On issue after issue, Rand Paul tries to have it both ways. He has lauded himself as a champion for “minority rights” while opposing parts of the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. He has proclaimed on national television his desire to end all foreign aid, including for Israel, only to then claim he has never proposed such a thing.
And when it comes to immigration, for months, Paul has been trying to have his cake and eat it too. He has repeatedly claimed to be supportive of immigration reform, trying to appear as though his 2016 candidacy could broaden the GOP base, but his record tells a different story. Paul voted against the Senate’s bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill — a bill that allocated significant resources to border security — in addition to attacking DACA, effectively supporting a return to deporting DREAMers.
Since the Senate passed its bill, the GOP has only moved backwards on the issue, cowering to the extreme anti-immigrant wing of the party driven by Steve King and all of his men. Rand Paul hasn’t done a single thing to distance himself from this position, and now he’s fundraising with King himself.
And still, Paul wants to dissociate himself with the anti-immigrant crowd and avoid any tough questions about immigration policy. So much so that when a DREAMer introduced herself to Steve King at lunch, Rand literally dropped his burger and ran away from the table.
Rand Paul talks himself up as a trailblazing leader. But leaders come to the table to forge solutions on tough issues. Rand Paul runs away from that table.
Background:
Paul Opposed Deferred Action On Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
Paul Said President Obama’s Deferred Action On Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Was A “Magnet” For Undocumented Immigrants. According to Breitbart, “President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal aliens via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and other executive orders is a ‘magnet’ for illegal immigration, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News on Tuesday. ‘All of that is a magnet and a beacon for people to come,’ Paul said when asked about Obama’s executive immigration orders during a brief interview outside the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headquarters. ‘You can’t have any kind of beacon without securing the border first. It really illustrates what conservatives have been saying all along, myself included: You can’t vote for immigration reform, you can’t have immigration reform without first securing the border.’” [Breitbart, 7/22/14]
Paul Endorsed Ted Cruz’s Bill That Would Block Obama From Carrying Out DACA. According to Breitbart, “Paul endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz’s bill that would block Obama from implementing any more executive amnesty by halting funding for production of any documents needed for him to do so, too. ‘I think he wants to do exactly what I was saying, basically,’ Paul said when asked about Cruz’s bill. ‘You can’t have the beacon first and he wants to overturn the president’s executive action—and I would support that.’” [Breitbart, 7/22/14]
Paul On Illegal Immigration
Paul Said There Was “An Urban Myth That Has Spread Somewhat Through Central America—If You Get Here By August 15, There Are Actually Fliers Saying That If You Get Here By August 15 The President Won’t Send You Home.” According to Breitbart, “Paul also warned against forthcoming executive amnesties from President Obama. “I’m really opposed to the president doing things by unilateral executive order anyway—you shouldn’t be allowed to pass immigration reform without Congress doing it,” Paul said, before noting about the reports that the president is considering widespread executive amnesty for millions of illegal aliens that there is ‘an urban myth that has spread somewhat through Central America—if you get here by August 15, there are actually fliers saying that if you get here by August 15 the president won’t send you home.’” [Breitbart, 7/22/14]
In Regards To Undocumented Immigration, Paul Said, “People Who Seek The American Dream Are Not Bad People, But That Doesn’t Mean We Can Invite The Whole World.” According to Businessweek, “Paul was mild in his criticism of another potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who angered some in the party’s base by describing undocumented workers who enter the U.S. as seeking to provide for their families in an ‘act of love.’ ‘I think he’s well intentioned in what he’s trying to say,’ Paul said. ‘I would have said that people who seek the American dream are not bad people, but that doesn’t mean we can invite the whole world.’” [Businessweek, 4/22/14]
Paul Voted Against Senate Immigration Reform Bill
Paul Said He Voted Against The Senate Immigration Reform Bill Because “It Did Not Secure The Border First.” In an op-ed, Paul wrote, “I am for immigration reform because what we have now is untenable. I voted against the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform bill because it did not secure the border first. I will only support reform that has border security first as verifiable and ascertained by Congress, not the president.” [Paul Op-Ed – Breitbart, 6/12/14]
Published: Aug 5, 2014