Hello, and welcome to the Political Jungle: Sunday Edition for March 17, 2013. Today, we will be looking at Sen. Paul’s CPAC win, and Sen. Portman’s same-sex marriage switch. This is Political Jungle.
Welcome back. Sen. Rob Portman, who was a leading contender to be Mitt Romney’s running mate, has announced he is now pro-same-sex marriage. He said his change came from a conversation with his son, who has now been revealed to be gay. Sen. Portman’s son told him and his wife in 2011, which led to the Ohio Senator talking with religious leaders. Yesterday, in a CNN interview, he announced his switch. However, he also said that he would leave it up to the states.
We continue now with Sen. Rand Paul’s CPAC win. With 2,930 votes cast, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won CPAC’s annual presidential straw poll. Sen. Paul got 25% of the vote, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio got 23%. Both gave very well received speeches at CPAC, as opposed to some candidates who were not as publicized. In third place was, “Other,” followed by former Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
There were several key factors which would make a Paul win unsurprising. First of all, a clear majority of respondents, 52%, were in the crucial voting block of 18-25, or the college kid group. Many college kids label themselves as Democrats or libertarians. Second, 77% of those surveyed said there top priority was, “to promote individual freedom by reducing the size and scope of government and its intrusion into the lives of its citizens.” That statement fits in with the libertarian point-of-view. Also, when it came to foreign policy, the libertarian point-of-view was dominant, too. 50% of answerers said, “Nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, it’s time for our European, Asian and other allies to provide for their own defense.” Finally, noting Sen. Paul’s recent filibuster, 86% said that the United States should not be allowed to use drones to kill non-combatant Americans living in the United States.
It should also be noted that Rep. Ron Paul, Sen. Rand Paul’s father, won the straw poll in 2010 and 2011.
Remember, the Republican National Committee is releasing their 2012 autopsy tomorrow. Chairman Reince Priebus selected five Republicans to the task force charged with finding the problems Republicans had, and solutions to them. Priebus has also said that he will take the GOP into every neighborhood, regardless of ethnicity. TKNN will have full coverage of that tomorrow.
Thank you for joining us, please join us again next week.