'To many of us libertarian means freedom and liberty,' Paul says. Paul: 'Libertarian' isn't 'libertine'

Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday outlined his vision for the future of the Republican Party, offering a conservative case for embracing the libertarian-leaning wing of the GOP, of which he is a pillar.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican and possible 2016 presidential contender, outlined several “more libertarian issues” that could help the party move forward during a speech at a patriotically themed gala in Washington.


“To some that’s sort of still a bad word,” Paul said of “libertarian.” “To others it’s a word that may expand the party.”

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In the speech sponsored by the American Principles Project, a deeply conservative organization with a special focus on social issues, Paul offered up jokes and wry commentary. But he also sought to bridge the oft-perceived gap between libertarians and strict social conservatives.

“‘Libertarian’ …doesn’t mean ‘libertine,’” he said. “To many of us libertarian means freedom and liberty. But we also see that freedom needs tradition.”

He added: “I don’t see libertarianism as, you can do whatever you want. There is a role for government, there’s a role for family, there’s a role for marriage, there’s a role for the protection of life.”

Paul stressed that the value of marriage is economic, as well as “moral” and “religious,” and that those virtues can be communicated through families and communities as well as through the government.

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He also singled out criminal justice reform as one area that could help the Republican Party expand and improve its brand.

“I think there are things we can and should talk about, as Christians, who believe in forgiveness,” he said. “I think the criminal justice system should have some element of forgiveness.”

Paul, who was elected to the Senate in 2010, has been a crusader on the issue of reforming sentencing for drug-related crimes and finding alternative methods for dealing with non-violent drug offenders.

He noted that that’s not a typical Republican policy priority, but advocated talking “about these issues” and taking them to minority communities, where, he said, disproportionate numbers of people are hit hard by tough drug policies.

“I think these are things we can look at,” Paul said. To applause, he continued, “I’m not talking about legalization. I’m talking about making the criminal justice system more fair and giving people a second chance when they serve their time.”

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Paul also offered more traditional Republican rhetoric during his speech — advocating major tax cuts, railing against government spending and dismissing calls for compromise on various budget matters that didn’t, in his view, go far enough.

He said now was not the time to back down.

“Everybody else told Reagan to shut up, too,” he said. “They said, ‘Shut up and wait your turn.’

“Fighting doesn’t have to be impolite. It doesn’t have to be rude, but there needs to be a struggle over the direction of the party. We have to decide: Are we gonna go bold, are we gonna go big, or are we gonna go Democrat-lite?”

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