Fact Check: Does Rand Paul support amnesty, or did the media lie about his position?

There is a rampant online rumor, primarily circulating among Tea Party circles, that Rand Paul supports amnesty.

What exactly is amnesty? Generally, people seem to agree that amnesty means offering illegal immigrants citizenship, which would reward them for breaking the law and would put them ahead of those who have applied to enter the country legally.

Does Rand Paul support amnesty? No, he does not.

So why do people believe he does? Two articles/headlines in particular claimed that he did, but they were not accurate.

One was a Breitbart article, titled "Rand Paul: Let's Compromise on Amnesty."

But it turns out that Rand Paul never said what was implied. In actuality, Rand Paul said he was open to compromise on immigration reform (which can mean many things), but he has never supported granting citizenship to illegals.

In response to this misleading headline, Rand Paul said this: "I will not let sloppy journalists characterize my position as “amnesty.” It is simply untrue."

Another article was created by the Associated Press and widely redistributed under various titles. It claimed that Paul supported a pathway to citizenship, citing a speech he gave. And yet, he never mentioned a pathway to citizenship in his speech.

Not only were the two articles about Rand Paul wrong, but they fly in the face of what Paul has supported legislatively.

In 2013, during the Gang of Eight bill debate, Paul offered an amendment to prevent a pathway to citizenship.

VERDICT: Rand Paul opposes amnesty, and the media lied about his position.

To learn more about Paul's position on immigration, watch the video below:

Five Ways Rand Paul Is Like Conservative Hero Jack Kemp

Senator Rand Paul is a unique and rising star in the Republican Party. His establishment opponents would like to portray him as odd and out of the mainstream. And yet, many of Paul's ideas were also shared with conservative Congressman Jack Kemp, who in 1996 was the GOP nominee for Vice-President.

Below are five areas in which they are similar:

Tax enterprise zones

Rand Paul has championed the idea of tax enterprise zones as an alternative to bailing out failed cities like Detroit. In his own proposal, Paul quoted Kemp, who popularized the concept:

“By giving people access to capital and allowing them to take ownership of assets, entrepreneurship will be encouraged and the cycle of poverty can begin to be broken. All persons should have the opportunity to go as high as their merit and determination can carry them…” 

The flat tax

Even before he announced his run for the presidency, Rand Paul had come out in favor of a flat tax. Jack Kemp was also a fan of the flat tax. In fact, the Kemp Commission concluded that the current income tax should be replaced by the flat tax.

The Iraq War

While other GOP candidates were struggling to answer whether invading Iraq was a good idea in hindsight, Rand Paul beliefs it was a mistake from the beginning. So did Kemp, who wrote an op-ed opposing the war in 2003.

The Federal Reserve

Like his father, Congressman Ron Paul, Rand Paul believes that the Federal Reserve is out of control. Accordingly, Paul has pushed strongly for auditing the secretive institution. He has also supported a new gold commission. Kemp himself supported a gold standard. He once said:

“America needs a dollar that is once again an honest dollar, as good as gold.” 

Minority outreach

Rand Paul has taken it upon himself to grow the Republican party. He has reached out to groups that normally wouldn't consider checking the GOP box. Kemp was similarly a lone wolf in his efforts to reach out to minority communities.

Rebutting the misleading Examiner.com article on Rand Paul, Medicare, Social Security, and tax cuts

It's the article that doesn't die.

In 2010, Ryan Witt of Examiner.com published the following article: Rand Paul concedes he will cut Medicare and Social Security to pay for tax cuts

To this day I see it popping up ever now and then on the web, and the headline generates the fury of even alleged conservatives in Rand Paul's directions.

But let's take a step back for a moment. The article is basing its claims on an interview that is not embedded within at this point, if it ever was. So we are taking the author's word for it.

First, we need to address the subject of the Bush tax cuts. The Bush tax cuts (passed between 2001 and 2006) were essential for growing the economy in the Bush years. They have been extended continuously since they were first set to expire in 2010.

Most Republicans, and even some Democrats, support making those tax policy changes permanent. They benefit the economy. And if taken away, the economy would suffer severe consequences. Even with the Bush tax cuts in place, the United States is still at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world from a tax policy perspective.

Now, many assume that the Bush tax cuts must be paid for with spending cuts. That is simply not the case. Every dollar left in the private sector is a dollar better spent. Dollars left in the private sector allow for economic growth, and economic growth leads to greater tax revenues. If the Bush tax cuts were taken away, the economy would take a hit, and so would the federal budget. Kennedy and Reagan understood this principle when they proposed their historic tax reductions.

Second, we need to address the subject of entitlement reform. The greatest drivers of our debt are the entitlement programs. There is simply no way around it. Every Republican supports reforming entitlements because to not do so means terrible things for seniors.

Entitlement reforms, like all government programs, have structural problems. Medicare and Social Security are costing more money on an exponential basis. As our deficit and debt continue to grow, the more we must tax, borrow, and spend. All of those actions take from the private sector and weaken our economy.And as our interest payments on the debt continue to increase, that means less money can be devoted to programs benefiting seniors in the future.

So, it is imperative that we reform our entitlement programs. Here is what that does not mean: It does not mean cutting benefits from seniors currently dependent on those programs. It does not mean cutting benefits from the poor and hungry. It does not mean pushing grandma off the cliff.

It means things such as means testing, so that the very wealthy do not receive benefits they do not need. It means that as we live longer and longer, future generations will have to work a little longer before they can draw benefits. It means targeting fraud, waste, and abuse. It also means encouraging younger people to invest in private means of investment, where the returns are higher and their money benefit the economy, rather than hurts it.

You can read Paul's specific plans for Social Security and Medicare, HERE and HERE.

