Paul says he’ll return power to people, states

WATERLOO - Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul says he first ran for office because he was tired of throwing things at the TV. But after five years in the U.S. Senate, he hasn't found any less frustration or gained much more power.

And yet, in making his bid for the White House, Paul told an audience in Waterloo on Friday morning that he would seek to lessen the power of the presidency should he win office in 2016.

'I've told people if I am elected president - or I guess, better yet, when I am elected president - I will do something extraordinary, I won't try to grab up more power, I will try to give power back to the people and to the states, respectively,” Paul said during a 25-minute speech to a crowd of more than 50 people at the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

He said the worst thing Democratic President Barack Obama has done during his tenure is to further the collapse of the separation of powers, pointing in particular to the administration putting in place regulations that have not gone through the legislative process.

Paul also spent time discussing the issue that he says disqualifies Democratic presidential candidate and front-runner Hillary Clinton from succeeding Obama, the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans in 2012.

'‘Look, by not providing adequate security, by not defending our embassies, it should forever preclude you from holding higher office,'” he said he told Clinton at a hearing on Benghazi.

He has also spent the past week lambasting Clinton for accepting funds from Planned Parenthood and refusing to return them as the women's health and abortion provider agency has come under scrutiny.

Paul's stance calling to defund the agency earned praise Friday morning. Clinton, however, has offered a strong defense of Planned Parenthood during the past week.

The Iowa Democratic Party also offered criticism of Paul by saying he is dismissive of landmark legislation like the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act.

But Paul's criticisms were not limited to the Democratic Party or its presidential hopefuls.

He also took aim at conservatives for too often only being the party of the 2nd Amendment, while ignoring the other nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.

'We've got to believe in the entire Bill of Rights, but if we do, it attracts a whole new set of people that haven't been attracted to our party,” Paul said. 'I think we need to be a bigger, better, bolder party.”

Paul did not criticize his fellow Republican hopefuls, but he and his staff made light of the ever-growing field of contenders. There are 17 Republican presidential candidates, and in polls Paul often falls in the middle of the pack by garnering 5 to 6 percent support.

Glenn Anderkay of Waterloo said the large field of candidates means he's still weighing his options, though he was sporting an 'I voted Ron Paul at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames” T-shirt and said he wanted a Rand Paul T-shirt as well.

'He has a lot of things that need to be repaired and is willing to try to do that. I can't say I agree with everything, but so far the majority of what he said, I support,” Anderkay said.

Anderkay challenged Paul during a question-and-answer period over his 14.5 percent flat tax proposal, suggesting the Bible makes clear 10 percent should suffice. Paul acknowledged that people often want a lower rate but that his proposal will be difficult to pass and 'the most significant tax cut.”

Anderkay also had made notes of other questions he had for Paul in his literature, and he wasn't the only one questioning the candidate deeply.

Paul also faced a couple of questions about how practically to repeal and replace the federal health law known as Obamacare while still ensuring affordable access to care. He suggested it would be difficult but he would try to urge Congress to repeal the entire law, and if unsuccessful, he would seek to repeal the parts possible. Paul said he supported more capitalism rather than more government in health care.