Rand Paul, the bridge builder, stops in Cedar Rapids

So I heard this guy was coming to town who says he can bridge the stubborn divides in Iowa's Republican ranks, making peace between the culture warring evangelicals and leave-me-alone libertarians and let's-talk-about-the-economy country-clubby establishment folks.

He's going to grow the party nationally. Make it more diverse. Bring in Latino and African-American voters. Check for any possible Republicans hanging out in California and New England. Make it OK to disagree on social issues without the RINO hunts.

And he may try doing all this while running for president in 2016.

It's easily 1,000 days until the Iowa caucuses in 2016. Too (beeping) early. And I'm not much of a fan of science fiction. But I figured this was something I had to see.

And there he was, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky. The bridge to the big tent, with lots of room. Even Democrats.

“How you will have a bigger voice nationally, to be part of the national scene, is to come to Iowa,” Paul told reporters gathered in a conference room at The Hotel at Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids Friday. “That's where political leaders come to talk about issues that they want to resonate nationally. And one of the things I want to talk about whether I run or not is how to make the Republican Party bigger.

“We need to have a Republican Party that looks like the rest of the country,” Paul said.

But is Iowa the best place to start that transformation?

Paul has opportunities and potential problems here.

Enthusiastic backers of his father Ron control top posts in the Republican Party of Iowa. An opportunity.

But many Iowa activists in other factions of the party have rejected their leadership. A problem.

GOP electoral losses have a lot of Iowa Republicans talking about the party's message. An opportunity.

But a fair number think the best course of action is to double-down hard on the red meat social issues that motivate the base. A problem.

Iowa Republicans, particularly evangelicals, hear “big tent” and think “surrender” on the issues they care about, marriage, abortion, etc. Establishmentarians hear “Paul” and get nervous.

Can you keep your father's politically diverse, motivated backers, appeal to the religious right, comfort the establishment and not appear like a shape-shifter in the process?

If Paul is worried, it doesn't show. He's relaxed, speaks easily, cracks jokes, some of which are actually funny. He delivered his largely low-key Lincoln Day keynote leaning casually on the lectern. It's like he's the anti-Romney.

“One of the ways I mean inclusive is African-Americans and Hispanics. I don't think anyone is going to argue on that,” Paul said during the afternoon press conference. “Inclusiveness means going and trying to get people who haven't been with us in the party. And that could be a variety of reasons why.

“The way I look at it, it's sort of like your family, your dad, your sister, your brother, who you don't agree with them on every issue. But you still break bread with them. It's the same with the Republican Party,” Paul said.

“The party shouldn't have an inclusion exclusion rule. And I think if we do we'll be a party of the red states and not a national party,” he said.

He said he believes in “traditional” marriage but says it should be a state issue.

He wants immigration reform to fix a broken system. If you want to come here and work hard, you should have that chance. He's uncertain how the bipartisan bill will evolve, but he hopes the need for more border security and a system change can be balanced.

“This bill destroys the rule of law,” said Rep. Steve King earlier in the evening, offering a less nuanced view of immigration reform.

Paul favors decriminalizing marijuana, but not legalization. “I think it's an issue where the youth might listen to us a little more if we didn't want to lock them all up,” he said.

Paul drew his biggest applause Friday night hammering former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton on the failure to provide adequate security for diplomats and others killed in Benghazi. “It was inexcusable. It was a dereliction of duty. And it should preclude her from holding higher office,” he said to a standing O.

But he's not keen on listing differences with his dad. “As far as itemizing differences, it doesn't make for a good Thanksgiving Dinner.”

If Paul were a beer brand, he might be “Dad's Light.” Tastes great. Less fringy.

But after 13 hours of filibustering against the excesses of the president's dubious drone warfare campaign, Paul has a lot of political capital right now, as evidenced by the sold out Lincoln Day dinner crowd who gathered to see him speak at Kirkwood.

“I think there's objective evidence out there that people are looking for a new type of Republican, looking for a way to grow the Republican Party,” Paul said.