Sen. Paul launches bid for GOP nomination

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sen. Rand Paul launched his 2016 presidential campaign Tuesday with a combative challenge both to Washington and his fellow Republicans, cataloging a lengthy list of what ails America and pledging to “take our country back.”

Paul’s fiery message, delivered in his home state of Kentucky before he flew to four early-nominating states, was designed to broaden his appeal outside of the typical GOP coalition as well as motivate supporters of his father’s two unsuccessful bids for the Republican presidential nomination.

In a 26-minute speech that excoriated “the Washington machine,” he spared neither Republican nor Democrat as he attempted to tap into Americans’ deep frustrations with their government.

“I worry that the opportunity and hope are slipping away for our sons and daughters,” the tea party favorite said. “As I watch our once-great economy collapse under mounting spending and debt, I think, ‘What kind of America will our grandchildren see?’ ”

He added: “It seems to me that both parties and the entire political system are to blame.”

By criticizing fellow Republicans, Paul showed he was ready to run a tough-talking campaign equally at ease criticizing both major parties.

“Big government and debt doubled under a Republican administration,” Paul said in a swipe at former President George W. Bush, whose brother, Jeb, is expected to be a Paul rival for the GOP nomination.

He immediately followed up: “And it’s now tripling under Barack Obama’s watch.”

In what well might have been a jab at Jeb Bush and other rivals considered more mainstream, he added: “If we nominate a candidate who is simply Democrat Lite, what’s the point?”

At a splashy kickoff rally, Paul promised a government restrained by the Constitution and beholden no more to special interests.

“I have a message, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We have come to take our country back,” he told cheering supporters.

Paul is a fierce critic of Washington, where he is in his first term as a senator but often not in line with his party’s leadership. A banner over the stage in Louisville proclaimed: “Defeat the Washington machine. Unleash the American dream.”

Paul was clearly most passionate about upending the way Washington works.

“I propose we do something extraordinary,” he said. “Let’s just spend what comes in.”

Cheers erupted when he decried government searches of phones and computer records as a threat to civil liberties. Most Republicans defend the practice as a necessary defense against terrorism.

“I say the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business,” Paul said of government officials.

Paul’s challenge now is to persuade other Republican voters that his is a vision worthy of the GOP presidential nomination, a prize twice denied his father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. The elder Paul joined his son at Tuesday’s announcement and got a raucous cheer when he was introduced.

Paul begins the 2016 race as the second fully declared candidate, after Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. They could face as many as 20 rivals before the lead-off Iowa caucuses in February.

Paul is leaving open the door to a second term in the Senate. With the backing of his state’s senior senator, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he is likely to seek the White House and the Senate seat at the same time.

One of Paul’s likely rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, is expected to announce next week that he will skip a Senate re-election bid in 2016 in favor of putting everything into a presidential campaign.