The Pauls are back in the political scene. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, has been announced as a speaker in the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Ron Paul was not taken into account in the Republican Convention four years ago, but in the last four years the Pauls have increased their visibility. So this time, the Pauls haven’t been overlooked by the Republicans and Sen. Rand Paul will have the opportunity to speak in the Convention.

Sen. Rand Paul is a Doctor by profession; he attended Baylor University and graduated from Duke Medical School in 1988.  He is the third of five children born to Carol and Ron Paul. His father is also a Doctor who graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine.

Rand Paul’s official webpage explains that “Rand is a hard-working, dedicated physician, not a career politician. His entrance into politics is indicative of his life’s work: a desire to diagnose problems and provide practical solutions.”

Senator Rand Paul has recently criticized the Democrats’ Tax Hike plan. He stated: “It boggles the mind to think that now, during an economic recession; Senate Democrats put forth a plan to raise taxes on nearly a million business owners, farmers, ranchers, and families. Their idea of a tax plan includes damaging tax increases that would severely hurt small businesses and hike the estate tax from 35 percent to 55 percent. Fortunately for the American people, this tax bill is dead upon arrival, as our Constitution requires that all tax bills originate in the House of Representatives, and this one did not.”

Sean Sullivan, writer for the Washington Post blog The Fix, said that “Rand Paul will be a candidate for president — whether in 2016 or 2020— so he’ll want to use this national platform to boost his visibility outside of those people already devoted to his cause.”

Sen. Rand Paul’s father, Ron Paul, decided to enter politics in 1971. He started as a delegate to the Texas Republican Convention and then attempted to enter Congress but was defeated in 1974. In 1976 he won a special election to finally enter Congress when Congressman Robert Casey was given a presidential appointment, but lost it in the general election by less than 0.2%. He regained the seat in 1978 and was reelected in 1980 and 1982. In 1984 he attempted to enter the Senate but he failed, so he returned to his medical practice.

Ron Paul ran for President in 1988. His official webpage explains he did it as a “libertarian, more to spread the libertarian ideas than to actually win the office, then returned to his medical practice and co-owned a coin dealership.” In 1996 he won a congressional seat; he was reelected in 1998 and 2000. In 2008 he decided to run for President again but lost very early in the process, in 2010 he won his 12^th term in Congress with 80% of the votes. In 2012 he decided to run again in the Republican primaries but was defeated by Mitt Romney. Still, his popularity has been increasing year by year.

Ron Paul was not invited as a speaker to the 2008 Republican Convention after he lost in the Republican primaries against John McCain, but in recent years his popularity has increased, so he has been taken into account once more. It seems like his son Rand is the one that will fulfill all the dreams his fathers hasn’t been able to.

Many Republicans think that in the future, he has the potential to be a presidential candidate.  It’s obvious Ron and Rand have had their ups and downs in their political careers, but now they are in the best political position they have ever been, and is their time to consolidate themselves into the Republican Party.

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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About the author

Gerardo Jose Torres Montalvo
Student of Philosophy and Journalism in Universidad de Navarra, Spain. Interested in world politics, especially in Latin American issue and in political philosophy. I was born in the United States, but raised in El Salvador.

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