Rand Paul

'The Tea Party Goes To Washington': Rand Paul Inks Book Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 23, 2010, 10:50AM

KY-SEN candidate Rand Paul (R)

The Senator from the tea party is going to become the author from the tea party starting in February 2011. Yesterday, Center Street Publishing -- a division of Hachette that produces "wholesome entertainment, helpful encouragement, and books of traditional values" -- announced it had inked a deal with Rand Paul, the Republican Sen.-elect from Kentucky, to write a book called "The Tea Party Goes to Washington."

From Center Street's release announcing what will surely be next year's must-have Valentine's Day gift:

In THE TEA PARTY GOES TO WASHINGTON, Rand Paul presents his plan--and the Tea Party's platform--to bring the U.S. government more in line with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to stop spending money the country doesn't have, to stop borrowing, to balance the budget and reduce the size of the government.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomper's Attorney: Tape Shows 'My Client Is Justified' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 19, 2010, 11:41AM

Tim Profitt, the former Rand Paul county coordinator who stomped on a MoveOn activist's head outside the final debate of the Kentucky Senate race in October, finally got his day in court yesterday. And though Profitt didn't say much, his lawyer told reporters that the notorious video of Profitt's foot crushing down on MoveOn activist Lauren Valle actually shows Profitt had been subject to a smear campaign.

Profitt appeared in a Lexington, KY court and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from the incident, which briefly defined the Kentucky Senate race before Paul, the Republican nominee, won in a landslide Nov. 2.

The court was packed with folks trying to catch a glimpse of the Kentucky Stomper, according to reports from the ground. And though Profitt's been willing to discuss the incident before (like that time when he blamed a bad back for stepping on a woman that was being held down on the ground,) in court and afterward he kept his mouth shut.

His lawyer, however, laid out a defense to the charges that partly hinged on the video that got Profitt in trouble in the first place.

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Rand Paul

Sen.-Elect Rand Paul: We'll Look At Cutting Everything (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 8, 2010, 9:57AM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

Newly crowned Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) brought his "message from the tea party" from Kentucky to his biggest national interview since handily winning the election over Democrat Jack Conway last Tuesday. In a nutshell, Paul stuck to his tea party guns in the brief sitdown on ABC's This Week. The movement's moment has arrived, Paul told host Christiane Amanpour. Now it's time to start cutting. Cutting everything.

"Republicans traditionally say, 'Oh, we'll cut domestic spending, but we won't touch the military,'" Paul explained. "The liberals -- the ones who are good -- will say, 'Oh, we'll cut the military, but we won't cut domestic spending.'"

As for Paul and his tea party friends, "Bottom line is, you have to look at everything across the board."

Amanpour pressed Paul for specific cuts, but for the most part Paul preferred to talk in the same sweeping generalizations about cuts that helped win him the election and helped the tea party win the hearts of so many conservatives this year.

"We don't need bigger government," Paul said. "We need to shrink the size of government."

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul: We All Work For Or Sell Stuff To Rich People (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | November 2, 2010, 10:57PM

Fresh off his Kentucky Senate win, Rand Paul had some interesting things to say about a possible tax increase for the highest-income Americans: "We all either work for rich people, or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone."

He also said: "We're all interconnected. There are no rich, there are no middle class, there are no poor. We're all interconnected in the economy."

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul In Victory Speech: This Is A 'Tea Party Tidal Wave' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | November 2, 2010, 10:02PM

Kentucky Senator-elect Rand Paul's victory speech tonight heavily referenced his speech from his Republican primary night win: "I have a message, a message from the people. The people of Kentucky. A message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We've come to take our government back!"

"Tonight there's a tea party tidal wave, and we're sending a message to them," said Paul.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul Wins Kentucky Senate Race

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 2, 2010, 7:03PM

Rand Paul

Get ready for two Pauls, one Congress. Rand Paul, son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), won the Kentucky Senate race tonight, according to the cable news networks. With just 103 out of 3,578 precincts reporting, Paul leads Democrat Jack Conway 54.7-45.3. MSNBC and CNN have called the race for the Republican.

