Rand Paul Creating His Own Trustworthiness Issues

Rand Paul's campaign pushed the story that after meeting with the National Republican Senatorial Committee that he came away with their assurance that the NRSC would not be endorsing anyone in the upcoming Kentucky republican primary for United States Senate.  Paul's folks spun this as a positive for them and a negative for Trey Grayson.

But then Joe Gerth at the Courier Journal reported that Paul's spin wasn't sitting so well with the NRSC.

Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the committee, said in an interview that [NRSC Political Director Randy] Bumps didn’t say what Paul claimed he did.

“Randy did speak with Mr. Paul,” Walsh said. “But what Mr. Paul told you was not entirely accurate. What Randy told him was that the NRSC does not anticipate making any endorsements in the race but that we reserve the right to do so.”

That makes twice in about a week that Paul's campaign made statements which others then identified as being inaccurate.

During a recent forum in Louisville Rand Paul chided Trey Grayson after Grayson accused Paul of taking inconsistent positions on Gitmo.  Grayson pointed out that Paul's statements during the forum were at odds with those on his website.

Paul countered by telling Grayson that maybe he ought to learn how to read.  That kind of snippy remark led someone to confront Paul with a screen shot of his website seemingly proving that Grayson was right.  Not only did Paul's demeaning comment to Grayson raise some questions about his temperament, but Paul had to admit that he was wrong.

Now, with the latest question being raised about Paul's veracity regarding the conversation with the NRSC political director Randy Bumps, Paul has taken two steps backward from the front runner status he held after a recent Survey USA poll put him a few points ahead of Grayson.

Paul's momentum seemed to be building a hefty head of steam in early November, but these latest stumbles could cause some to question how solid his campaign really is.  And in a race where he is still struggling to earn the loyalty and respect of the party faithful, Paul's quest for the nomination will heavily depend on a virtually flawless campaign from here on out.

Comments

[Dee]

"It shows that Rand is a normal human who isnt going to say anything the people want to hear."

Uh, no, it shows he will do EXACTLY that - say anything people want to hear. His ever changing views are proof enough of that as he tries to reinvent himself as a conservative to appeal the electorate. He fits the bill of the stereotypical politician - the goal is to acheive power, by whatever means.

[Dee]

"The posts Grayson dug up were from a "Draft Rand Paul" website run by different people before Rand was even running."

That's the spin, but it isn't the truth.

[Lucas King]

I think this just shows that Paul is not a sly robotron candidate that Grayson is. It shows that Rand is a normal human who isnt going to say anything the people want to hear. It took 181 days to get Grayson to even get an issue on his own website! Rand has been tooting this drum forever! When Grayson was first forming his exploratory committee, he said "im going accross the country to hear what Americans think and want..." What does that translate to? Grayson translation: "I am going to tell you every thing you want to hear!"

Paul didnt have to take a poll to have issues, he just had to look at the constitution! Go Rand Paul!

[Taika]

The posts Grayson dug up were from a "Draft Rand Paul" website run by different people before Rand was even running. These incidents looked bad, but really have little to do with Rand.

I suspect Rand'll be back to boxing Grayson's ears in no time. :D

[Bernie Kunkel]

According to the article below, methinks Rand Paul is on point.
ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease some of the anger being directed at the party establishment.

"We will not spend money in a contested primary," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News in a telephone interview today.

"There's no incentive for us to weigh in," said Cornyn, R-Texas. "We have to look at our resources. . . . We're not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election."

Cornyn said his pledge extends to races for open Senate seats -- not incumbents who may face primaries next year. The NRSC so far has endorsed candidates in four open Senate seats -- Florida, Missouri, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Cornyn's commitment is most immediately relevant in Florida, where the NRSC's candidate, Gov. Charlie Crist, is facing an aggressive challenge on his right from state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Some of the same conservative groups that supported Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district are making noises about backing Rubio, in a contest that could be the next showdown over the direction of the party.

"We're seriously looking at it. We like Marco Rubio a lot. We think that Charlie Crist represents some of the same things that Dede Scozzafava represents," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said on ABCNews.com's "Top Line" Monday. Scozzafava was the Republican nominee in the New York race.

Cornyn had praise for Rubio, and said he's sure that he would win the general election if he gets past Crist in the primary. Cornyn said he's confident that -- unlike in upstate New York -- Republicans will settle their differences in the primary.

"The first lesson is that competitive primaries are generally a good thing," Cornyn said. "To me, that's the overarching lesson to be learned out of the 23rd. When 11 people get behind closed doors and pick the nominee ... the grassroots are going to find an alternative."

Cornyn said the NRSC is only endorsing in races where -- like in Crist's case -- the candidate specifically requests its stamp of approval. He said that -- notwithstanding any endorsements -- his group would even offer advice on hiring and strategy to GOP challengers, like Rubio, who haven't been endorsed.

Asked what endorsements mean, then, Cornyn said some candidates may want the backing to help line up support and financing. Beyond that, however, he said NRSC endorsements won't mean very much in practice.

"Endorsements, frankly, are overrated.... They can to some extent be a negative," Cornyn said, noting that candidates in New Hampshire, California, and Colorado, for example, have asked the national party to stay out of their races.

"People shouldn't read too much into endorsements by the NRSC. We are encouraging people we think are the strongest candidates to run."

Cornyn said he hopes yesterday's results help expand Republicans' map next year: "There are a few other candidates I'd like to see get into these races. This can't be anything other than encouraging to them."
November 4, 2009

[Pile2012]

Well stated.