Paul considers himself to be a Tea Party follower who wants smaller government. He has said he identifies as both a "constitutional conservative" and a "libertarian conservative."
Although Paul trails Jeb Bush toward the bottom of the GOP candidates in recent polls, Paul’s campaign continues.
Education: Don't constrict kids to one-size-fits-all common core.
Paul is advocating for less government intervention in education, which he says is "eroding this nation's educational standards."
In a video posted on Real Clear Politics, he said, "They sent rules down that don't help education, they hinder innovation. I would cut them out of the loop. I don't think you'd notice if the whole department was gone tomorrow."
On Paul’s campaign website, he added that education is “the great equalizer,” but the one-size-fits-all system leaves most kids behind.
“The federal government should not dictate what happens in our local classrooms. I believe we must abolish Common Core and give control back to the states, localities and parents,” Paul said.
Immigration: Reform, with some requirements.
A self-described “moderate” on the issue, Paul has said the Republican party needs to welcome immigrants, and while serving in the Senate, he introduced legislation that would make immigration reform conditional on Congress voting on whether the border is secure. The plan would require completion of a border fence in five years and a protection against the federal government establishing a national identification card system for citizens.
“My ‘Trust but Verify’ amendment requires Congress to write and enforce a border security blueprint rather than relying on bureaucracies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, to come up with a plan,” Paul said on his campaign website. “The amendment also would provide new national security safeguards to track the holders of student visas and those provided asylum and refugee status. ... In order to protect our nation and reform the immigration process, we must know who is and is not entering our country by first securing our border.”
The Budget: Balance the budget. Slash spending, but raise defense.
Paul has outlined one of the most aggressive spending cut proposals in Congress — it would balance the federal budget within five years.
“By artificially keeping interest rates below market rate, average citizens have a tough time earning interest, have a tough time making money. They're actually talking now about negative interest,” Paul said during the 2015 Fox News debate. “As the Federal Reserve destroys the value of the currency, what you're finding is that, if you're poor, if you make $20,000 a year and you have three or four kids, and you're trying to get by, as your prices rise or as the value of the dollar shrinks, these are the people that are hurt the worst.”
However, in 2015, Paul ended years of calling for cutbacks in defense spending and proposed increasing the Pentagon’s budget by $190 billion.
Social Issues: The U.S. should consider taking marriage out of government’s hands. Limit abortion, but do not overturn Roe v. Wade. Allow more felons to vote. Reform sentencing.
Two days after the Supreme Court decision upholding gay marriage, Paul wrote an Op-Ed in Time, disagreeing with the court’s decision and arguing that government should not be in the “marriage business.” Paul questioned “whether or not governmental recognition of marriage is a good idea, for either party.” Personally, Paul said he believes marriage is between one man and one woman.
On voting reform issues, Paul said he would restore voting rights to some non-violent felons and redefine some drug offenses as misdemeanors. In addition, he would eliminate any difference between punishment for powder and crack cocaine violations and give judges greater leeway to hand down lower-than-mandatory sentences.
Taxes: Institute a flat tax of 17 percent or lower.
The Kentucky senator proposes to erase many tax deductions, though he has not yet outlined precisely which ones, and instead install a lower “flat tax” for all income levels. An aide said last year the rate would not be larger than 17 percent.
“My tax plan would blow up the tax code and start over,” Paul said in a campaign video.
Islamic State: Arm the Kurds, declare war. Limited troops.
The senator’s position is best spelled out in a September Op-Ed he wrote in Time magazine: He supports arming Kurdish allies in the region, but he outwardly disagrees with the Obama administration’s decision to arm rebels in Syria.
Above all, Paul believes the president needs a Congressionally-passed war powers authorization or, as he has proposed, a declaration of war. He would allow for U.S. troops on the ground to protect Americans or for use against “high value targets.”
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