Rand Paul entered the ballroom to the tune of the song "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.  Many people were dubbing it "Enter Randman."  He opened up with a connection to his recent fillibuster which drew huge applause and crowd positive crowd interaction.  

Right away, Rand went to work on the contingent he is competing with.  He said "No one person gets to decide the law, and determine your guilt or innocence."  He then threw them some red meat by quoting Lincoln, who stated, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man give him power."  He connected this to the comparison of candidate Obama and President Obama, hitting him hard on the NDAA indefinite detention provision, disproving the claims that Rubio said made America better.  They ate it up without even realizing it.

Rand Paul said, "Good intentions are not enough.  If we destroy our enemy, but lose what defines our freedom in the process, have we really won?  If we allow one man to charge Americans as enemy combatants, then what exactly is it that our brave young men and women are fighting for?"  Here is is defining and creating a record of being pro-military and pro-troops, exactly the opposite of how his competition would like to paint him.  

"Our Bill of Rights is what defines us.  It is what makes us exceptional.  To those who would dismiss this debate as frivolous, tell that to those who sacrifice their lives and limbs.  Tell that to the 6,000 soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Tell them the bill of rights is no big deal."  Neocons are going to have a hard time trashing Rand like they did with Ron.  The crowd received him incredibly well for these pro-military statements even though they know he is skeptical of our current foreign policy.  

He went on to further establish his Conservative credentials.  Rand said, "We desperately need a new course and new leadership.  The path forward for the GOP is rooted in respect for the Constitution and respect for the individual.  We need to guard all of our liberties.  The Republican Party has to change by going forward to the classical and timeless ideas enshrined in our Constitution.  When we understand that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, then we will become the dominant national party again.  It's time for us to revive Reagan's law, for liberty to expand, government must shrink, for the economy to grow, government must get out of the way."  He is sticking his neck and challenging the status quo while using quotes from people they like such as Reagan.  His challenge is direct and easily understandable. 

One of the next things Rand says, I knew would get some Libertarians upset.  Rand said, "This month I will propose a 5 year balanced budget.  My budget eliminates the department of education (massive applause) and devolves power and money back to the states where they belong.  My 5 year budget will create millions of jobs by cutting the corporate income tax in half, creating a flat personal income tax of 17%, and cutting the regulations that are strangling american business."  A lot of good stuff, and then the 17% flat tax thing.  We all know our ideal number is 0% ... but if you look at the 2013 tax brackets ... something like 90% of the country fall somewhere between 15% and 25%.  He needs to be more specific on the details of what he means, especially for those who are in the 0% to 10% tax bracket.  It is a move in the right direction from where we are now.

He has a lot of great statements in this speech, so I'm just going to quote them all and comment afterwards.  "The Constitution must be our guide.  In order for Conservatives to win nationally, we must stand for something.  We must stand on principle.  We must stand for something so powerful and popular, that it brings together people from the left, the right, and the middle.  The GOP of old has grown stale and moss covered.  I don't think we need to name any names do we?  Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to freedom.  The NEW GOP will need to embrace freedom in both the economic and personal sphere.  If we are going to have a GOP that can win, liberty must be the backbone of the GOP.  We must have a broad message and vision that must be based on freedom.  There are millions of Americans young and old, native and immigrant, black, white, and brown, who simply wish to live free, to practice their religion, free to choose whether their kids go to school, free to choose their healthcare, free to keep the fruits of their labor, and free to live without government constantly being on their backs, I will stand for them!  I will stand for you, and I wish everyone who values liberty to stand with me."  (huge Applause)

And as I finish this article, Rand Paul just won the CPAC 2013 Presidential Straw Poll with 25% of the vote in first, 2% more than Marco Rubio at 23% in second.  In third came Rick Santorum with 8% of the vote.  In my last article, I told you that this is what you are going up against.  The neocons are going to push Rubio and push him hard as the alternative to Rand.  If you watched CPAC, you know they already threw people like Christie and others under the bus.  

Let's lock our arms together and defeat these tyrants once and for all.  Next year, if we organize just like Ron Paul did in the 2011 CPAC Poll, we will dominate with 40+% of the vote.  Expect the neocons to organize against us as well.  Total votes were down from 2011 when Ron Paul dominated.  There were at least 1,000 less votes this time. Imagine if all of those were for Rand.  The neocons would being trembling in fear.  Let's finish them job.  

Oh and Ted Cruz just came out as the keynote speaker drawing huge support for a more Libertarian philosophy in support of Rand.