Day after debate, Bush and Paul barnstorm through Nevada

By Scott Lucas, Kyle Roerink

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015 | 9:15 p.m.

Less than 24 hours after the second Republican presidential debate, in which front-runner Donald Trump’s momentum may have stalled, two contenders brought their campaigns — and their different personalities — to Nevada.

Leading with a quip about hoping that he would come off as “high-energy enough” to inspire voters, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke Thursday afternoon at a campaign stop at the Veterans Memorial Leisure Center in Las Vegas. A loose-limbed Bush mixed a defense of his record in Florida with attacks on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and a stump speech on economic and foreign policy.

Bush pointed to civil service reforms, balanced budgets and governmental transparency in his time as governor, saying, “The Florida story is a precursor to what could happen in D.C.”

Turning to his Democratic rivals, Bush referenced the Austin Powers movies, joking that “Dr. Evil wouldn’t believe” the economic policies of Clinton or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. He also took a veiled swipe at Trump, saying that as president, “I’m not going to get my foreign policy from watching the (TV) shows.”

Playing to the concerns of Nevada conservatives, Bush argued against what he called “out of control” federal regulations, including those by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Just hours after Bush spoke, another Republican contender pitched himself in Las Vegas. In one of four public events scheduled in Nevada on Thursday, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spoke at a meeting of LIBRE, a libertarian group backed by the Koch brothers that works with the Latino community.

He warmed up the 200-person crowd by practicing his Spanish and ripping into Trump for comments earlier this year about undocumented Mexican immigrants. He showed off his libertarian bonafides by rebuking the Federal Reserve, bashing lobbyists and promising a flat tax rate. In a press gaggle after his speech, he called Trump’s rhetoric “over the top, sometimes ridiculous, often inane.”

To the crowd, he said that he wanted to secure the border but that the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country would earn some type of citizenship status.

“Making the decisions about who will leave the country shouldn’t be about a cheap TV show,” he said. "This is serious and we should treat it that way."

Nevada’s GOP caucus is a must-win battleground for Paul, who entered the race banking on the libertarian support that buoyed his father, Ron Paul's, bids. With candidates like Donald Trump and Ben Carson also vying for nontraditional Republicans, the younger Paul has not monopolized their support the way his father did.

But die-hard supporters of his family’s brand haven’t backed away.

"For me it’s not guns, drugs or taxes,” said Joe Silvestri, a Las Vegas resident and libertarian. “Rand brings the whole package. Trump has cracked open a window. He’s a nonpolitician when everyone is fed up with politicians. But it’s a long campaign and Rand has staying power.”