Rand Paul Foreign Policy Stance: Is Rand Paul a Libertarian?

Sen. Rand Paul, (R-Ky.), is scheduled to give a speech Wednesday at 11 a.m. from the conservative Heritage Foundaton on the subject of “Restoring the Founders’ Vision of Foreign Policy,” in what some analysts are calling a clear move to establish his chops for a 2016 presidential run.

In a preview for his speech, Paul sat down with Jackie Henderson in the Heritage studio to elaborate on his views and clarify points where he agrees with his father’s libertarian stance on governance and foreign relations.

“The constitution is important. It’s a living, breathing document, and it’s supposed to still have applicability today,” said Paul. “And [My father] was a strong believer that the founding fathers were very wise in what they set up and that that foundation was supposed to protect freedom and protect our liberty.”

“One of the big things the founders had in mind were checks and balances. They divided up power. This is a big idea they got from Montesquieu,” he said. “Madison really strongly believed that the power to declare war is in the legislature.”

While Rand leans towards the libertarian mindset, he appears to be veering towards a more traditionally conservative foreign policy stance, citing former U.S. President Ronald Reagan as someone to emulate. “Reagan believed in a preponderance of strength,” he said. “He very much believed in peace and did not want war.”

However, Paul is worried that too much power is drifting away from Congress, which has been criticized as “slow,” and towards the executive branch.

“Some people get tired of it and they say, ‘Oh, that’s gridlock, and gridlock’s bad,’” he commented. “But if you fear that as government gradually grows that your freedom is gradually eroded, a slower process, and more deliberate process, is probably a good one.”