Rand Paul attacks a 'stale and moss-covered' GOP

Rand Paul says GOP ‘has grown stale and moss-covered’

• Hey GOP, how about creating a real two-party system with true differences not just hot air.

Constitutional Federalist Senator Rand Paul was dismissive of a Republican Party he called “stale and moss-covered,” during a speech delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday.  The speech was part policy blueprint and part vigorous defense of the Constitution.

“My 13-hour filibuster was a message to the president: Good intentions are not enough,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Mr. President, good intentions are not enough.”

After Paul’s information-seeking filibuster over the Obama administration’s policy regarding the constitutionality of drone strikes, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sent him a curt letter shortly afterward clarifying that Comrade Obama does not have the authority “to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil,” reports the Washington Times.

“The filibuster was about drones, but also much more: Do we have a Bill of Rights, do we have a Constitution, and will we defend it?”  Paul said.

Many in the crowd at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., stood for the entirety of the address, waving “Stand with Rand” signs at various points — a meme that grew out of the recent filibuster.

Paul said he would soon unveil a plan that balances the federal budget in five years, eliminates the Department of Education, cuts the corporate income tax in half and installs a 17-percent flat personal income tax.

He also spoke directly to what he called the “Facebook generation”: ostensibly younger, libertarian-minded people who made up a large portion of the loyal following of his father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.

Ask whether someone should be put in jail for a minor drug violation and they’ll say no, he said.

“They want elders that won’t feed them a line of crap or sell them short,” he said. “The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don’t think we need to name any names.”

After the filibuster, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona sharply criticized  Paul, with McCain dismissing Paul, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan as “wacko birds.”