Rand Paul hits the road eyeing 2016 bid
- Paul%27s speech Friday in Cincinnati is just part of an itinerary packed with politics
- The senator will travel from Covington and Fancy Farm%2C Ky.%2C to Okoboji%2C Iowa%2C to Guatemala
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Rand Paul takes his crusade for a more inclusive Republican Party to Cincinnati on Friday, where he will talk to a national civil rights conference about reforming education and changing the criminal justice system to enhance opportunities among minorities.
The potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate and Kentucky's junior senator said in an interview with The Courier-Journal Thursday that he considers his remarks before the National Urban League Conference to be a major speech that will outline issues that "have the ability maybe to attract new voters to the Republican Party and to our cause."
"The great equalizer for people of any background is getting a good education, but the education people are getting is not equal," Paul said. To change that, state and local governments must embrace alternatives "allowing more choices, allowing for vouchers, allowing for charter schools, and just sort of admitting that there are good public schools and bad public schools."
Paul's visit to Cincinnati is just part of an itinerary in coming weeks that is packed with politics and a week of charitable work certain to keep Paul in the public spotlight and speculators speculating.
"Rand Paul is the Energizer Bunny of the Senate Republicans," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
New polls in Iowa and New Hampshire show Paul enjoying early front-runner status in the GOP field for 2016, but he insisted that his tentative schedule for deciding whether to seek the White House is not changing.
"The decision will be made in the beginning of 2015 sometime or the spring of 2015," Paul said.
The senator said he reads the news stories about the early presidential polls.
"I'm aware that the polls are favorable," he said. "And it is part of the calculation (in deciding to run) — some — in the sense that, if you're polling at 1 percent and you're at 20th place, it's less encouraging to say you have a chance. Because it's a tough slog and a difficult battle. But to be considered in the first tier obviously is an encouraging sign for someone who's thinking about it."
Meanwhile, Paul will be on the road. A lot.
His stops are an eclectic mix of political fundraisers, a Chamber of Commerce speech, a libertarian convention, and pro-bono surgeries that will take the senator from Covington and Fancy Farm, Ky., to the resort of Okoboji, Iowa, to the modest and quiet town of Salama, located in the center of Guatemala.
In addition to education reform, Paul said his Cincinnati speech will discuss his Senate partnerships with liberal Democrats on legislation that would make criminal records less of an obstacle to restoring the right to vote and getting a job.
"There are a huge amount of felonies that are non-violent, that are drug-related and youth-related," he said. "There ought to be an element of second chances in the law."
The senator also will discuss his support for what he calls "economic freedom zones" — locally-based economic development in high-unemployment areas.
Also Friday, Paul will speak at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon and appear at Republican Party event in Covington.
Paul's schedule after Cincinnati Friday includes a July 30 keynote address to the Young Americans for Liberty National Convention in Arlington, Va., and appearances and then a speech at the annual Fancy Farm political picnic on Aug. 1 and 2.
Then the senator heads to Iowa for three days, stumping for Republicans. His schedule includes an Aug. 4 event in Okoboji for Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa; an Aug. 5 fundraiser in Davenport, Iowa, for GOP House candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks; and an Aug. 6 speech at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa.
Paul was last in Iowa in June — his third foray to the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state. He has hired two key Iowa Republicans as strategists for his political action committee, RANDPAC.
"Our goal will be to begin looking at some key players in Iowa and have them ride or spend some private time with Senator Paul and giving them a chance to ask questions," Steve Grubbs, one of the strategists, recently told Real Clear Politics. "He's definitely getting ahead of the game in organizing the state for whatever his purposes might be."
Then from Aug. 16-21, Paul will be in Guatemala, where he will perform free eye surgeries as part of a medical team assembled by the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center. Paul said the team hopes to help 200 to 300 people suffering from cataracts, a leading cause of blindness.
The senator, who is an ophthalmologist, had a practice in Bowling Green, Ky., before he was elected in 2010. Senate rules prohibit him from being paid, but he continues to perform free eye surgeries for those in need about four or five times a year. He said he will be doing some surgeries in Louisville just before leaving on his trip.
Paul said he was looking forward to reuniting with some Guatemalan patients he helped years ago in his Kentucky offices.
"I've never been there," he said. "I'm kind of excited to go down there."
Paul has asked for contributions of about $20,000 to help the eye center defray the trips' costs, which includes taking delicate medical equipment to Salama, Salt Lake City's Deseret News reported recently.
The senator said he also hoped to include some official business by meeting with Guatemala's leaders.
Guatemala is one of the countries children have been fleeing through Mexico and across the border with the United States, creating a humanitarian, logistical and political challenge.
But Paul said he had no agenda for his Central American visit.
"I don't want to make the trip like I'm going down there to fix the immigration problem," he said. "This is more of a humanitarian trip than a political trip."
When he gets back home, Paul is slated to be the headliner Aug. 25 at a campaign barbecue for Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney in Rock Hill, S.C.
Paul also will have some family time, then campaign for Republican candidates for the state legislature in Kentucky in September. A major foreign policy speech — time and place not yet confirmed — is slated for the fall.
The senator conceded his visits to places like Iowa and his high-profile speeches to national groups fans the flames of political speculation about his interest in the presidency.
"The other thing it does, though, is — I want to be part of figuring out the ideas and the direction of the party as the party gets bigger," Paul said. "And so anybody who's being considered (for president) or has expressed an interest really, I think, has more say in how we grow the party bigger."
There's little doubt Paul is leaning toward a White House bid, Sabato said.
"If he isn't running," he said, "he's done the best impression of a presidential candidate I've seen among non-contenders ever."
Reporter James R. Carroll can be reached at (703) 854-8945. Follow him on Twitter @JRCarrollCJ.
Sen. Paul's upcoming schedule
• Friday, 8 a.m. at the National Urban League Conference, Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St.
• Friday: Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Covington; 4th District Republican fundraiser, Covington.
• July 30: Keynote address, Young Americans for Liberty National Convention, Arlington, Va.
• Aug. 1 and 2: Appearances and a speech at the annual political picnic, Fancy Farm, Ky.
• Aug. 4: Fundraising event for Republican Rep. Steve King, Okoboji, Iowa.
• Aug. 5: Fundraiser for GOP House candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Davenport, Iowa.
• Aug. 6: Speech at the Westside Conservative Club, Urbandale, Iowa.
• Aug. 16-21: Pro-bono eye surgeries, Salama, Guatemala; some official meetings, Guatemala City.
• Aug. 25: Campaign barbecue for Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney, Rock Hill, S.C.