by Josh Guckert

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is set to officially enter the 2016 presidential race this Tuesday, April 7. Paul has spent his 4 years in the Senate solidifying himself as a principled defender of liberty and the Constitution, and he gives to libertarians their best chance in generations of significantly swaying national policy while obtaining the Oval Office. The following are the top 10 reasons Senator Paul deserves to be the next President of the United States.

1. He advocates for a stronger, yet smarter, national defense.

Nearly every libertarian and conservative recognizes that one of the only legitimate functions of the federal government is to protect Americans from threats to national security, domestic and abroad. In the age of ISIS, this has become of particular importance, and Rand Paul has consistently placed defense spending as a top priority when it comes to the budget.

However, Senator Paul also acknowledges that past increases in defense spending by Republicans without regard to financial consequences have helped to create just as much debt as those programs advocated for by Democrats. It is for this reason that Senator Paul was the only Republican who proposed a budget amendment that would require cuts to other programs before allowing an increase in defense spending.

Additionally, Paul’s position has been unique in that he has often pointed out past failures of American interventionism, and the peril of unnecessary foreign entanglements.