—and presidential hopeful—to reach out to African-American voters. A handful of black leaders in Louisville have said that's a good sign given Paul's rising prominence in national politics.

But DC Vote is once again calling out Paul's libertarian and small-government message, comparing it to his obstruction of the D.C. Budget Autonomy Act last year.

In 2012, the mayor of D.C. and others urged lawmakers to approve the measure to give local residents the authority to spend tax dollars without Congressional oversight. Paul introduced several amendments to the bill, however, which sought to change the city’s gun, abortion and labor laws.

From DC Vote:

Think about that for a moment: Rand Paul, of all people, used a DC budget autonomy bill that would allow D.C. to spend money it raises from its own population so he can impose his causes on people that have no vote in Congress.

Republican Senator Rand Paul will speak at one of the country’s oldest historically black colleges as he seeks to reach out to African-American voters, and some Louisville leaders say that's a good sign.

Paul is scheduled to address students at Howard University in Washington, D.C. next Wednesday where Kentucky's junior senator is expected to talk about school choice and changing federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

The senator’s remarks will also focus on how the GOP and black history intertwine, and marks another sign Paul is earnest in his attempts to seek out minorities ahead of his potential presidential bid.

"It's important that the Republican Party to talk to everybody," says Paul spokesman Dan Bayens. "And I'm not sure that we've been doing that, especially recently. No matter who the group is let's go and have a conversation with them."

Paul is becoming a force in the GOP that has rocked the establishment of both parties in an unexpected way. National polls show Paul is at the top rumored 2016 Republican presidential candidates, coming in at either second in the still too early to predict GOP primary field.