Rand Paul to GOP: Rewrite stances on immigration, pot

After last week’s defeat at the polls, plenty in the Republican Party are trying to find ways to expand and revitalize the Grand Ole Party. Speaking with Politico for an article published today, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky came up with a trio of ideas that are well outside the usual Republican orthodoxy.

[Paul] wants to work… to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession. He wants to carve a compromise immigration plan with an “eventual path” to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a proposal he believes could be palatable to conservatives. And he believes his ideas–along with pushing for less U.S. military intervention in conflicts overseas–could help the GOP broaden its tent and appeal to crucial voting blocs that handed Democrats big wins in the West Coast, the Northeast and along the Great Lakes.

In Tuesday’s Rewrite segment on The Last Word, msnbc’s Lawrence O’Donnell took an in-depth look at these proposals from the Senate’s only real Libertarian-leaning Republican — something that, O’Donnell explained, makes him “both a liberal and a conservative at the same time.”

O’Donnell said of Sen. Rand Paul and his retiring father, Rep. Ron Paul, “the glimmers of real Libertarianism that the Paul family bring to the national stage include things we will hear from no other politician in Washington.” The Last Word host continued, “We should all be interested in having Senator Paul in the national debate… he will force Republicans to listen to liberal ideas. He will also thrill Republicans with how conservative he can be on tax and budget issues.”