We should be able to live in a country where as citizens, we can disagree without anyone resorting to violence. This is basic civility. Political violence should not to be tolerated in a truly free and humane society.

Our prayers go out to Paul Pelosi after his assault and we wish for a speedy recovery.

No one deserves to be assaulted. Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr. Pelosi a speedy recovery. https://t.co/2LxIlbIYQP

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 28, 2022

Sharon & I are praying for the well-being of Mr. Pelosi. Violence is never to be tolerated. https://t.co/Mrf4nTJcdV

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) October 28, 2022

What happened to Paul Pelosi last night is horrific.

Heidi & I are praying for him & Nancy & the entire Pelosi family. May God’s protection be upon them.

We can have our political differences, but violence is always wrong & unacceptable.

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 28, 2022

I’m horrified to hear of the awful attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband this morning. No matter our political differences, violence is never acceptable. As we learn more details about the attack, we wish a speedy recovery for Paul and send prayers for his family.

— Congresswoman Kat Cammack (@RepKatCammack) October 28, 2022

Prayers for Paul Pelosi, Speaker Pelosi, and their family. Whatever our political differences or grievances, a violent assault like this is never justifiable. It’s reprehensible, and I condemn it. https://t.co/i7P4byDBYc

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) October 28, 2022

.@LuckeyGinger and I wish Paul Pelosi a full recovery and we extend our sympathies to the Speaker and the entire Pelosi family.

We reject violence categorically.

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 28, 2022

I’m praying for Paul Pelosi’s safety & speedy recovery. Political violence is unacceptable in our nation. https://t.co/G26e7Uv00t

— Joe Kent for WA-3 (@joekent16jan19) October 28, 2022

.@POTUS is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family. This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected.

— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) October 28, 2022

Doug and I are appalled by the attack on Paul Pelosi, Speaker Pelosi’s husband. The entire Pelosi family is in our hearts and we wish him a speedy recovery.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) October 28, 2022

The post We wish Mr. Pelosi a speedy recovery. No one deserves to be assaulted appeared first on Liberty Tree.

As I travel across Kentucky, I’m often asked if Congress is as angry a place as the media depicts.

The answer is, of course not. Sure, Republicans and Democrats disagree on many subjects, but our relations with each other are more often than not cordial and respectful, nothing like the vitriol of the internet.

In fact, because we know our areas of agreement are limited, we try hard to find conversations concerning areas we can agree upon.

Some of my most significant accomplishments in the Senate have come from reaching across the aisle and working with Democrats. For example, I recently teamed up with Senator Cory Booker to end mandatory animal testing for new drugs, and just last month the Senate unanimously passed our bill.

I’ve been a physician far longer than I’ve been a Senator and helping people has always been a core value of mine. So when I first ran for office, I promised to shake things up and write Washington a prescription for positive change. I promised to offer bold solutions to our problems, whether that meant working with Democrats or standing up for what’s right, even if the fight would get lonely sometimes.

Some of the areas where I’ve made great strides have been on issues Republicans typically shy away from, like a realist foreign policy view, criminal-justice reform, and protecting your privacy.

In addition to being a leading voice for bringing our troops home from far-flung conflicts, I’ve  teamed up with progressive Democrat Senator Chris Murphy to block arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia because of their wartime blockade of Yemen that has led to mass starvation.

And on the issue of privacy, I have regularly spoken out against the government’s surveillance programs and have worked with Democrat Senator Ron Wyden to require the government get a judicial warrant before searching an American’s phone.  One of our recent bills, the “4th Amendment is Not for Sale Act,” closes the legal loophole that allows the government to buy Americans’ personal information without a warrant.

Perhaps the most significant area of my bipartisan efforts has been justice reform. From day one of my time in the Senate I have been committed to fixing our broken justice system and I have introduced and cosponsored over two dozen bipartisan bills addressing these issues.

