Rand Paul Wows CPAC

Sen. Rand Paul won an unofficial straw poll as the GOP choice for president in 2016, at Saturday’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

“The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered,” Paul told CPAC delegates, openly taking pot shots at his own party.  Although Paul said he didn’t want to “name any names,” it was evident he was referring to Sen. John McCain, who recently called Paul a “wacko bird” for his 13-hour filibuster last week against drones.

Paul, as well as Sen. Marco Rubio, each gave campaign-style speeches at the annual conservative gathering. Paul attacked President Obama, spoke against wasteful government spending, propelled the idea of a flat tax and suggested completely eliminating the Department of Education. He also tried to appeal to young voters, calling them “the core of the ‘leave me alone’ coalition.”

“If we’re going to have a Republican Party that can win, liberty needs to be the backbone of the GOP,” he said to cheers. “We need a Republican Party that shows up on the South Side of Chicago and shouts at the top of our lungs … ‘The GOP is the ticket to the middle class.'”