Rand Paul Takes a Tour of Silicon Valley

Sen. Rand Paul is on a fundraising tour this week through Silicon Valley, planning to meet with top executives at Facebook, Google, and eBay during his trip.

The Kentucky Republican, a possible presidential contender in 2016, plans one speech Thursday at the Hoover Institute Thursday and another Friday night at the Reagan Library Foundation.

Facebook has had visits from other conservative GOP lawmakers, including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California.

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Paul has been working to link the Republican Party with the technology industry, including writing a four-page paper called "The Technology Revolution" last year in which he argued that the Internet's economy is more productive without government regulations.

Last week he defended Apple, calling it "America's greatest success story" during a congressional hearing questioning the company's alleged practice of avoiding taxes by linking some income to offshore shell corporations.

Doug Stafford, senior strategist to Paul, said the senator believes the tech industry will drive economic growth in upcoming years, and believes that job creation can be spurred by an Internet free of government regulation.