I’ve teamed up with Senator Cory Booker many times on bills like the “RESET Act” to address the issue of mandatory minimum sentencing. I successfully pushed for the “First Step Act” to become law. And, in the wake of the Breonna Taylor shooting, I introduced the “Justice for Breonna Taylor Act,” which would ban no-knock warrants nationwide. Most recently, I again worked with Senator Booker to strengthen and pass the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Bill, making lynching a federal crime.

In addition, I have introduced legislation to protect pregnant women in federal custody, which helps guarantee their health and safety and give birth in humane conditions. My proposals would bring much-needed reform to a system that often disproportionately punishes minorities and low-income Americans while also providing second chances to those who have made mistakes in the past but are willing to turn their lives around.

I’ve also worked with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on the Military Justice Improvement Act to better address and professionalize how the military handles and prosecutes serious crimes like sexual assault.

But, just like I work with both sides of the aisle, I also hold both sides accountable. Many know me to be quite an outspoken critic of wasteful spending, and its because I have Kentuckians’ best interests in mind. Every dollar we waste or send overseas is a dollar that could have been spent on roads and bridges here at home.

Every time your government tries to spend its way out of a problem, I’m there to propose a solution that not only funds our needs, but also does it in a fiscally responsible way. Take for example my recent legislation that would allow unspent COVID-19 funds to be used for federal disaster relief.

My number one priority is putting Kentucky first and doing the best job I can to represent all Kentuckians, no matter what it takes. Whether I’m working across the aisle with Democrats or taking a stand to protect your tax dollars, I’m truly honored to be the one that gets to fight for you every day in Washington, and I look forward to continuing my efforts on your behalf.

The post Getting things done for Kentucky means working across the aisle appeared first on Liberty Tree.

We’ve now lost more due to inflation than the government gave out in the form of “free” money. It’s time to stop digging the hole and get back to fiscal sanity. Let’s fight back: https://t.co/pHGnpb7z9u pic.twitter.com/plQ0GYk630

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 24, 2022

I’ve traveled to every corner of the Commonwealth, and everywhere the message I receive from Kentuckians is the same. They’re worried about being able to afford to feed their families and fill their cars up with enough gas.

With rampant inflation, paychecks don’t have the same purchasing power, and there’s only one place to lay blame – the Biden Administration and Democrats’ Big Government agenda that has spent us into an economic disaster.

Help me fight the runaway spending that’s causing inflation and the Democrats’ plans to make it even worse.

Help my campaign today.

The post We’ve now lost more due to inflation than the government gave out in the form of ‘free’ money appeared first on Liberty Tree.

“If Republicans regain a majority in the Senate this election, Paul stands to become chairman of the health committee, and he has promised to subpoena Fauci’s records and bring Fauci out of retirement to answer more questions.”

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 10, 2022

The City-Journal’s John Tierney writes, “For all its virtues, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has never been considered a realistic film. Critics complain that Frank Capra’s movie is at once too corny and too cynical: one brave senator singlehandedly defending the public good against the thoroughly corrupt political and journalistic establishments. But we’ve been seeing a version of that plot for two years now, thanks to Senator Rand Paul’s lonely battle against Anthony Fauci, the Centers for Disease Control, and the mainstream press.

Like the politicians meekly following orders in the film, most of Washington has bowed to the CDC’s Covid edicts, but Paul has never tired of challenging the agency’s futile policies and dubious science. Like the movie’s media baron Jim Taylor, Fauci’s cheerleaders in the press and on social-media platforms have shamelessly pushed the party line—and worked hard to squelch opposing views, though they prefer to use ‘fact-checkers’ rather than the street thugs whom Taylor hired to silence a rival newspaper. Journalists have smeared Paul, and censors have removed some of his scientifically accurate heresies from YouTube, but no one can stop him from regularly berating Fauci at the televised hearings of the Senate health committee.”

Read the entire column.

The post Rand Paul’s lonely battle against the government’s tragic COVID response appeared first on Liberty Tree.

