>> THE IOWA CAUCUS HAS CLAIMED ANOTHER VICTIM.
RAND PAUL IS OUT
AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
HE ANNOUNCED TO HIS CAMPAIGN
VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF EARLY THIS MORNING AND RELEASED A WRITTEN
STATEMENT.
HE SAYS --
>> MAYBE THE CANDLES OF LIBERTY.
LITTLE FLICKERING TINY FLAMES OF LIBERTY.
>>IT ANNOYS ME THAT THIS GUY KEEPS TALKING ABOUT HOW HE
STANDS FOR LIBERTY.
AND BY THE WAY, NOT EVEN A TRUE LIBERTARIAN
IF YOU ASK ME.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU LIBERTY OVER EVERYTHING
EXCEPT YOUR BODY.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR BODY IN
THE NAME OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND I WILL CALL THAT, WHAT?
I'M
PRO-LIFE BASED ON A WRONG INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE SO I
WOULD LIKE TO INVADE YOUR BODY AND MAKE CHOICES FOR YOU ON
THAT, BUT I AM THE LIBERTY CANDIDATE.
MY ASS YOU ARE.
BUT I
DO LIKE HOW APPROPRIATELY HUMBLE HE WAS WITH A BRUSH FIRE OF
LIBERTY.
LIKE ON SURVIVOR WHEN THEY RUB THE THINGS TOGETHER.
>>UNFORTUNATELY HIS CANDLE WAS PUT OUT.
IS THAT WHAT THEY DO?
HIS TORCH?
>>THAT WAS NOT A TORCH OR INFERNO OF LIBERTY, JUST A BRUSH FIRE.
>>LIKE IF A FIRE IN YOUR KITCHEN STARTED THAT SMALL, YOU WOULD
WANT TO DEAL WITH IT SOON, BUT FINISH YOUR DRINK OR SOMETHING.
>>THE TODDLER OF LIBERTY.
NOT A FULL-GROWN MAN YET.
RAND, RUN
ALONG, I SUPPOSE, AND ASK YOUR DAD HOW YOU DO IT, BECAUSE IN
2012 HIS DAD GOT MORE THAN FOUR TIMES AS MANY VOTES, OR A
PERCENTAGE OF THE VOTE, AS RAND PAUL DID THIS TIME AROUND.
AND
MY THEORY AS TO WHY HE WAS NOT THE NEW IMPROVED VERSION OF HIS
DAD WAS THAT HE WAS NOT QUITE AS GENUINE, 41.
HE WAS TRYING TO
PLAY POLITICAL GAMES, AND HIS DAD'S SUPPORTERS ARE DYED IN THE
WOOL.
THEY ARE HARD-CORE, AND RAND PAUL WAS TRYING TO CHEAT
AROUND THE EDGES.
THEY ARE BEHEADING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN
ISIS, SO MY PREVIOUS POSITIONS, I WILL AMEND A LITTLE BIT.
THERE
WAS A LOT OF THAT FROM RAND.
AND SECONDLY, HE WAS A WEENIE.
HE
WOULD SIT IN THE DEBATES AS IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE.
I'M
ANNOYED BY THIS BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE REAL ANSWER, THE
REAL ANSWER IS THIS.
HEY, WEENIE, GET YOUR HEAD INTO THE RACE AND RUN STRONG.
>>RUN LIKE YOU CARE.
>>YOU DON'T RUN AS A BRUSH FIRE, YOU RUN AS AN INFERNO.
YOU SAY I
AM FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT.
MY BIG GOVERNMENT OPPONENT, MARCO
RUBIO, WHO THINKS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS THE ANSWER TO
EVERY FOREIGN POLICY QUESTION -- MARCO, WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
LET ME GUESS, THE GOVERNMENT.
>>I WOULD HATE ALL OF THAT BUT HE WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER WITH IT.
>>FIRST OF ALL YOU DO BETTER IN POLITICS, ESPECIALLY
REPUBLICAN POLITICS, BUT IN ALL POLITICS IN ALL PLACES, IF
YOU ARE STRONG RATHER THAN A WEENIE.
>>OR AWAKE.
BEN CARSON IS THE EXCEPTION.
JEB BUSH WOULD LISTEN
TO HIS ANSWERS, LIKE, I'M THE LOW-ENERGY ONE?
THIS GUY IS
SLEEPING.
