WSJ: Rand Paul Tries to Transform a Moment Into a Movement
Rand Paul Tries to Transform a Moment Into a Movement
Wall Street Journal
Monica Langley, April 23, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul’s big moment lasted nearly 13 hours.
To many, that’s how long it took the Republican lawmaker to transform from fringe politician to overnight sensation, in an old-fashioned Senate floor filibuster to seek White House safeguards against using drones to kill Americans.
Billed as a spontaneous gesture, the filibuster was in fact the most successful of several planned actions that began when the eye doctor-turned-senator decided in December to weigh a run for president.
In short order, Sen. Paul, of Kentucky, won a first-place finish in a straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, beating Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in a field of potential 2016 contenders; his new super PAC welcomed a flood of new donors; and he was invited to prestigious speaking engagements in key primary states.