Rand and Ron embrace amid campaign struggles

After months of keeping his polarizing libertarian father at arm’s length from his presidential campaign, Rand Paul gave Ron Paul a big bear hug on Monday.

Rand Paul’s campaign released a letter from his father and onetime presidential hopeful, Ron, that sought to reassure the libertarian faithful that Rand is fully devoted to the cause. No other candidate “in my lifetime” has fully shared his “commitment to liberty, Austrian economics, small government, and following the Constitution,” the elder Paul wrote.


“Even where Rand and I do have minor differences of opinion, I would take Rand’s position over any of his opponents’ in both parties every time,” the missive reads. “That’s because he advocates diplomacy and negotiations, and opposes war.”

Most significantly, Ron Paul’s letter reinforces his son’s suggestion that neoconservatives are to blame for fueling the rise of ISIL in the Middle East. “He’s not afraid to lay the blame for making worse the chaos we see today with ISIS and Iraq squarely at the feet of the neocons,” Paul wrote.

Though Rand Paul initially walked back those comments, the letter appears to be a renewed pivot toward his libertarian roots at a time his campaign has been struggling for cash and sagging in primary polls. The elder Paul also highlights other areas he and his son agree on, including opposition to the Federal Reserve.

Paul has been thrashed by his primary opponents as weak on foreign policy because he has largely advocated for a less militarized posture around the world, even as he insists he doesn’t oppose the use of force when warranted. He tussled with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during a national Republican debate earlier this month over warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Paul has largely kept his distance from his father since he launched his campaign four months ago, seeking to appeal to the party’s mainstream while keeping his dad’s coalition squarely behind him. But that’s occasionally gotten him into trouble with both factions of the party.