LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the White House on Tuesday as the most distinctive voice in the Republican Party’s presidential field. The competition ahead will answer whether his candidacy can remake his party or will be undone by the orthodoxies he seeks to upend.
Paul’s announcement speech was a reminder of why he often has been called the most interesting politician in the country, with a libertarian message that seemed to sweep across the ideological spectrum and that challenged the establishment of both parties.
But the address underscored as well the challenge Paul faces in trying to take the many pieces of his vision and convert them into a cohesive whole capable of attracting a winning coalition. On domestic and especially foreign policy, he will find himself under attack from his Republican rivals.
The first-term senator from Kentucky revived the strong anti-Washington message that propelled him to victory in 2010.
“We need to go boldly forth, under the banner of liberty that clutches the Constitution in one hand and the Bill of Rights in the other,” he said.
He decried spending and deficits and the power of lobbyists and insiders, with a sign on the lectern that read, “Defeat the Washington Machine.” He said Washington is “horribly broken” and called for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and term limits for members of Congress.
Paul calls for “economic freedom zones” that he said could help revive Detroit and advocated criminal justice reforms that he hopes could attract the votes of African-Americans and other minorities who have spurned the Republican Party.
“Liberal policies,” he said, “have failed our inner cities. … It’s time for a new way, a way predicated on justice, opportunity and freedom.”
On civil liberties, Paul railed against what he called the “unconstitutional surveillance” of the American people by the National Security Agency. He called warrantless searches of phones and computer records, which some Republicans defend as a necessary defense against terrorism, “un-American” and a threat to civil liberties.
Holding up a smartphone, he said, “I say the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business.” As president, he said, he would end the surveillance program “on day one.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is expected to announce next week that he will skip a Senate re-election bid in 2016 in favor of a presidential campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
