Presidential candidate Rand Paul was in Michigan this weekend at events beginning Friday afternoon on the east side of the state and working west through Saturday afternoon.
At his first stop in Highland Park near Detroit, Senator Paul demonstrated his resolve to rid America of its burdensome tax code by literally burning it in a wheelbarrow, as the picture below, posted to Instagram, shows.
He spoke on the subject of taxes and economic freedom zones, saying, “People will move based on incentives.”
Paul also touched on the subject of education reform: “I think if we think about using the Internet and online education, we might be able to get schools back to being equal and maybe reintroduce schools where we’ve lost schools,” he said.
Paul began Saturday speaking to an audience of 250 in Shelby Township, bringing his message of a low flat tax for all wage earners and was reportedly “very well received.”
He then spoke to a large crowd at the Flint Farmers’ Market.
“I want to show that I’m a Republican who can win Michigan and I do that by being in Detroit…and coming to Flint…. We’re gonna show that the message that I have can appeal to a broad swab of people – white, black, rich, poor, working class, business class.”
MLive quoted Brandon Burgess, a 24-year-old from the area, as saying, “The Republican Party has traditionally struggled with minority votes, and obviously Flint is a majority African American city. So to see Rand Paul here for the Republican Party is a great thing.”
Senator Paul then spoke to a crowd in DeWitt Township near Lansing, arguing that the Republican Party needs “to be more boldly for what we are for.”
In addition to speaking on the topic of tax reduction and simplification, he also emphasized the need to hold government accountable, saying he was still upset of the four American deaths in Benghazi, Libya and argued in favor of Congress having to read and deliberate over bills before passing them.
Ending the trek across Michigan in Holland, Paul talked about an issue that has set him apart from other Republican candidates: criminal justice reform.
“Putting somebody in jail is extraordinarily expensive,” Paul said. “I want to reserve that space in prisons for criminals who are attacking people violently.” To that end, Paul has introduced a bill to make non-violent drug offenses misdemeanors rather than felonies.
One other consistent theme on Senator Paul’s speeches is sure to be catnip to conservatives: that he is the best chance Republicans have to beat Hillary Clinton in the general election. A Quinnipiac poll from earlier this year offers proof that that might be true.