The win means the controversial junior Senator from Kentucky, Jim Bunning, who often publicly scraps with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, will be replaced by another controversial junior Senator from Kentucky who got where he is today in part by publicly scrapping with McConnell already.

It may be no surprise, then, that Paul has said he intends to emulate Bunning's irascible nature, which led him to vote against TARP and hold up unemployment benefit extensions for months while even fellow members of his Republican caucus tried to stop him.

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KY-SEN

PPP Poll: Goodbye Time For Conway, As Rand Paul Way Ahead

Eric Kleefeld | October 31, 2010, 5:56PM

KY candidates for U.S Senate Jack Conway (D) and Rand Paul (R)

The new Public Policy Polling (D) survey of the Kentucky Senate race gives a huge lead to Republican nominee Rand Paul. And it also suggests that Democrat Jack Conway's late gambit of attacking Paul's religious background and Aqua-Buddhist college years only backfired in the end.

The numbers: Paul 55%, Conway 40%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.1% margin of error. In the previous PPP survey from last week, Paul led by 53%-40%.

That previous poll had also indicated that voters didn't like the Aqua Buddha ad. The pollster's analysis goes a bit further, showing how Conway's negative final push hasn't worked:

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomper Charged With Fourth-Degree Assault

Ryan J. Reilly | October 30, 2010, 6:04PM

Former Ran Paul volunteer Tim Profitt

The Rand Paul supporter who was caught on camera stepping on the head of a MoveOn activist has been charged with fourth-degree assault, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Timothy Mark Profitt, 53, is charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault after he stomped on Lauren Valle's head and neck. Profitt "intentionally placed his foot on the shoulder/head region on the victim," a criminal summons says. The newspaper reported that court records say Profitt will be arraigned Nov. 18. Such a charge carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail, a $500 fine, or a combination of both, the newspaper reported.

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomping Victim Lauren Valle Not Apologizing To Stomper (As He Asked)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 29, 2010, 5:37PM

The 23-year-old MoveOn activist stomped on video by a Rand Paul volunteer on Monday has not -- as the stomper requested -- offered an apology to the man who stepped on her head. But Lauren Valle has reached out to Tim Profitt in a long open letter that states, "Violence hurts everyone."

Outside the final Kentucky Senate debate between the Republican Paul and Democratic nominee Jack Conway, Valle was wrestled to the ground and stomped on by Profitt after she tried to confront Paul as part of a MoveOn stunt. In the aftermath, Profitt has been investigated by police for criminal assault and, in a move that surprised some, called on Valle to apologize to him for getting in the way of his foot, or something.

Today, Valle decided not to give Profitt what he wanted. But she did offer a long take on the nature of violent politics that has appeared more than a few times this year.

"Mr. Profitt, You have asked that I apologize to you," Valle wrote. "Perhaps this is not the apology that you are looking for, but I do have some things to say."

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KY-SEN

Is It Still A Race In KY-SEN? Polls Say No. Dems Say Yes, We Can

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 29, 2010, 1:01PM

Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway (D)

Jack Conway is down, his campaign says, but he's not out yet. The Democratic nominee for Senate in Kentucky is facing a slew of new public polls showing him down by a significant margin to Republican Rand Paul, but his campaign tells me voters are just now starting to pay attention to the race that's been a top focus of national press for at least a month now. That puts Conway in a good position to pull off the upset win, his campaign says.

"I trust our private internal polls, which put us anywhere...between 2 and 7 points [down]," Conway spokesperson John Collins told me today. "Which is, I think, where we want to be: within striking distance."

Collins isn't the only Conway supporter who apparently thinks there's still a race in the Bluegrass State. Former President Bill Clinton will stump for Conway in Kentucky on Monday, just a day before voters make their choice.

Public polls make Clinton's push and team Conway's read a little tough to swallow -- but not impossible. New robopolls from SurveyUSA and Rasmussen as well as a new live telephone survey from a Kentucky cable channel show Paul with a healthy lead ranging from about eight to around 12 points. The last polls from the three, taken a few weeks ago, showed Paul with a lead from 2 to 11 points.

The TPM Poll Average shows Paul leading 49.5-42.5.

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KY-SEN

Democrats Doing Their Best To Politicize The Kentucky Stomp (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 28, 2010, 12:02PM

In a new web video just out from the Kentucky Democratic Party, the stomping of a MoveOn.org activist by a county coordinator for Republican Rand Paul's Senate campaign is turned into a metaphor (in no particular order) for ending federal breast cancer research, the elimination of mine safety laws, an end to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a $2,000 boost in the Medicare deductible, among other things.

"Rand Paul: Stomping on you," the video reads. "Stomping on Kentucky."

It seems Democrats have decided to politicize the allegedly criminal assault of activist Lauren Valle.

Paul has, of course, made it fairly easy for Democrats to turn the jarring video of Valle's head getting stomped by Tim Profitt outside a Lexington debate Monday into their closing argument in the Senate race. Paul was slow to condemn the attack -- though he "dissociated" himself from Profitt soon after the event -- and has decided to keep the nearly $2,000 Profitt donated to his campaign.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul: On Second Thought, No I Won't Give That Stomper's Money Back

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 7:00PM

Rand Paul

Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul has decided not to return the nearly $2,000 in campaign money he collected from Tim Profitt, the man who Paul recently forced out as Bourbon County coordinator of his Kentucky Senate campaign after he stepped on a MoveOn.org activist outside a debate Monday night.

Profitt has given Paul's Republican campaign $1,950, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports, money Paul's campaign told the paper it'll hang on to even as Profitt (and maybe other Paul volunteers) come under criminal investigation for their part in the Kentucky stomp.

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KY-SEN

CNN Poll: Rand Paul Leads By 7 Points In KY-SEN

Eric Kleefeld | October 27, 2010, 6:43PM

KY candidates for U.S Senate Jack Conway (D) and Rand Paul (R)

The new CNN poll of the Kentucky Senate race gives Republican Rand Paul a seven-point lead over Democrat Jack Conway among likely voters.

The numbers: Paul 50%, Conway 43%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.5% margin of error.

The previous poll from early September did not have a comparable likely-voter sample, but had Paul and Conway tied 46%-46% among a wider filter of registered voters. In this latest poll, Paul leads 46%-44% among registered voters.

The TPM Poll Average gives Paul a lead of 48.9%-42.7%.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Police Consider Charging More Paul Supporters In Stomping Case

Brian Beutler | October 27, 2010, 6:14PM

MoveOn volunteer Lauren Valle struggles with Rand Paul supporters in Kentucky.

You thought the Kentucky Stomping Story had been swallowed by the news cycle? Think again.

The identification of the Kentucky Stomper -- former Rand Paul volunteer Tim Profitt -- allowed Lexington police to issue a criminal summons in the case. He'll soon appear in district court and possibly face charges. But Lexington police say the investigation is still ongoing, and they may pursue the other Paul-supporters who participated in the assault.

"At this point, the investigation is still ongoing," public information officer Sherelle Roberts told ABC News. "We're looking into other individuals who may have been involved in the assault and could get charged."

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KY-SEN

Conservatives Tout New Video Of Kentucky Stomping (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 4:19PM

Conservatives are pushing new video of Monday's stomping incident in Kentucky, which they say proves MoveOn.org's Lauren Valle was trying to "assault" Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul before Paul volunteers wrestled her to the ground and Paul's Bourbon County coordinator Tim Profitt stepped on her head.

"As the video clearly demonstrates, Valle was there to do more than simply 'hold a sign,'" a RedState blogger who posted the new video today wrote. "Paul supporters were not reacting to a mere dislike of her message."

The blogger writes that "none of that is any excuse, nor even mitigating circumstances, when it comes to Profitt stomping on Valle's head," but says the tape shows that any notion that Valle was "the victim of an angry mob who simply 'didn't like her message'" is "demonstrably false."

What do we learn from the new video? Not a lot. It depicts the chaotic clash of supporters outside the Senate debate in Lexington that preceded the stomping, just as all witness accounts and Valle's own recounting have said. Conservatives touting the video say it shows Valle "attempting to assault" Paul but it also appears she was getting pushed from behind.

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KY-SEN

Conway Attacks Paul On Civil Rights In New Ad (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 1:22PM

KY Sen. candidates Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D)

Months after Rand Paul met the nation with his epic gaffe/completely intentional/let's just pretend they never happened comments about the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the Rachel Maddow Show, Paul's Democratic opponent in the Kentucky Senate race is turning what he said into a campaign ad.

Jack Conway's latest TV ad -- coming in the midst of criticism over the stomping of a MoveOn.org activist by a former Paul county coordinator -- focuses on Conway's statement that "when I see a wrong, I try to right it."

The stomping incident is not directly mentioned in the ad, but Conway's camp has attempted to make political hay out of Paul's response to the controversy. Conway's campaign says Paul's initial response wasn't strong enough (in other words, when he saw a "wrong," he didn't "right it" immediately) and pressured Paul to say and do more in response. Paul has issued several statements on the incident, including one yesterday where his campaign said it was "extremely disappointed in, and condemns the actions of" the supporter who did the stomping.

The Maddow moment, however, is mentioned in this new ad, suggesting that the general election fight will end where it began -- with critics asking Paul to clarify just exactly what it is he thinks about Civil Rights.

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Tim Profitt

Kentucky Stomping Victim: 'Important That Stomper Be Held Accountable' (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 27, 2010, 9:53AM

The MoveOn activist who was tackled and stomped on by Rand Paul supporters Monday night says she'll do whatever she can to see that her chief assailant, Tim Profitt, is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

"I plan to see the process through," Lauren Valle told Keith Olbermann last night. "I think that it`s very important that people be held responsible for this sort of behavior."

Yesterday, Valle told reporters she wasn't certain yet whether she'd pursue civil action against Profitt. However he has been summoned to court, where a judge will determine whether criminal charges are warranted in the case.

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomper Wants An Apology From Woman He Assaulted (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 27, 2010, 9:20AM

Former Ran Paul volunteer Tim Profitt

Tim Profitt -- the former Rand Paul volunteer who stomped on the head of a MoveOn activist -- told told local CBS station WKYT that he wants an apology from the woman he stomped and that she started the whole thing.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Profitt said. "I would like for her to apologize to me to be honest with you."

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KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomper: I Stomped Because Of Back Pain

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 9:03PM

Tim Profitt of Paris, Ky., is joined by other demonstrators as he attends a rally in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The rally also drew demonstrators opposed to Bunning's action in holding up a $10 billion spending bill because it would add to the deficit. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

The former Rand Paul volunteer who stomped on the head of a prone MoveOn activist tells a local CBS affiliate he would've never put his foot on the victim at all if it wasn't for his bad back.

According to WKYT, "[Tim] Profitt explained that he used his foot to try and keep her down because he can't bend over because of back problems. He also says police were alerted to watch her before Paul arrived because people in the crown recognized her as someone who may try and pull a stunt."

Video footage of the altercation clearly shows Lauren Valle subdued on the ground, held by multiple large men.

KY-SEN

Conway Spox: Will Rand Paul Apologize To Stomping Victim?

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 6:00PM

Kentucky Senate candidates Jack Conway (D) and Rand Paul (R)

Jack Conway spokesman John Collins sent over a statement calling out Rand Paul, who has apparently not reached out to apologize to assault victim Lauren Valle.

"We are still waiting for Rand Paul to apologize to the victim of this attack," Collins says. "A boot stomp to the head of a woman is never appropriate,  Rand should apologize to her, stop blaming others, and identify the others involved in this thuggish behavior and
disassociate his campaign from them immediately."

Intentionally or not, the language in this statement is similar to the language Conway used to question Rand Paul's college antics, which included hazing a female friend by placing her in a stream and telling her pray to "Aqua Buddha"

Rand Paul

Lexington Police Serving Former Rand Paul Volunteer With Criminal Summons

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 4:36PM

Tim Profitt of Paris, Ky., is joined by other demonstrators as he attends a rally in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The rally also drew demonstrators opposed to Bunning's action in holding up a $10 billion spending bill because it would add to the deficit. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

The Lexington police have just announced that they've served Tim Profitt -- Rand Paul's former Bourbon County coordinator -- with a criminal summons for assaulting a MoveOn activist outside of the Kentucky Senate debate last night.

"Today, October 26, 2010, detectives identified the suspect, involved in the assault, as Tim Profitt," reads a statement from public information officer Sherelle Roberts. "Mr. Profitt is currently being served with a criminal summons ordering him to appear before a Fayette County District Court Judge."

The victim, Lauren Valle, claims that the attack -- during which she was pulled to the ground and stomped, resulting in a concussion -- was premeditated.

KY-SEN

Kentucky Stomping Victim Says Assailants Recognized Her, Premeditated Attack

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 3:50PM

KY-SEN candidate Rand Paul (R)

The woman who was dragged to the ground and stomped by Rand Paul supporters outside of the Kentucky Senate debate last says her assailants recognized her as a regular anti-Paul protester and premeditated their attack.

"The Rand Paul campaign knows me and they have expressed their distaste for my work before," Lauren Valle, 23, told TPM and two other reporters on a conference call this afternoon.

According to Valle, several men surrounded her before Paul arrived at the event in Lexington last night.

"They surrounded me," she said. "There were about five of them, they started motioning to each other, and they got behind me."

Valle says her partner, whom she identified as Alex, overheard the men threaten, "we're here to do crowd control and we might have to take someone out."

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Rand Paul

Kentucky Stomper Identified As Paul's (Now Former) Bourbon County Coordinator

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 3:29PM

The Rand Paul campaign has just severed ties with their Bourbon County coordinator -- a man by the name of Tim Profitt -- who has identified himself as the supporter who stomped on the head and neck of a MoveOn activist outside of the Senate debate in Lexington, KY last night, according to Fox News.

Profitt apologized for the scuffle to the Associated Press this afternoon, and apparently told them that the camera angle made the incident appear worse than it really was.

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Rand Paul

Paul Condemns Kentucky Attack, Suggests He Knows Stomper's Identity

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 2:18PM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

Rand Paul's campaign has officially condemned his supporters for attacking a MoveOn protester outside of the Kentucky Senate debate last night in Lexington. Interestingly, though, his statement suggests that he knows who perpetrated the attack -- information which the Lexington police say they're still looking for.

"The Paul for Senate campaign is extremely disappointed in, and condemns the actions of a supporter last night outside the KET debate," the statement reads. "Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable, and will not be tolerated by our campaign. The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists -- on both sides -- to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind."

Emphasis ours. About an hour ago, the Lexington police department's public information officer told me that developments in the case should be forthcoming, but that they still hadn't identified the men seen on the tape.

Rand Paul

Kentucky Attack Victim Suffers Concussion, Police Hope To Identify Suspects Today

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 1:15PM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

Another update for you on the situation developing in Lexington, KY, where a MoveOn supporter was attacked and stomped on by Rand Paul supporters

Sherelle Roberts, a public information officer for the Lexington division of police tells TPM that investigators have made no arrests and filed no charges in the case. But because the incident was caught on camera, officers are optimistic that a breakthrough is imminent.

"I think we're probably going to come up with something later today," Roberts said, adding that tips have been coming in literally from around the country about who the suspects in the attack might be. "Because it was captured on video, we have a good idea what happened [and] at this point there doesn't seem to be anything to justify how this incident unfolded."

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KY-SEN

Fox News Poll: Paul Ahead By 7 In KY-SEN

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 26, 2010, 10:54AM

KY Sen. candidate Rand Paul (R)

A new poll of the Kentucky Senate race from Fox News shows Republican Rand Paul leading Democrat Jack Conway 50-43.

The survey of 1,000 likely voters, conducted using Rasmussen's automated polling methods Saturday, shows voters slamming President Obama while still expressing some trepidations about Paul. This is the first Fox News poll of the race.

Seventy-two percent said they were either "dissatisfied" or "angry" about "the way the federal government is working" and 76% said President Obama's efforts have "not made much of a difference" or "hurt" Kentucky's economy.

That's not a great landscape for Democrat Jack Conway, especially when the poll shows 53% of those surveyed saying that the Democratic nominee "agrees with President Obama on issues too often." Just 26% said he agreed with the president "the right amount."

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Rand Paul

Paul Stops Short Of Condemning Attack On MoveOn Protester (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 10:38AM

On Fox News this morning, Rand Paul publicly discussed the attack that occurred last night in Lexington, KY before the Senate debate, when a number of his supporters dragged a MoveOn protester to the ground, and one stomped on her head. During his appearance, he called for civility, and described the incident as something that should not have happened. But he did not explicitly condemn the attack itself.

"We want everybody to be civil and want the issue, the campaign to be about issues," Paul said.

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KY-SEN

New Poll Shows Rand Paul Up 13 -- And Voters Don't Like Conway's Aqua Buddha Ad

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 26, 2010, 10:00AM

Rand Paul

Here's how the last couple weeks in the Kentucky Senate race were supposed to work for Democratic nominee Jack Conway: after pounding Republican nominee Rand Paul for his hybrid libertarian (read: strange) positions on Medicare, taxes and law enforcement, an ad focusing on Paul's alleged college shenanigans would seal the deal for Kentucky voters. Paul would be cast as an extremist outsider, too dangerous to risk a Senate seat on.

Cue the Fail Whale.

A new poll from PPP (D) suggests that Conway's strategy hasn't pleased voters. After weeks of putting Paul on the defensive, Conway now finds himself trailing Paul by 13 points.

Paul leads 53-40 in the poll of 900 likely voters, which was conducted by automated phone call Oct. 21-24. The last PPP poll, from mid-September, showed Paul leading 49-42. The Republican has nearly doubled his lead since, according to PPP.

Further, the poll found that most voters are aware of Conway's infamous "Aqua Buddha" ad (62% of those surveyed said they knew of it) and more than half -- 56% -- said it was "inappropriate." Just 15% said it was "appropriate."

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MoveOn

MoveOn Urges Paul To Condemn Kentucky Attack, Calls For Arrests

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 9:53AM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, says in an official statement, "We're appalled at the violent incident that occurred at the Kentucky Senate debate last night."

Numerous news reports clearly show that the young woman--a MoveOn supporter--was assaulted and pushed to the ground by Rand Paul supporters, where one man held her down while another stomped on her head. This kind of violence has no place in American society, much less at a peaceful political rally.

Our first concern is obviously Lauren's health and well being. She is recovering, and we will release more details as we have them. We are concerned that no arrests have yet been made, and we hope those responsible will be brought to justice quickly, and that Rand Paul will join us in condemning this horrible act.

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Rand Paul

New Footage Emerges Of MoveOn Activist Stomped By Rand Paul Supporter (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2010, 9:40AM

Just a quick update on the developing story out of Lexington, Kentucky, where a protester affiliated with MoveOn was dragged to the ground and stomped by Rand Paul supporters ahead of last night's Senate debate.

We understand that the victim has left the hospital, but we don't have official word on her condition. We'll try and get you an update this morning.

Both campaigns have now reacted to the attack, which was caught on camera at multiple angles.

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Rand Paul

Rand Paul Supporter Stomps Head Of Female MoveOn Member Outside KY Debate (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 25, 2010, 11:29PM

Josh Green flagged an incident that occurred outside of the Rand Paul-Jack Conway debate in Lexington, Kentucky Monday night that's already dominating the news in Kentucky and could easily make headlines nationally.

As the candidates arrived, a group of Paul supporters pulled a female MoveOn member to the ground and held her there as another Paul supporter stomped on the back of her head and neck.

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, "Lauren Valle of MoveOn.org approached Paul and tried to give him an "employee of the month award" from Republicorp...a fake business MoveOn created to symbolize what it says is the merger of the GOP and business interests controlling political speech."

The whole thing was caught on video. Watch:

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul: I Want To Be Just Like Jim Bunning

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 25, 2010, 9:00PM

KY Sen. candidate Rand Paul (R)

Kentucky voters got a look at some of the stark choices they will face on Nov. 2 in the final debate between Senate nominees Jack Conway (D) and Rand Paul (R). Though the debate -- a quiet, sit-down affair on Kentucky public television -- lacked some of the fireworks of the last meeting of the two men, there were plenty of barbs thrown around between Conway and Paul, and plenty of distinctions to be made between the two.

Perhaps the starkest came at the very end, when the debate moderator asked each nominee which Kentucky politician most inspired him. Conway named legendary Democratic Sen. Wendell Ford, who retired from the Senate after 25 years representing the Bluegrass State in the chamber. For a Democrat running for office in Kentucky, the choice was not a surprise.

Paul named the man whom he is vying to replace -- the irascible Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, who has come to represent perhaps the most stubborn of the opposition to legislative action in the Senate. He hailed Bunning's vote against TARP -- which most economists at the time said was necessary to prevent an economic collapse the likes of which the country had never seen -- as an example of heroism by Kentucky's retiring junior Senator.

Bunning "stood up and said the bank bailout was wrong," Paul said. "Many people can come later and say they would have opposed it, but he stood up and on principle voted the way he thought was right for Kentucky and I'm proud of him for that."

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KY-SEN

GOP Runs Its Own Aqua Buddha Spot In KY-SEN (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 25, 2010, 3:52PM

From a NRSC campaign ad, "Change the Subject"

You might think the Republicans want to move the Kentucky Senate race away from Aqua Buddha and back to something they'd rather talk about -- like, oh, anything else. But in a new TV ad the NRSC is dropping on the Bluegrass State, Republicans are trying to make hay out Democratic nominee Jack Conway's decision to turn tales of Republican Rand Paul's years in college against him.

Conway, of course, turned national attention to Kentucky with his ad calling on Paul to explain stories of his days at Baylor University first told in the pages of GQ. The stories include membership in a banned campus group that Baylor officials said "mocked Christianity" and a bizarre "hazing" incident that included Paul and a friend tying up a woman and putting her in a creek before asking her to pray to the god "Aqua Buddha."

The ad -- and Conway's decision to make Paul's years at Baylor a campaign issue -- drew fire from both sides. Paul and the Republicans condemned the spots as unfair, while some Democrats and reporters said they crossed the line and tried to hold Paul responsible for things he did as a teenager.

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KY-SEN

Conway Not Afraid To Make Final Kentucky Senate Debate About 'Aqua Buddha'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 25, 2010, 2:20PM

KY Senate candidates Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D)

No one knows just what will be discussed when Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway meet in the final debate of the Kentucky Senate race tonight at 8 p.m. ET. But Conway's campaign told me today that if the moderator tonight wants to make the debate all about "Aqua Buddha," that's fine with them.

"We've said all along that Rand Paul needs to answer basic questions about the actions that he's taken," Conway spokesperson John Collins told me on a conference call with reporters this morning. Collins said that questions surrounding Paul's undergraduate years at Baylor University -- including his membership in a banned campus group and the infamous incident where Paul allegedly led a blindfolded and tied-up woman to a creek and asked her to worship "Aqua Buddha" -- remain unanswered, and suggested Conway is prepared to let the Baylor stories take over another Senate debate in Kentucky.

"If he would explain it as whatever the case is, I think it would just go away," Collins said.

A repeat of the Oct. 17 debate, which saw Paul storm off the stage without shaking Conway's hand after the Democrat kept asking him to explain Aqua Buddha, would probably make for exciting television, but it's not clear that it would be what either campaign wants at this point. Paul considered dropping out of tonight's debate on Kentucky's public television system over concerns that it would be a repeat of the Oct. 17 meeting between the two candidates. And Conway has spent the last few days talking about anything but Aqua Buddha, suggesting that his campaign is ready to move to another topic tonight, too.

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KY-SEN

Conway Attacks Paul On Economics In New Ad (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 23, 2010, 2:40PM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

With the hours ticking down until voters in Kentucky choose their next U.S. Senator, Democratic nominee Jack Conway is hitting Republican Rand Paul over economic plans Conway's campaign says "would crush Kentucky families."

