Kim Norvell

knorvell@dmreg.com

Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul said Monday he will work beyond just campaigning to bring criminal justice reform to the United States.

The Kentucky senator sat in a local barber’s chair as he spoke of the failings of the war on drugs and listened to patrons who have had difficulties re-integrating into society because of their criminal records. More than 50 people packed into the Platinum Kutz barbershop in the Drake neighborhood in Des Moines to ask Paul questions before the senator held a rally for fiscal sanity in Johnston later Monday.

“I’ve been working with the other side for several years now on all of these issues above and beyond the presidential campaign,” Paul said. “I think you’ll find me a different sort of Republican.”

Paul said he has proposed at least 10 criminal justice reform bills, and has worked with the Congressional Black Caucus to form policy. He said he wants to see more records expunged for non-violent criminals who have “done their time” and who “ought to get a second chance.”

Paul: I look beyond party more than any other candidate

Paul said he would also get rid of mandatory minimum sentencing and give judges more discretion when it comes to sentencing. The reforms would not apply to child predators or other violent criminals who “hurt somebody in the process” of their crime, he said.

“I also think that we need sentencing reform, where people aren’t going to jail for 15, 20 years for youthful, non-violent mistakes,” Paul said to applause from the crowd. “Republicans are always saying 'we don’t want this big welfare state, we want people working.' We do, we want people working but what’s the biggest impediment to getting a job in our country? Having a criminal record.”

Paul questioned Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s stance in Sunday’s debate regarding her husband’s criminal justice reform bill passed in the early 1990s. He said Clinton should say whether she’s sorry for supporting a bill that “put a whole generation of young African-Americans in jail.”

Employees and patrons of Platinum Kutz got to ask Paul direct questions during the stop. He spent about 20 minutes with the group, before pastors said a prayer and local rapper Will Keeps sang the national anthem in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Among the attendees was State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, who told Paul: “The urban core is largely forgotten. I don’t know another candidate that has walked in a barbershop ever before, and we applaud you for that.”

In Johnston, Paul told the crowd of more than 200 that he's the only candidate who is a true fiscal conservative and would work to introduce and pass a balanced budget. He said lawmakers should use the "power of the purse" to leverage a reduced spending bill under a threat of a government shut down. Paul said he would propose that all 12 departments of government have separate spending bills instead of them being lumped into one.

"You'd have to use the leverage of letting spending expire. The problem with saying that you want to shut down government is it sort of implies that you want the disruption of no services and nobody getting their checks," Paul said. "Nobody really wants that. But you can use the leverage of nobody wanting that to try to institute budget reforms."

AT THE EVENTS

SETTING: Platinum Kutz barbershop in the Drake neighborhood and the Stoney Creek Hotel in Johnston.

CROWD: About 50 people crowded into the barbershop, while more than 200 attended his Monday evening rally.

REACTION: The barbershop group asked the senator several questions and applauded several times. In Johnston, the crowd was enthusiastic, cheering several times for policy ideas.

WHAT'S NEXT: Paul will be back in Iowa on Jan. 27 until the Feb. 1 caucus, but his official schedule hasn't been released.