A new gamble has taken root in the State of Kentucky. Current Kentucky law prevents politicians from appearing twice on the same ballot. It’s a technicality that could get in the way of Rand Paul, arguably the front runner in saving the floundering Republican Party.

In March, the Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would allow Paul to pursue presidential aims while still maintaining his Senate seat. However, the Democratic-held House in the State of Kentucky was not about to let that happen. House members didn’t vote against it—they just let the clock run down on their legislative session. Clearly this was not an innocent oversight as reflected in a statement by Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

“We kind of take the position over here that a man (who) can’t decide which office he wants to run for isn’t fit to hold either office.”

Stumbo’s opinion provides yet another example of the pervading liberal mentality—do as I say, not as I do.

It would seem that this self-righteous proclamation doesn’t apply to the likes of Vice President Joe Biden. Delaware is among other states that allow politicians to appear twice on the ballot. Maybe dual signatures on the same ballot is not such a good idea, after all.

Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another potential White House contender, offered a different perspective on the matter during a recent visit to New Hampshire.

“I believe that if you want to be president of the United States, you run for president,” Rubio said. “You don’t run for president with some eject button in the cockpit that allows you to go on an exit ramp if it doesn’t work out.” (ABC News)

Interestingly, his analogy neatly sums up the current state of the GOP.

Rand Paul, in his usual fashion, delivered a logical counter-argument to the current Kentucky law.

“Can you really have equal application of federal law if someone like Paul Ryan or Joe Lieberman can run for two offices but in Kentucky you would be disallowed?” Paul said. “It seems like it might not be equal application of the law to do that. But that means involving a court, and I don’t think we’ve made a decision on that. I think the easier way is to clarify the law.” (Politico)

That seems to make sense. Nonetheless, it is the current rule in Kentucky and Paul will most likely have to confront this Kentucky law at some point. Should he adopt the position of his fellow congressman, Marco Rubio? A seemingly high road to take—but at what cost? Or will Rand Paul have to take the State of Kentucky to court? Paul will do what he always does—stay true to his personal convictions. Share your thoughts below. Follow us on Twitter or leave a message on our Facebook page.

Written by Adam Michael Hamilton

 
(Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

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