Hillary Clinton has a very tricky needle to thread

[Savannahmann]

30. I'm going to disagree with you about one factor here.

Paul. I'm terrified of him. Right now, he's viewed as a relative unknown, a tea party guy to most of the people if they know his name. But his message scares me. Populist right down the line. Between the war fatigue which plays into his isolationist message, to fatigue with the war on drugs which plays into his decriminalization of marijuana. The guy has populist messages lined up around the block.

He gave a speech about privacy in Berkeley, and was probably the first Republican who was not booed off the stage. That makes him dangerous, especially if Hillary continues the all war all the time mantra that she's been pushing.

Then there is the economic problems faced by cities exemplified by Detroit. Rand gave speeches that were very well received about that.

Rand is not a gee if they nominate him we've won candidate. Rand is the most dangerous candidate that the Democratic party has ever considered facing. If he can get a good lead out of Iowa, a distinct possibility, then there is no stopping him. States that we consider bastions will be close enough to be considered in play, which means we'll have to shore up our base in California, where privacy and drugs will play an interesting role in the election.

The way to view elections is this. Thirty percent will vote Democrat, they always have, and always will. Thirty percent will vote Republican for the same reason. It's the other forty percent that vote one way generally, but can vote any. If Rand's message resonates with enough of them, we're doomed.

I know everyone here thinks Rand is merely a front man for the KKK. One of my favorite things to read is "no one I know would vote for Rand Paul." But the election is not conducted that way. It's more than your friends and family. We're talking about eighty million people who decide the election. Those are the ones we need to reach, and Rand is out in front right now on populist messages. If we don't start to embrace some of those, we're going to be viewed as the me too party, or the we'll say anything to get elected party. It's a toss up of which one would spell our doom more quickly.

Rand isn't a hail mary hope for our side. Rand is the worst possible outcome of the GOP primary. Because our only hope then is Rand self destructing, and we can't count on that happening, because it didn't in 2012 to our sorrow.