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Once Around

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State election laws don’t always make it easy for candidates, particularly challengers. Many of these laws are unduly restrictive, especially regarding ballot access.

But some “restrictions” are just what the people want.

Just ask Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Paul seems to have his sights set on the White House. But he’s a sitting senator, and 2016, the next presidential election outing, is when he would normally run for re-election. So he’s made it clear that he’d like to retain his spot in the Senate as well as run for the Top Banana position.

But there’s this snag. Kentucky (like some other states) does not allow for one person’s name to appear twice on the same ballot.

Is that a good law? I think so. It breaks up some of the power of incumbency.

And it seems a wrong that the election of a U.S. Senator could be moot and a new election be held when far fewer voters are likely to cast ballots.

Given that it is the voters who have most to lose, in a sense, you can see why Kentuckians like their law. According to a new poll, 54 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents, and 78 percent of Democrats oppose changing the law to allow for Rand Paul to run for both. A retired farmer seems to speak for a lot of Kentuckians: “I can see the dilemma,” the man is quoted in the Courier-Journal. “If you’re going to do it, go all the way.”

Of course, Sen. Paul will still be able to test the presidential waters before deciding to bite the bullet. But a time for choosing will come.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

6 replies on “Once Around”

I have often felt that incumbant elections were too safe. If somebody wants to run for higher office, they need to give up their current office. That would have freed us up of many dead weight politicos over the years, like McCain, Kerry and Shrillary.

It seems to me simple enough that Sen. Paul could run for Senate in Kentucky and for President in all the other states. If he does well elsewhere I can’t imagine that Kentucky’s delegation to the GOP convention wouldn’t support him.

I agree with BRA. He has the charisma of a turnip. Love him, but he just has to realize that if he were to get the nomination he would lose.

Fundamentally, it’s the fundamentals of libertarianism that get in the way. The basic rigid set of principles prevent the lying, cheating and stealing of taxpayers money, principles and emotions, which crafty politicians use to straddle the middle and hustle votes.

Morally, it’s questionable as well. I suspect if HE weren’t involved, he would be on the other side of the issue.

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