Ron Paul Institute Opens Amid Split with Rand

Politico reports:

Ron Paul made an impassioned plea for shuttering Guantanamo Bay Wednesday at a launch event for his new Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Just hours earlier, his son Rand Paul said he does not favor closing the prison.[...]“I don’t talk to him in detail for the precise reason that I’m not looking to sort that all out,” Ron Paul said. “He has his opinions. You’ll have to ask him where he disagrees. Not me.” 

A background sheet distributed at Wednesday’s roll out said the older Paul, 77, has been “unshackled by the restrictions of government service” — as if that ever posed a problem for the iconoclastic libertarian during his decades in the House.

The younger Paul, 50, is open about his designs on the Republican nomination in 2016. Recent moves to present his foreign policy vision as in the mainstream have showcased a desire to expand from his father’s base. He was notably absent from the program to honor his dad and will not be on the new group’s advisory board.

Ron Paul recalled getting booed during a Republican debate last year when he called for a “Golden Rule” on foreign policy. He noted that many voters told him in 2012 they agree with his positions on everything but national security. 

Rather than emphasize those views that might be broadly popular, Paul is creating the new group to educate a younger generation on the merits of avoiding conflict overseas and protecting civil liberties at home.

He stressed that his interest isn’t in advancing the Republican Party.

“Instead of being obedient to the party, we have to be obedient to the truth,” he told a crowd of about 70 at the Capitol Hill Club.