FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015
Because Rand Paul’s Presidential Campaign Hangs In The Balance
Bluegrass Bureau Chief Ken CamBoo says the counter at the lower right hand corner of the Whistleblower web page continues to count down the hours, minutes, and seconds until August 22, when the Kentucky GOP Central Committee will vote on whether to change their May primary to a March caucus, because that would be a critical moment for Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and his wet dream aspirations for the White House, and whatever his backup plan might be.
However, U.S. News and World Report is already reporting that on Saturday, August 22, the Republican Party of Kentucky’s 340-member central committee is expected to vote to approve the caucus plan and will have until October 1 to clear legal and logistical hurdles and inform the Republican National Committee. The caucus determining the state’s delegates to the Republican nominating convention would occur on a different day than the state’s primary, where his name would appear on the ballot for Senate.
But while Paul’s intention to run concurrently for both offices initially received a positive reaction, his lackluster performance in the first Republican debate and less-than stellar poll numbers have raised concerns over whether extraordinary expenditures – up to $600,000 to run a caucus to help Paul circumvent the law – is worth it.
Earlier this week, Paul attempted to assuage those fears, promising that his campaign would take on all associated costs for the caucus. In a letter to the state GOP, Paul said he had transferred $250,000 to the Republican Party of Kentucky and planned to pay another installment of $200,000 once budgets and rules are finalized.
And while Paul’s plan may clear the legal obstacles for the primary, critics say his ponying up the money to facilitate the caucuses smacks of crossing a line.
“He’s allowed to give unlimited sums from his campaign committee to the state party under federal law,” says Joshua Douglas, an elections law expert at the University of Kentucky. “But it’s certainly strange, and people are raising the question as to whether this is ethical.”
Former Republican state Rep. Bob Heleringer, who says he supports Paul but not the caucus plan, was more blunt. “It sends a message that the Republican Party in Kentucky is for sale,” Heleringer says. “We’re changing one system of voting for one man, to accommodate one office-holder in our party. I think it sets a bad precedent.”
And naturally, Kentucky’s Doofus DemocRAT Secretary of State Alison Wondergams Grimes predicted total chaos and the end of life on Earth as we know it if Republicans pass their Rand Plan.