More Americans than ever are seeing through Fauci’s ridiculous propaganda

ICYMI last night I joined @JesseBWatters to discuss Fauci’s ridiculous propaganda and the upcoming midterm elections! pic.twitter.com/v8zC1dRYSs

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 7, 2022

Fox News’ Jesse Watters on the federal government using health propaganda in sports and entertainment: “Don’t you think they should put something big on the screen that said ‘this is from the government’?”

Sen. Rand Paul: “Rather than propaganda they might have tried honesty, but I guess they figured honesty wasn’t going to work. Because there are some honest questions.

If you’ve already had the disease, do you need to be vaccinated? There’s a lot of data out there and most of it shows that if you’ve already had the disease you have immunity.

Even Dr. Fauci used to believe in the basic required immunity from having had the disease. But they weren’t honest with us.

That’s why nobody trusts them now.”

The post More Americans than ever are seeing through Fauci’s ridiculous propaganda appeared first on Liberty Tree.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) and Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) bipartisan FDA Modernization Act 2.0 to end animal testing mandates.

This legislation ends an outdated FDA mandate that experimental drugs must be tested on animals before they are used on humans in clinical trials. The bill doesn’t ban animal testing outright but would allow the option for drug sponsors to use alternative methods where they are suitable.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (D-ME), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Rick Scott (R-FL). The bill will now head to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Today the Senate unanimously passed my bipartisan FDA Modernization Act 2.0 to end animal testing mandates! This is an important step toward innovation and ending the needless suffering and death of animal test subjects. pic.twitter.com/vGpCCdpuOf

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 29, 2022

“The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 will accelerate innovation and get safer, more effective drugs to market more quickly by cutting red tape that is not supported by current science, and I’m proud to have led the charge. The passage of this bipartisan bill is a step toward ending the needless suffering and death of animal test subjects – which I’m glad both Republicans and Democrats can agree needs to end,” said Dr. Paul.

 “Lawmakers from both parties recognize that the United States must lift an archaic animal-testing mandate for drug development and replace that strategy with 21st-century methods grounded on human biology,”said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.“This is the biggest policy development in Congressional history on the fight to replace animal testing with morally and scientifically superior methods.”

The post The Senate unanimously passed my bill to help end needless animal testing appeared first on Liberty Tree.

The Hill reports, “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has a 4-point lead over Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, according to a new Emerson College poll released on Tuesday.”
“Forty-eight percent of very likely voters said they support the sitting senator, while 44 percent said they will vote for Barnes, according to the poll,” the report noted.

It continued, “After winning the Democratic primary last month, Barnes briefly polled ahead of Johnson. However, Johnson has since closed the gap, and recent polling — including a Spectrum News-Siena College poll also released on Tuesday — showed the candidates within 1 percentage point of each other.”

***

Sen. Ron Johnson is in a tight race against his Democratic opponent. Ron has been a colleague and friend who has always stood up for liberty and constitutional principles.

With Republicans expected to make significant gains in the midterm election, winning in the Senate is crucial.

Not to mention we would be losing one of the best constitutional conservatives in Congress.

Let’s get behind Ron in the home stretch

You can help Ron here.

The post Constitutional Conservative Ron Johnson is in a tight race that Republicans can’t afford to lose appeared first on Liberty Tree.

I’ll continue fighting to cut spending, reduce our national debt, and make everyday life more affordable. Join me: https://t.co/S6nMxrRawc pic.twitter.com/jaVr88R6Ge

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 23, 2022

Reckless spending and unfit leadership created out current crisis. This administration and the Democrats intend to give us more of that.

Which is insane.

Joe Biden and the Left closed down small businesses, shut down the economy and spent billions we didn’t have.

The result? Prices are going up for Americans everywhere, across the board.

As Democrats plan to do more of the same, I will continue fight to cut spending, reduce our debt and make everyday life more affordable.

You can help here.

The post As prices continue to go up, Democrats want more spending. I will keep fighting to cut spending appeared first on Liberty Tree.

Fox News reports: “National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted Wednesday that he knew the ‘draconian’ COVID-19 policies he pushed for would lead to ‘collateral negative consequences’ for the ‘economy’ and ‘schoolchildren…’

…the doctor spoke about his guidance in instituting ‘draconian’ pandemic guidance knowing full well there would be ‘collateral’ damage stemming from it…

He continued, ‘And sometimes when you do draconian things, it has collateral negative consequences, just like when you shut things down, even temporarily, it does have deleterious consequences on the economy, on the schoolchildren. You know that.”

Read the entire story.

Fauci admits he knew his ‘draconian’ lockdowns would have ‘collateral negative consequences’ on schoolchildren https://t.co/z50cnWBeDv

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 21, 2022

Fauci now admits he knew what damage might be done. I’m not going to let him get away with it.

In an interview with @GlennBeck, Sen. @RandPaul revealed that he will be seeking to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate Dr. Fauci and the government’s COVID-19 response:pic.twitter.com/ewiGtIIkur

— Tea Party Patriots (@TPPatriots) September 19, 2022

The post Fauci admits he knew his ‘draconian’ COVID policies would lead to ‘collateral negative consequences’ for kids and the economy appeared first on Liberty Tree.

No libertarian writer reached mainstream audiences over the course of decades more than P.J. O’Rourke, who left us this week.

Whether he was writing at Rolling Stone or entertaining NPR listeners, O’Rourke’s entertaining style is what made him famous, even as he promoted liberty ideas for audiences that did not necessarily always share his politics or philosophy.

But they loved P.J. O’Rourke.

That he was not afraid to criticize both left and right endeared him to many, left, right or in between. Or as O’Rourke once put it, “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

Few summed up basic libertarian ideas better. O’Rourke wrote, “There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”

Probably one of O’Rourke’s most famous or shared quotes over the years was, “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”

In 2017, O’Rourke and I had a fun conversation about many things including the practical application of libertarianism to politics and daily life.

O’Rourke wrote at The Daily Beast:

I said to Sen. Paul, “I don’t know if what I need is an interview or a socio-political therapy session. Libertarian political principles must be applicable to practical politics or what are political principals for? But I’m not feeling it. I’m deeply conflicted. Although I know you’re not that kind of doctor.”

“I could do an exorcism,” Sen. Paul said. He described his own political situation, “If I try to be a pretty good libertarian I get attacked by the left, by the right, and by the libertarians.”

This was General Ferdinand Foch’s message to Marshal Joseph Joffre during the First Battle of the Marne — “My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking” — except not in French and said with a smile.

As for political principles, Sen. Paul said, “In Washington principled individuals are in the minority. There’s a good side to this. The majority can be influenced by public opinion.

Few writers or talents did more to influence public opinion in promoting libertarianism than P.J. O’Rourke, who was beloved for the wit of his pen as much as its bite.

In our discussion on the Fourth Amendment, O’Rourke wrote, “That is, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and papers – which should forbid the government from poking around in my iPhone looking for sexts. I’m almost 67. I don’t know how to text. And I don’t remember much about sex either.”

On the temptation of surrendering liberty for security, O’Rourke observed, “We surrender certain of our natural liberties to a government of our own making in return for public safety and order. Government is a necessary evil, and like all evils, however necessary, should be kept as small as possible.”

“My example would be servings of vegetables,” he continued. “Some varieties of kale grow to a height of six or seven feet. I don’t want that on my dinner plate next to a T-bone steak the size of a Susan B. Anthony dollar.”

Nothing I could say about P.J. O’Rourke will be as good as the millions of words he penned throughout his spectacular career and life.

RIP. There will not be another like him.

The post Saying goodbye to the late, great P.J. O’Rourke appeared first on Liberty Tree.