Paul found friendly audiences at the end of a stormy week filled with negative headlines over comments he made about vaccinations and swirling controversy involving one of his advisers in Iowa.
The crowds this weekend were a marked contrast to the social conservative audience that packed a Des Moines theater two weeks ago to hear 10 hours of speeches from a hoard of other potential candidates at the Iowa Freedom Summit.
The Federal Reserve was hardly mentioned at that event, and the rhetoric on war and the fight against ISIS was more forceful and hawkish that the positions Paul took this weekend.
‘One loud voice’
Last fall, the senator struggled to communicate his stance on the war against terror. At first he urged restraint against ISIS, but after American journalists were beheaded by the group, Paul began supporting limited action.
He eventually, in a committee vote, voted “no” to authorizing war against ISIS, saying he felt the bill was too open-ended, and it was a vote he stood proudly by this weekend as he used it to separate himself from his potential competitors.
“You’re going to get a choice on who the nominee is for the Republican Party. You’re going to have nine, 10, 15, 20 who are eager to go and want troops on the ground,” he said at the “Audit the Fed” rally Friday, which took place at a winery in Des Moines. “They want 100,000 troops on the ground. Right now. In all the countries.”
–
“There are always going to be people who have chosen other candidates or who for one reason or another hold a grudge. But I think really with both A.J. and (Paul’s other Iowa adviser, Steve Grubbs) there’s a broad reach to a broad swath to the party,” Paul told the Des Moines Register on Thursday.
Paul spent several days trying to clear up comments he made that lent credibility to theories​ that vaccinations cause mental disorders. That, combined with negative attention over how he shushed a female interviewer, sparked a wave of criticism from pundits over whether the senator is ready for prime time.
“Rand Paul is not inspiring a lot of confidence that he his ready for a national campaign,” said Iowa GOP strategist Tim Albrecht. “You can coach a candidate on messaging and how to give a speech but what you cannot coach is thick skin. He needs to toughen up and that starts by not talking down to people interviewing him. We’ve already got that in the White House.”
Rand Paul defends shushing interview
But the supporters who showed up at his events this weekend appeared unconcerned with the senator’s recent dust-ups.
“I don’t take one week at a time,” said Dave McCluskey of West Des Moines. “I look at the big picture.”
