ASHLAND, Va. — Sen. Rand Paul took his one-man band to win GOP control of the Senate to central Virginia Wednesday to urge voters to “rise up against” President Obama’s “tyranny” and vote out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before the country fails economically.
In the cute village of Ashland just north of Richmond, Paul rallied an enthusiastic crowd of over 200 for Tea Party House candidate Dave Brat and rising GOP Senate candidate Ed Gillespie, by pledging to pass historic legislation like construction of the Keystone XL pipeline if the Senate turns Republican.
Paul, who will have campaigned for candidates in 32 states by Election Day, slammed Obama’s pledge to take action on laws such as immigration reform through executive order — not through legislation.
“That’s a form of tyranny, this is everything that we must rise up against, this is everything that we must stop,” he told the crowd. And he urged them to fight back.
“We can’t just lay down and say ‘Oh, well,’ ” said Paul.
He later told Secrets that he is confident of winning GOP control of the Senate and that fellow Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell will be elected leader and move fast to pass legislation.
“We can win in Virginia and we can win across America,” the Kentucky senator said to cheers.
But he added that Republicans should use the election to reach new populations, such as the poor and African-Americans.
“We only win if we reach out to new people. We have to talk to people, we have to welcome them to our party and we have to say, ‘Look, if you are poor, or you live in our cities, what has the president done for you?’ ” said Paul, who recently met with African-Americans in the racially torn city of Ferguson, Mo.
The rally was a huge victory for Brat, who after beating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has campaigned quietly. Brat gave a full-throated defense of Paul’s “liberty” message and promised to focus on the economy.
“I’ll be the only economist in the House,” said the college professor. “We need a few more.”
Brat’s primary victory gave Paul a chance to laud the conservative and his supporters. “You guys have already woken up Washington,” he said, referring to the shocking Cantor defeat. “Dave Brat has already been effective, and he’s not even there yet.”
He also picked up on Brat’s economic message, warning that Obama and Democrats like Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, Gillespie’s opponent, are bankrupting the nation with out of control spending. “There is a day of reckoning coming,” he said.
Gillespie’s biggest cheer came when he said he wouldn’t vote to make Reid majority leader.
Paul said electing Gillespie will help cement the GOP take over, but he told the crowd, “Nothing good will happen we get to 51 or 60” Senate seats.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
