Taking a short diversion from Missouri politics for a moment, I read with interest this article from the New York Times about Rand Paul's run for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky.
Rand Paul happens to be Rep. Ron Paul's son. The elder Paul, R-Texas, shook up the 2008 presidential race by raising tens of millions of dollars and enlisting a vocal coalition of supporters.
From the article:
Capitalizing on a hearty distrust of government and an anti-Republican-establishment fervor among conservatives, he has used the Internet to raise more than $1.3 million since he began his campaign in August.
“This primary is really about the future of our party,” said Dr. Paul, 46, who has lived in Kentucky since 1993 and has never run for public office before.
“The Republican platform specifically says we don’t believe in bailing out private business, and yet we did,” Dr. Paul said in a break between cataract operations. “The Republican platform also specifically says we don’t believe in government ownership of private businesses, and yet a lot of Republicans voted for that.”
Dr. Paul has seen a surge in popularity and fund-raising in the last several months, setting the stage for what pundits here say could be one of the most expensive and competitive primary contests in state history.
Ron Paul actually ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, losing to eventual winner Phil Gramm.
I had the chance to interview Ron Paul several times last year. He talked about his Internet popularity, his positions on foreign affairs and his take on whether the U.S. should go back to the gold standard. You can read one of the interviews here.
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