Could Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) become the standard-bearer for the Republican party and win the GOP presidential nomination in 2016? People who attended last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) think so. Paul won 25% of the votes in CPAC’s straw poll, followed by Senator Marco Rubi0 (R-FL) at 23%, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) at 8%, the party-crashing Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ — who was not invited) at 7%, and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) at 6%. Held on March 13th-16th at the posh Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD, the conference “brings together and energizes thousands of attendees and all of the leading conservative organizations and speakers who impact conservative thought in the nation,” according to CPAC’s website.





The presidential buzz started when Paul launched a 13-hour filibuster on March 6th to block John O. Brennan’s confirmation as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and to demand clarification for President Barack Obama’s drone policy. Even liberals like Jon Stewart gushed over the Kentucky senator kicking it old school with a good, old-fashioned, talking filibuster:

So Senator Rand Paul to draw a little attention to the issue of the execution of executive executions executed the classical school filibuster. I mean he is out there talking. This isn’t one of those — ooh — I am not going to do anything. He is using the filibuster the way it is meant to be used.

Since many progressives also feel leery about drones, the filibuster lent Paul an air of broad, cross-party appeal. Apparently, we’ve got our anti-drone, pro-Marijuana legalization goggles on. Either that, or the rest of the GOP has gotten so batsh*t crazy that this pro-gun, anti-gay, anti-choice Republican is looking goooooooood by comparison. Hopefully, Democratic-leaning Rand Paul fan girls and fan boys will distance themselves before they find themselves in a “coyote ugly” situation, and have to chew their arm off to get away.

Like Paul’s filibuster, the CPAC straw poll results immediately went viral — it’s never too early to start speculating about the next presidential race these days — and the DIY Internet pundits started proclaiming Paul as the future of a hopelessly mired GOP. But, really, how feasible IS a presidential run with Paul at the top of the ticket? Jake Miller from CBS News seems to think it’s a long shot possibility. After all, his father, the feisty former Congressman Ron Paul (Libertarian-TX) won the 2010 and 2011 CPAC straw polls, and look where he is now … um … where is he now?

The GOP strategist Ron Bonjean cautiously speculates:

“I think he has a ways to go before he would be considered a viable candidate. He’s already impressing conservative voters,” but “it’s a long way to go […] Does he have potential? Of course.”

Paul clearly has a broader — albeit less fanatical — appeal than his father, and has given signs that he intends to put himself forward in 2016. For example, he recently “softened his tone” for his long-standing position for ending all U.S. foreign aid during a recent trip to Israel, and told the Jerusalem Post,

I’m all for gradualism. I would start a little more quickly with those who are enemies of Israel, and enemies of the US. I would like to see their aid end more quickly. With regards to Israel, it could be a gradual phenomenon.

Also, his CPAC speech drew rave reviews, unlike those from some of his fellow GOP stars: Mitt Romney’s speech went unnoticed and unremarked upon; Newt Gingrich’s was widely viewed as bizarre and obsequious towards the Tea Party; and Sarah Palin was seen going down on downing a Big Gulp with an eagerness that puts Marco Rubio’s famous drink of water to shame.

On the less frothy side, Paul polled only two points ahead of Rubio, and his extreme views run deep and far away from the main stream: He opposes the American Disabilities Act, Obamacare (the majority of Americans support its key provisions), gun safety laws, labor rights, reproductive choice for women, marriage equality, and other issues that are important to progressives and centrists. In other words, using Paul as a fresh face for the GOP’s deeply repellent platform would be like putting lipstick on a pig.

Nonetheless, progressives should do everything possible to help Rand Paul win the GOP presidential nomination for the 2016 race, because it would give a huge boost to the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton — currently the most popular politician in America, according to a February 8th Quinnipiac University poll.

Here’s the video with Rand Paul’s CPAC speech: