Rand Paul rebuttal: America is 'adrift'
Likely 2016 contender slams Obama's policies as widening inequality.
Likely 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul delivered his own populist response to the State of the Union Tuesday night, calling for term limits for Congress, lower taxes for everyone and help for impoverished Americans in inner cities.
“The best thing that could happen is for us to once and for all limit the terms of all politicians,” Paul began, after declaring that America is "adrift."
The Republican from Kentucky quoted Martin Luther King Jr., saying he has observed “two Americas” living separately in the nation,
divided by poverty and race. “My trips to Ferguson, Detroit, Atlanta and Chicago revealed what I call an undercurrent of unease. There is a tension,” he said.
But Paul said strengthening social programs — the president’s suggestion — would not help that problem. “Those of us actively pursuing the American dream simply want government to get out of the way,” the senator said.
He also promised to put forward a constitutional amendment that would prohibit Congress from passing any law that exempts members of Congress.
“We have set up a privileged class in Washington, and Americans are sick and tired of it,” Paul said.
