Time and again, Rand Paul has fought the good fight against big government tyranny. Whether it’s suing the IRS or NSA or filibustering crony budget deals and warrantless surveillance, Paul has stood up for our right to be left alone. Here are some quotes that prove he’s the one presidential candidate standing up for the entire Bill of Rights that has a shot at winning.
Standing Against the Patriot Act:
“There comes a time, there comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer. That time is now and I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts go unchallenged.”
On electability:
“The third question — most popular question — from Google is, ‘Is Rand Paul still running for President?’ and uh, I don’t know I wouldn’t be doing this dumbass live streaming if I weren’t. So yes, I still am running for president. Get over it.”
On drone strikes and due process:
“Are you going to just drop a hellfire missile on Jane Fonda? Are you going to drop a missile on Kent State? That’s gobbledygook.”
On individual rights:
“I believe we should work to end all racism in American society and staunchly defend the inherent rights of every person.”
“I don’t want to live in a nanny state where people are telling me where I can go and what I can do.”
“Your rights are in your DNA and the government, quite frankly, can get over it.”
“I say that your phone records are yours! I say that the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business.”
“We will ask the question in court whether a single warrant can apply to the records of every American phone user all the time, without limits, without individualization.”
“I don’t want my guns or my marriage registered in Washington!”
On abortion:
“Why don’t we ask the DNC: Is it okay to kill a 7 pound baby in the uterus? You go back and you ask Debbie Wasserman Schultz if she’s okay with killing a seven pound baby that is not born yet. Ask her when life begins, and you ask Debbie when it’s okay to protect life. When you get an answer from Debbie, get back to me.”
On self-ownership:
“I’m not here to advocate for marijuana,” Paul continued. “But I’m here to advocate for freedom. And you know what, if I’m president I’m going to leave Colorado the hell alone.”
On the militarization of police:
“When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury-national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, pre-conviction forfeiture-we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands.”
On healthcare:
“With regard to the idea of whether you have a right to health care, you have realize what that implies. It’s not an abstraction. I’m a physician. That means you have a right to come to my house and conscript me. It means you believe in slavery. It means that you’re going to enslave not only me, but the janitor at my hospital, the person who cleans my office, the assistants who work in my office, the nurses.”
On economic freedom:
“The great and abiding lesson of American history, particularly the cold war, is that the engine of capitalism, the individual, is mightier than any collective.”
On the rule of law:
“What is immoral for an individual to do, is immoral for a government to do.”
Standing for common sense foreign policy:
“I think we should talk about politics for a minute. Shouldn’t we at least talk about what idiots we have in the Republican Party running for president who want to have a red line and a no-fly zone in Syria. What a recipe for disaster. But you know what the interesting thing is, Hillary Clinton agrees with all of them. All of them beating their chest to see who is the most likely to get us involved in a war that really, these people have been at war for a thousand years. You think somehow we’re going to solve their problems?”
“[Ronald Reagan] did not shy from labeling the Soviet Union an evil empire. But he also sat down with Gorbachev and negotiated…reductions in nuclear weapons.”
On fiscal responsibility:
“An unholy alliance between right and left up here. The right wants more military spending. The left wants more domestic. What happens? They come together and spend more on everything, that is why we are in $18 trillion in debt.”
“Ask any parent of a college-age kid whether we should give them a credit card with no limit. Your child comes to you and has $2,000 on the credit card, what do you do? You tell them they have to watch their spending,” he said. “Do you give them more money? No! Should we give Congress more money? Hell no!”
On legislative responsibility:
“I propose something truly outrageous. Congress should read every bill. Congress should also live under the laws they pass.”