A LITTLE MORE FROM HIS STATEMENT --
>>BECAUSE NOBODY CAN QUIT ANYMORE, THEY HAVE TO SUSPEND --
>>BEAR IN MIND --
>> I THINK HE WAS ALSO DECLARED SOME OTHER THINGS BY PEOPLE IN
THE MEDIA.
>>I WONDER IF ANYONE HERE THOUGHT HE WOULD DO BETTER.
LET'S GO BACK -- REMEMBER WE DID THIS BRACKET, THE FREAK 16,
BECAUSE THERE WERE 16 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES, AND EVERYBODY MADE
PREDICTIONS ON WHO WOULD BE THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE?
LET'S FIND
OUT HOW SOME OF US DID.
>>IN THE END, WHO WILL REPUBLICANS GO WITH?
YOUR FINAL
CHAMPION FOR 2016, THE WINNER OF FREE 16 IS, IN A STUNNING UPSET,
THE DOCTOR, DOCTOR RAND PAUL.
OH MY GOD, WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
CAN
YOU IMAGINE IF I'M RIGHT?
THE DEGREE OF GLOATING I WILL DO WILL BE RECORD-BREAKING.
>>[LAUGHTER]
>> OKAY --
>>THERE WILL STILL BE GLOATING.
>>THERE WILL.
I WILL SPIN THIS INTO A VICTORY.
FIRST OF ALL, LET US NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT I AM THE
ONE WHO REQUESTED TO BRING OUT THAT VIDEO.
>> HE DID.
I DIDN'T REQUEST IT, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE ALERTED ME AND I DID
WATCH THE CLIP.
>>RIGHT IS RIGHT AND WRONG IS WRONG AND I WAS WRONG THERE.
THAT IS WHY WE WANT IT ON THE RECORD, THAT IS WHY WE DO IT
AHEAD OF TIME, NOT AFTERWARDS.
WE AREN'T MONDAY MORNING
QUARTERBACKS.
LET ME ATTEMPT TO SPIN IT.
THE REASON I HAD RAND
PAUL BEATING ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATES -- I HAD JEB BUSH IN
THE FINALS, I OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING, AND OUR
AUDIENCE HAD JEB BUSH IN THE FINALS --
THIS IS BEFORE THE VOTING HAD BEGUN.
>> YOUR AUDIENCE IS BEATING YOU NOW BECAUSE JEB IS STILL IN
THE RACE.
>> MY RATIONALE WAS AN OUTSIDER WAS MORE LIKELY TO WIN IN ONE OF
THESE ESTABLISHMENT KNUCKLEHEADS LIKE RUBIO OR BUSH.
THE IDEA
BEHIND THAT PREDICTION STILL STANDS, AND I WOULD ARGUE IS
ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL.
SO THE OTHER GUY WHO FANCIES HIMSELF A
LIBERTARIAN IN THE RACE IS TED CRUZ AND HE'S DOING VERY WELL.
I
GUESS I DIDN'T PICK CRUZ OVER PAUL BECAUSE I THOUGHT, HE'S NOT
REALLY A LIBERTARIAN.
HE'S JUST A SMARMY POLITICIAN WHO IS
TRYING TO STEAL THE LIBERTARIAN VOTE, AND IS BEING SLIGHTLY
SUCCESSFUL IN THAT DIRECTION, PARTLY BECAUSE OF WHAT A WEENIE
RAND PAUL TURNED OUT TO BE, AND OF COURSE THE ULTIMATE OUTSIDER
IS DONALD TRUMP, AND HE HAD A RUN I DID NOT EXPECT.
>> TRUMP WASN'T IN IT WHEN YOU DID THAT, RIGHT?
>>HE WAS IN THE TOP 16, I HAD HIM RANKED LIKE NINTH.
THE
BOTTOM LINE IS, I THINK A CANDIDATE LIKE RAND PAUL COULD
HAVE MADE AN INTERESTING RUN, BUT HE DIDN'T.
I'LL GO FURTHER IN
SHOWING HOW WRONG I WAS, ALSO NOT JUST ON THIS PARTICULAR
CANDIDATE, BUT ON THE SUBSTANCE TO SOME DEGREE.
BECAUSE I
THOUGHT THERE WAS MORE FIGHT IN THE LIBERTARIANS, AND THEY
REALLY HAVEN'T SHOWN UP HERE.
A LIBERTARIAN WHO SUPPORTS TED
CRUZ IS A WEAK SAUCE LIBERTARIAN.
IF YOU SUPPORTED
PAUL, I GOT IT.
I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IN SOME PARTS, BUT I
GOT IT.
IT LOOKED LIKE THAT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT WING IN THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY.
AND THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY CONSERVATIVES
ONLINE, THERE ARE LOTS OF YOUNG LIBERTARIANS ONLINE.
THEY LEFT RAND PAUL TO DIE OUT THERE.
>>IF THE LIBERTARIAN POLITICIANS YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE FROM ARE RAND
PAUL OF 2015 AND THE EARLIER YEARS, AND TED CRUZ, I GUESS
MAYBE YOU PICK ONE OF THEM IN COMPARISON TO A JEB BUSH IF YOU
ARE A LIBERTARIAN -- I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD COME UP
WITH LIBERTARIANISM AS A POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, THAT WE
ARE BEST WHEN LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES WITH MINIMAL GOVERNMENT
TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE DON'T MURDER AND RAPE EACH OTHER AND ALL
THAT, AND THAT IS HOW HUMANITY WILL FLOURISH.
THAT YOU HAVE
THESE INHERENT RIGHTS YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACT ON.
OH, AND BY
THE WAY, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE IS WATCHING AT ALL
TIMES AND KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE THINKING AND DOING AND YOU HAVE
TO FOLLOW HIS EVERY COMMAND.
THOSE DON'T FIT TOGETHER.
THAT
DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER.
YOU HAVE THESE
INHERENT RIGHTS THAT NEED TO BE RESPECTED BUT REALLY IT IS JUST
ALL THE RIGHTS WE WILL ALLOW YOU TO HAVE FROM WHAT OUR GOD WROTE
DOWN 2000 YEARS AGO.
THAT IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING, I DON'T KNOW WHY IT
IS BEING BUNDLED IN MODERN-DAY POLITICIANS WITH LIBERTARIANISM.
IT IS ANTI-LIBERTARIAN.
>>YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DO ANYTHING YOU LIKE UNLESS IT
OFFENDS THE CREATOR.
THE CREATOR WILL THEN LAY DOWN A BUNCH OF MORAL RULES THAT
WILL ENSLAVE YOU TO HIS MORAL CODE, WHICH OF COURSE IS IN
REALITY INVENTED.
>>IF IT OFFENDS OUR INTERPRETATION
OF MULTI-THOUSAND YEAR OLD TEXTS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE.
>>IF YOU ARE A RELIGIOUS LIBERTARIAN YOU REALLY DIDN'T
UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT.
BUT ONE MORE THING ABOUT HOW UNLIKABLE
RAND PAUL IS.
SOME PEOPLE ARE SPINNING THIS AS, YOU KNOW,
BECAUSE OF THE TERROR ATTACKS IN PARIS AND BECAUSE OF ISIS AND
SAN BERNARDINO, ETC., IT WAS NOT RAND PAUL'S TIME.
REPUBLICANS WANTED A MORE BLOODTHIRSTY RESPONSE.
SOME OF THAT IS TRUE, BUT IT IS A BIT OF AN EXCUSE.
>>IRONIC, TOO.
>>IF YOU WERE STRONG IN FIGHTING FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT YOU COULD
HAVE FOUGHT THROUGH THIS, YOU JUST CHOSE NOT TO.
TO GIVE YOU A
SENSE OF HOW UNLIKABLE HE IS, A YEAR AGO HIS FAVORABILITY WAS
65%, FAVORABILITY WAS 25.
THAT IS GREAT.
TODAY HE'S
UNDERWATER, 41% UNFAVORABLE, 40% FAVORABLE.
I KNOW THERE WAS A
LOT OF CAMPAIGNING AND SOME OF IT NEGATIVE, BUT THEY DIDN'T RUN
A LOT OF ADS AGAINST RAND PAUL BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO, HE
WASN'T DOING THAT WELL.
SO IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF SEEING HIM
IN THE DEBATES AND THESE DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND HE LOST
BECAUSE HE WAS NOT VERY LIKABLE.
IT IS CERTAINLY PART OF THE
SUBSTANCE OF THE LIBERTARIANS NOT BEING AS BIG A FORCE IN THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY AS WE SUSPECTED, BUT IT IS ALSO
BECAUSE RAND PAUL WAS A PRETTY SHITTY CANDIDATE.