Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Republican candidate for president, speaks during a meeting of the Economic Club of Las Vegas on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, at Caesars Palace.
Published Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 | 12:59 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 | 1:53 p.m.
As the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2006, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul criticized the decision today in a speech at the Economic Club of Las Vegas, a nonpartisan forum, at Caesars Palace.
The day after Paul appeared in the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas, he said artificially set federal interest rates had contributed to the housing bubble in the valley and around the country and that he feared the reinflation of a new asset bubble.
“The real question is whether the government should be involved in setting prices,” said Paul, who was battling a cold.
Paul, whose low standing in the polls led to speculation he would be relegated to the undercard debate, is hoping to reverse his standing with less than two months remaining before the Iowa caucus.
In the debate, Paul cast himself as a champion of a more restrained foreign policy — a position some of his opponents have characterized as isolationist — drawing contrasts between himself and frontrunners Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio. Today, Paul said voters ought to support him over Trump because, “I’m not crazy.”
Paul continued to attack Trump today, saying Trump’s proposal to shut down parts of the Internet would shred the First Amendment.
Repeating what he said Tuesday night, Paul rejected a religious test for immigration but said he was in favor of stronger scrutiny, including the use of social media data.
Paul is also hoping to tap into libertarian voters in Nevada who supported his father, Ron Paul, in his previous bids for president.
“I think we defeat terrorism by showing them that we do not fear them,” Paul said during the debate.
On a proposed nuclear waste facility in Yucca Mountain, Paul said he favored local control. “I’m inclined to give the land back to the state, and you could decide what to do with Yucca Mountain,” he said, adding that he also opposed the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision expanding the use of eminent domain by local governments.
Paul criticized what he characterized as wasteful state-building projects in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Those are artificial nations,” said Paul, who went on to call the invasion of Iraq in 2003 a mistake — one that he did not want to repeat. “Do you really want to spend another trillion dollars to invade Iraq again?” he asked.
Paul is one of several candidates, including retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who held public events in Nevada today.
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