FANCY FARM, KY — In his speech at the 130th annual iteration of Kentucky’s semi-official campaign kickoff rally Saturday, Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul offered an issue-focused speech that took on national Democratic figures and offered some of his trademark unique solutions to the nation’s problems — including a waiting period for Congress before it passes bills.
He also took on Democratic Senate nominee Jack Conway.
“There are six words you won’t hear Jack Conway say [on the campaign trail],” Paul said. “President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.”
Paul said that Conway’s hands are tied by the national Democratic Party, which he said is unpopular in Kentucky and requires Conway to essentially run away from his party’s biggest names as the campaign goes on. (Conway disputed this in an interview with reporters after the event, suggesting that he doesn’t expect Obama to campaign for him but that he would welcome the president if he decided to take a campaign swing through the Bluegrass State.)
As he has since his campaign began, Paul also had harsh words for national political leaders in general in his Fancy Farm speech. He fleshed out his proposed waiting period for congressional legislation, which he says would slow down the legislative process by making Congress wait perhaps months before moving a proposed law to passage.
“I propose a waiting period,” Paul said. “Let’s have them wait 20 days for every page — that would keep them busy for a while.”
Obviously, the proposal as Paul explained it today would add weeks if not months to the passage of any law. A campaign aide told me after the speech that Paul misspoke somewhat (definitely understandable considering the non-stop heckling and million-degree heat that marks a Fancy Farm speech). Paul’s proposed waiting period, as the aide described it, would require a one-day waiting period for every 20 pages of a proposed law.
Of course, with the length of the average bill in Congress these days, even that proposed waiting period could grind the legislative process to a standstill. Paul didn’t seem to mind that.
“Some of these bills are thousands of pages long,” he said. “Is it too much to ask them to read the bill?”
The TPM Poll Average shows Paul leading Conway 46.3-41.0 in Kentucky’s Senate race.