The ad is a dramatic shift in message from Conway's high-profile spot targeting Paul's years as an undergraduate at Baylor University. That ad has made "Aqua Buddha" one of the most memorable phrases of 2010 (just behind "Demonsheep" and "I'm not a witch," perhaps) and led to widespread and bipartisan criticism of Conway's campaign.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul Will Meet Jack Conway In Final KY-SEN Debate

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 22, 2010, 2:58PM

KY Senate candidates Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D)

After last Sunday's debate in the Kentucky Senate race basically devolved into name-calling and innuendo, Republican nominee Rand Paul said he wasn't sure if he'd participate in next week's final debate with Democrat Jack Conway.

That was Monday. Then all week, as Conway milked his Aqua Buddha ad for all it was worth, Paul milked his decision-making process about the final debate, too, with his campaign holding multiple press conferences surrounding the debate and Aqua Buddha. Today, Paul brought the drama to a close, agreeing to meet Conway on Oct. 25 in what will be the candidates' last face-to-face meeting before voters go to the polls.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul Appears To Flatly Deny Aqua Buddha (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 21, 2010, 3:59PM

Under the continued pressure of Democratic questions about how he spent his years in the outsider Baylor University student group NoZe Brotherhood, Republican Kentucky Senate nominee Rand Paul has started to to respond to the claims about his college career leveled at him by his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway.

And for the first time I could find, he appears to be flatly denying the Aqua Buddha story. At first, Paul refused to address the incident -- in which an anonymous woman claims he and a friend tied her up, put her in a creek and asked her to worship "Aqua Buddha" as part of what the accuser calls "a hazing prank" -- at all, preferring to focus his attention on slamming Conway for making the story into a campaign commercial.

That changed slightly this week, when Paul took to the conservative airwaves and said, basically, he has no recollection of the Aqua Buddha incident.

In an interview with Fox's Megyn Kelly today, he repeated that 'I don't remember' claim at first -- but then appeared to refute the story completely.

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KY-SEN

Conway's New Groove: Dem Moving On From Aqua Buddha In KY-SEN? (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 21, 2010, 8:37AM

KY Senate candidate Jack Conway (D)

When it comes to Rand Paul's college career, it seems like Jack Conway's work here is done. Having turned a weird anecdote from one of Paul's schoolmates at Baylor into a national firestorm, Conway seems ready to pull the Kentucky Senate race back toward something more in keeping with standard electoral politics.

Conway's already suggested he doesn't see Aqua Buddha as his closing argument, having told reporters that the now-infamous ad will likely be off the air by the end of this week. That means it's time to get back to what Conway was doing before the ad dropped -- namely, hitting the Republican Paul over and over for his semi-Libertarianism.

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KY-SEN

Mason-Dixon Poll: Rand Paul Ahead By 5 In KY-SEN

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 20, 2010, 6:41PM

KY Senate candidate Rand Paul (R)

Republican Rand Paul has a slim lead over Democrat Jack Conway in the latest public poll to come out of the Kentucky Senate race. Conducted by respected pollster Mason-Dixon, the poll shows Paul leading the race 48-43.

This is the first Mason-Dixon poll of the Kentucky Senate race. The survey of likely voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday, at the high point of Conway's Aqua Buddha kerfuffle, produced when the Democrat ran an ad calling out Paul for alleged shenanigans while he was an undergraduate at Baylor University.

Other recent polling has shown Paul ahead as well, but has also shown Conway with the momentum heading into the final days of the campaign. The TPM Poll Average shows Paul ahead 47.1-42.6.

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KY-SEN

Rand Paul's Wife Doesn't Like The Aqua Buddha Ad Either

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 20, 2010, 5:00PM

Kelley and Rand Paul

Kentucky's Republican nominee for Senate, Rand Paul, isn't the only Paul upset over Democrat Jack Conway's notorious Aqua Buddha ad.

"I am truly shocked by Conway's ads questioning Rand's faith based on nothing more than anonymous accusations from nearly three decades ago," Kelley Paul told reporters today, according to a report from CNN's Peter Hamby.

Paul said that she and her husband have "attended a Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green for nearly two decades" and are both "devoted Christians."

She claimed that Conway's ad was an attack on her family, one she appeared to find reprehensible.

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