IRVINE – Outlining proposals to appeal to young voters and poor minorities, presidential candidate Rand Paul described to Orange County Republicans on Friday a path to win over some core supporters of the Democratic Party.

“We were the party of emancipation,” Paul told a room of 900 gathered for the county GOP’s annual Flag Day dinner fundraisers. “We were the party of civil rights. We can be that party again.”

Paul told the story of Kalief Browder, who was jailed at age 16 on accusations of stealing a backpack. He spent three years at Riker’s Island before having the charges dismissed and being released, but he never went to trial. Browder committed suicide this month at age 22.

Paul pointed to the constitutional right to a trial by jury and speculated that Browder might still be alive had the Constitution been more strictly followed.

He also called on the party to work harder to help poor neighborhoods, saying they should have lower taxes so that more money can remain in those areas. “We have to be able to say we can offer opportunity,” he said.

The 52-year-old first-term Kentucky senator is one of more than a dozen Republican declared or likely presidential candidates. Paul has been polling in the top six, with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker typically holding down the top two spots.

The importance of the Constitution is a recurring theme of Paul’s campaign – and it was reflected in his 28-minute speech Friday.

“We need to become the party of the entire Bill of Rights,” he said. He talked about the need for strong property rights, criticized civil asset forfeiture and particularly attacked the government’s mass collection of phone records.

He pointed to the need for cellphone privacy as an inroad to young voters.

“The whole world revolves through their phones,” he said. “The right to privacy is a means to expanding our message.”

In an interview before the GOP dinner, Paul discussed key issues with the Register:

IRAQ: Paul said Congress should approve any increase in U.S. forces in Iraq but didn’t oppose President Barack Obama’s decision this week to send 450 more troops to help in the fight against Islamic State.

“There shouldn’t be 10,000,” he said. “There shouldn’t be 100,000. I’m not going to say zero because I think there are already troops there that defend our embassy. There are troops that defend our consulate. I think the troops that we send in should be to defend American interests. I think we can help to amplify our allies there and protect our interests.”

OBAMA’S PROPOSED TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORIZATION: Republicans – but not Paul – have been more supportive of this than Democrats.

“I think we’ve had a gradual transfer of power from Congress to the president and I think the presidency under any president has accumulated too much power,” he said. “I’m un-inclined to give him more power, so I voted against TPA.”

IMMIGRATION REFORM: Paul continued to avoid commenting on what should be done with the estimated 12 million people in the country without proper documents.

“We’ve got to secure the border first, and I think we’ll figure it out from there,” he said.

THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE COLLAPSE: Paul blamed federal policy but did not say more regulation was needed.

“There are two things that allowed the housing bubble to get out of control,” he said. “One is the Federal Reserve kept the interest rate below the market rate. Normally, when the market heats up, the demand for money heats up and the price of the money goes up. So interest rates rise and that causes a natural correction. But if you keep them at 2 percent, you lead to a huge bubble. We’re doing it again right now.

“The second thing is that the government encouraged people to buy homes that didn’t have the traditional down payments.”