Rand Paul Not Quite Following Father's Footsteps

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is taking a more mainstream approach to politics than did his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.

Politico notes that efforts by Rand Paul advisers to distance him from the eccentric perception most hold of Ron Paul appear to be succeeding. Time named the younger Paul one of its 100 most influential people.

Ron Paul, Politico notes, was happy to push buttons. His run for the GOP presidential nomination seemed less like a serious attempt at the White House than an excuse to get his views into the marketplace of ideas.

Rand Paul, on the other hand, looks to be considering a presidential run in 2016 that he actually expects to have a chance to win. As part of that effort, he is walking a line of keeping his father’s libertarian followers in his camp while generating mainstream support.

“Ron took things too far and alienated people,” a Rand Paul adviser told Politico. “He was provocative just to be provocative. Rand has from the beginning tried to win people over. He may say similar things, but without the same intensity.”

GOP pollster and strategist Ed Goeas told Politico than Rand Paul seems “more reasonable, more willing to listen (than Ron.) He doesn’t take the same delight in trying to win the argument …. He seems to take a longer view.”