No senior has any reason to oppose what Republicans like Rand Paul are opposing. Their proposals do not hurt seniors, but they do help younger generations.

Misleading articles like the one posted by Examiner.com are plaguing our political process, and that is why this rebuttal was written.

Why Rand Paul supporters should create an account on RedState.com

During the 2012 primaries, RedState.com was notorious for banning Ron Paul supporters. So why should supporters of his son, Rand Paul, consider creating accounts on the popular conservative website?

Here's why:

1. You can comment on articles. No further explanation needed.

2. You can write your own articles. How? After you register, go to your dashboard. There you will be able to request a diary. When you write and publish your diary, you are essentially creating your own articles for RedState. Try to create a solid commenting history BEFORE you request a diary, that way you are more likely to get it approved.

How to not get banned:

Do not mention Rand Paul in every comment or diary. You will be outing yourself very quickly if you do that. Instead, try to bring a liberty-minded perspective to whatever the discussion you are participating in. Participate in a wide variety of discussions.

That isn't to say you should never mention Rand Paul. You should. And feel free to write a diary concerning Paul, but make sure he is not the subject of every diary.

When you do mention Rand Paul, try to do so in the context of other popular conservatives. Try to appeal to the sensibilities of standard conservatives. Think outside the box. Don't repeat talking points. Don't try to make the case for him in one diary.

Your mission, as a Rand Paul supporter, is to try and influence people to support your candidate. To do that, you have to use tact and nuance. You want to come across as one of them, not as the enemy. Controversy should not be your goal.

With all of this said, visit the following link to get started:
http://www.redstate.com/signup/

Good luck and see you there!

Conservatives Who Have Met With Al Sharpton (PHOTOS)

It seems lately that having your picture taken with Al Sharpton is a grave offense. That is, if you are considered a conservative Republican.

So which conservatives have associated themselves with Al Sharpton? See the pictures below:

Scott Walker's Brian Williams Moment

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has been in the news himself lately, as many of his stories reporting on Iraq and Hurricane Katrina have proven to be tall tales.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has similarly been in the news, but for other reasons. His speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit launched him to the forefront of the of the 2016 Republican primary discussions.

However, it appears that Gov. Walker has a trait in common with Williams, perhaps known as "elaborate storytelling."

You see, during his re-election campaign, Gov. Walker's bald spot became somewhat of an issue. Not the fact that he has one, but rather his specious explanation for it.

As Jim Stingl of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports:

Walker went on to say he was fixing something in the kitchen — he doesn't say when — and hit his head on the cabinet. His wife, Tonette, repeatedly urged him to see a doctor, and when he finally did he was told his head would not be growing hair anymore in that area. He said Tonette cited this as proof that it's best to listen to your wife.

My favorite reader comment from the State Journal website: "Doyle must have REALLY bashed his head!"

The governor weaves an interesting tale there, and it caused left-leaning One Wisconsin Now to go apoplectic in a news release about Walker's "hair-raising excuses" and "baldfaced distortions." In short, they think he's lying about this and just about everything else.

Blog posts and other online references to the story outnumber Joe Biden's hair plugs. Walker's bald spot has its own Facebook page and, as of Thursday, 341 likes. You might say this isn't really news, and you'd be right. But we're getting into the political silly season of late October.

We have all banged our heads on things without causing the seas to part in our hairlines. When we were kids, my brother had an accident involving a lawn mower and a grassy hill. It left him with a narrow inch-long bare strip on the back of his head, but nothing more Costanza than that.

The top of my own head has developed a half-dollar-sized thinning circle as I get older. My barber — he coincidentally also cuts Scott Walker's hair — is mercifully careful to avoid highlighting that spot when holding up the mirror to show the back of my head at the completion of each $17 masterpiece. I'd ask if she does the same for Walker, but there are probably haircut HIPAA privacy rules.

Politicians need to worry more than most people about hair loss. Voters picking presidents have shown a preference for the thick mane of a John F. Kennedy or a Ronald Reagan, though we do have a Dwight Eisenhower sneak through every now and then

Walker's people didn't respond to my emails, because why would they on this topic.
I looked online for a hair loss expert to interview and knew I found the right one in William Yates because his website calls him "The Hair Loss Expert." He is a hair restoration surgeon in Vernon Hills, Ill

He said hair loss from injury is pretty common if the damage is serious enough.
"Once you have loss of hair follicles in that area, it's ball game over," Yates said.
Then I told him this article is about our governor and his story about the cabinet. Yates immediately went to Google and pulled up photos of Walker.

"His hairline is thinning and he has a bald spot in the back. That's totally normal male pattern balding," Yates said, making it clear he has not physically examined the guv's head.

Could it also be cabinet related? "Anything is possible," Yates said. "But I had a professor say everything has to make sense.

And it wouldn't make sense to have a bald spot this big from banging one's head on a cabinet, nor one that seems to be growing over time.

Is this yarn that Walker spun that big a deal? It depends. While his bald spot should not be a major issue, he made it one because he wasn't forthcoming. Honesty is an important quality for any candidate to have, especially one running for the presidency.

FOX News Host Greg Gutfeld Suggests Ben Carson/Rand Paul Ticket For 2016

 

FOX News' Greg Gutfeld, host of RedEye and co-host of The Five, filled in for Bill O'Reilly shortly before the Christmas holiday and was able to land an interview with Dr. Ben Carson. Near the conclusion of the interview, the following conversation took place:

GG: See, I have a suggestion if you decide to run you should choose another doctor because you're an MD. You should make Rand Paul your Vice-President, so you have two doctors and your motto/slogan can be, "America: It''s a time to heal." You can have that. Gotta go doctor Ben.

BC: Hey, we can have that? Thanks!

 

This combination is not beyond the realm of possibility. Carson has already stated that he is a fan of Rand Paul: