The topics: Is Rand Paul a good presidential candidate ? rand paul polls 2016 ( Joseph P. Hawranek, Ph.D. )

Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. – John Adams

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. – John Adams

A government of laws, and not of men. – John Adams

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. – Abraham Lincoln

We are never defeated unless we give up on God. –Ronald Reagan

Is Rand Paul a Good Presidential Candidate? (rand paul polls 2016)

Rand Paul is a presidential candidate but is he a “good choice” in that can he do the job if he wins and does he have a good chance to win the nomination.  Let us examine what it should take to do the job of president.   I quoted above from three great presidents. Thy all had the character traits that make a strong president.  What are they?

Strong Presidential Traits

I submit that all presidents should have the following traits to become a strong and good president.  Before we get into the traits, let me clarify that being qualified to run in the race is a constitutional requirement.

Qualified to Run

To not having the minimal requirements to run and to either lie or ignore these facts – highlights the character trait of lying.  I do not believe Obama passes this test.  He is a liar and is probably not a U.S. citizen.  The Democratic Party promoted him and the Republican Party ignored the lying affront signifying that they both could be controlled by the same source – the Council of Foreign Relations.  Further, his father was not a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth.  This also disqualifies him.

Two others now in the race are not qualified to be there.  Both are of Cuban heritage and both are outstanding men.  The fact is that the constitution requires that the candidates be American born of parents that were both citizens.  Neither of these men have parents that were native born Americans.  

Trait 1 – Does The Candidate Have A Vision For This Nation?

Trait 2 – Does The Candidate Have A Moral Compass That Can Guide Him Throughout The 4 Years Of The Presidency?

Trait 3 – Does The Candidate Have The Ability To Communicate His Vision And Moral Compass?

Trait 4 – Is The Candidate Free From Obligations To Others?  

Let us examine Rand Paul in light of these four requirements.

Trait 1 – Does The Candidate Have A Vision For This Nation?

Rand Paul has a very clear vision for this nation.  He envisions a nation that follows the constitution and the constitutional philosophy of Aristotle – – a nation of laws that rule all men including the president.  He believes in limited government and that the nation should be – – the following is from his website.

• Bound by the Constitution
• Be a nation and men abiding by laws and the Constitution
• He believes in individual responsibility and the
• Budget, Spending and Debt – He wants and fights for
  • Limited government
  • Eliminate Government waste
  • Offered two budgets in this race that balanced the U.S. budget.
• Civil Liberties
  • Privacy and Fourth amendment rights
  • Filibustered in opposition on use of drones to spy on on American citizens.
• Education
  • Opposed re-authorization of “No Child Left Behind”.
  • Opposed “Common Core”.
  • Opposed tying funding for “Race to the Top” to “Common Core”.
• Energy and Environment
  • Votes against regulation and does not believe in greenhouse gases (CO2)
  • Voted against Federal Government taking action on “Climate Change”
• Foreign Policy and Defense
  • Fierce advocate of U.S. sovereignty and against treaties that would limit that sovereignty
    • TPP and TPA are the ones that give up sovereignty.
• Free Market
  • Impressive record of opposing fascist capitalism with respect to donations from corporations.  He refuses some of then
  • Wants to kill Export Import bank as fascist. He calls it Cronyism.
  • He is against all energy subsidies
• Health Care and Entitlements
  • Supports repealing Obamacare
• Immigration
  • Moderate on immigration
    • Opposes Gang of 8 amnesty bill
    • Supports legalization and potential citizenship for illegals.
    • Supports putting a Fence across the border
    • Supports Constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship
• Moral Issues
  • Life begins at conception
  • Ban abortion after 20 weeks
  • Marriage is between a man and woman
• Second Amendment
  • Strong supporter of right to bear arms
  • Organizes a filibuster any restrictions on gun rights.
• Taxes, Economy and Trade
  • Votes for pro-growth policies
    • Remove economic barriers
    • Remove compulsory union membership
    • Remove federal regulations as much as possible

The conclusion is that he is a solid conservative that believes in National Sovereignty but limited government and has a clear vision where he wants to take this nation.  

Trait 2 – Does The Candidate Have A Strong Moral Compass?

His positions above on abortion and marriage demonstrate that he had a solid Christian belief system based on the Bible.  A moral compass has guided every President up to Clinton.

Trait 3 – Does The Candidate Have The Ability To Communicate His Vision And Moral Compass.

Communications requires both written, speaking and video capabilities.  He possesses all that plus he used his strong moral compass and knowledge of the Constitution to take unpopular positions with his  fellow Senators. His filibuster on the use of drones is but one example.

Trait 4 – Is The Candidate Free From Obligations To Others?  

He is freer than most men in Congress are and has in fact turned down money because it offends his value system.  This is encouraging but it provides him a major hurdle in his ability to be elected.  He has moved forward with donations from millions of people not donations of millions from a few people.

CONCLUSIONS

It is clear that Rand Paul passes all the tests and is a very good candidate. He is qualified, has a clear vision of where this country should be, has a sound moral compass based on the Bible and can communicate his vision and moral positions and acts on them.

This raises the question – Why is he not doing better in the papers and polls?

The answer is money.  If he sold his soul and beliefs to a few organizations to get more money then he could do more promotion and get his message out.  Rather, the competition constantly tries to paint his as a “kook” a “libertarian like his father”, an “isolationist” and a “moralist” on abortion and marriage. The average conservative voter likes all of these things but does not hear the message and the truth about Rand Paul form the media or advertising.  Thus, he is close to the best candidate on meeting the criteria but may not win because his moral makeup does not allow him to compromise his positions for money   

If he were nominated, he would go against the Democratic candidate for the presidency.  That is a kettle of another fish.  Hillary is likely to be nominated. She would not pass any but the 4th test.  She has no vision other than power for herself.  She has proven that she has no moral compass and, she does not communicate very well.

However, she has the full backing of the Wall Street banks to millions of dollars as proven by her released statistics on her backers. She also has her “Charitable Foundation” that she apparently grew while Secretary of State by means of extortion.  She has a few backers with millions that means she has a heavy-duty war chest for the campaign. She will be nominated and her money could allow her to win the Presidency.  Now the big question, if she wins because of the size of her almost limitless supply of money for the campaign, will she be a good president? Based on a similar analysis to that given to Rand Paul, the answer is no.