Rand Paul to GOP: Stop insulting the 47% and say how principles will help them

U.S. Senator Rand Paul says the Republican Party needs to show empathy to those who aren’t working and convince them that Republicans are trying to help them by creating an environment that creates jobs.

Paul, who will be giving a response to the president’s State of the Union Address Tuesday night on behalf of the tea party, told Republicans at the Barren County Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday that party needs to do a better job with its message that “big government is who punishes” low income Americans.

“What we are trying to do is not how to give them a free phone but how to get them into the work force, get them into the middle class. And that our policies of lowering taxes on businesses…that’s how you get jobs,” Paul said.

Paul also said he believes anyone who really wants to help people would rather send $100 to their local food bank than the federal welfare program.

Paul said the Republican Party clearly failed in 2012 to reach a broad swath of the electorate. A better-crafted economic message with populist overtones is one way to do that, he said. Other ways he has suggested include talking about immigration reform, lowering penalties for marijuana possession and compromising on cutting military spending.

Another check on Egypt

Paul has introduced a string of amendments and bills aimed at cutting off U.S. financial support to Egypt unless the country backs off from anti-American demonstrations.

His recent attempt at stopping the sale of F-16 military aircraft to Egypt was unsuccessful. But he said he now plans to try to stop aid through different legislation.

“I’m going to try to get a vote that says no more aid or no more weapons unless Morsi (President of Egypt) comes forward and says that he publicly, in English and Arabic, supports the Camp David Accords.”

The Camp David Accords are agreements between Israel and Egypt signed in 1978 that led to a peace treaty between Isreal and Egypt.

— Video production by Chris Bratton