Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s son, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, has provided a strong voice for his father’s campaign message in the final days leading up to the Iowa caucuses Tuesday.
The Kentucky senator has tried to change the popular perception of his father as the most “liberal” Republican candidate competing for the Republican nomination in 2012.
On Tuesday though, he also tried to downplay any negative connotations linked to this father’s campaign regarding drugs and prostitution.
“I never, ever heard him give a speech campaigning on any of those issues,” said Mr. Paul, responding to a CBS news anchor’s question about his father supporting the legalization of prostitution and drugs such as heroin and cocaine. ”He does support those things. He wants to pull troops out of Afghanistan, South Korea,”CBS News’ Chief White House correspondent Norah O’Donnell responded.
“I don’t think it characterizes who he is,” said Senator Paul. “If you go and listen to his campaign stump speech, he is someone who is concerned about the debt, and he thinks we can only fix our debt problem if you address our military spending and domestic spending. But I never heard him use the word ‘prostitution,’ much less campaign on it. That’s not a fair characterization of who Ron Paul is.”
Despite his father’s front running position among likely Iowa caucus voters according to a Des Moines Register poll released Saturday, the Texas congressman is still viewed by many Republican lawmakers and party members as too radical in his various domestic and foreign policy views.
Last week former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that a victory by Mr. Paul in Iowa would essentially discredit the Iowa caucuses all together.
Although his views have seemingly alienated him from mainstream Republicans, Mr. Paul continues to enjoy a strong loyal following, consisting of a lot of young voters.
In an appearance on ABC News Friday, Political strategist and ABC contributor James Carville summed up the Texas congressman’s loyal following based on two of his views that his son was arguing against Tuesday as Iowa voters head to caucuses.
“The people that support him are hearing two things: number one is that he wants us out of all wars and number two is that he wants to legalize drugs,” said Mr. Carville Friday.
Mr. Paul’s son countered that argument Tuesday, stating that his father’s strong base of young voters is a good thing, as it is getting them more engaged in politics.
“Yesterday in Iowa, I bet you we had the biggest crowds of any presidential candidate,” said Senator Paul. “We had 600 here in Des Moines. I went to the headquarters last night — 250 young people between the ages of 20 and 30 making phone calls last night. The place was packed to the rafters with young people.”
The influx of young voters could give the Texas congressman the slight edge he needs to pull off a victory in Iowa, as the recent Des Moines Register poll indicates that 41 percent of voters are still undecided heading into Tuesday night.
