Rand Paul’s Message of Self-Reliance and Low Taxes Should Find a Good Reception in Nevada
Sen. Rand Paul planned a four-casino stop today in a four-city tour of Nevada. Two of the locations he plans to visit are local casinos. The libertarian candidate for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination wants to discuss limiting the power of the federal government and protecting the Bill of Rights.
Gold Dust Casino in Reno
The campaign stops begin at the Gold Dust West Casino at 10:30 am in Reno, Nevada. At the Gold Dust West, a rally will be held called the “Stand With Rand Rally”. The tour is meant to show Rand Paul’s support for the casino gaming industry of Nevada, as well as a more general support for business ventures.
Libertarians believe the government should restrict itself to as little intrusion in citizens’ lives as possible, with no oversight over so-called “vices” like gambling, recreational drug use, or prostitution. To a libertarian, such things are a matter of personal choice–not societal responsibilities.
The Gold Dust Casino is a gaming venue with 495 slots machines, a restuarant, and a 28-room hotel. The site also has its own sportsbook. Sports betting is becoming an issue in the United States, because of New Jersey’s attempts to strike down the 1992 federal law, PASPA, through the legal system. The definition of sports gambling is also being discussed, because of the 2006 UIGEA’s exemption for fantasy sports and the subsequent appearance of DFS sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.
University of Nevada-Reno
At 1 pm, Rand Paul continues the tour of Reno by visiting the campus of the University of Nevada at Reno. He’ll meet with students in attendance at UNR’s Joe Crowley Student Union, where he is set to speak publicly at an event called “Students for Rand Rally”. The address for the UNR Student Union is 1664 North Virginia St. in Reno.
A campaign official said of the visit, “During the tour, Sen. Paul will continue to discuss the importance of protecting the entire Bill of Rights, and expanding the Republican (Party) by being boldly for conservative ideals that limit the powers of the Washington Machine.”
Prospector Hotel & Gambling Hall
At 4 pm, the Kentucky senator is set to appear at the Prospector Hotel & Gambling Hall in Ely, Nevada. Ely is found near the border with Utah, across the state but due-east of Reno. Ely is also due north of Las Vegas, but once again, far north of Sin City.
The location in Ely is small, with 91 gaming machines, a restaurant, and 61-room hotel. Visiting the town of 4,600 people allows Rand Paul to meet with the type of Nevada residents not easily found in Las Vegas or Reno.
College of Southern Nevada
The final stop of the day will be at the College of Southern Nevada, a location inside Las Vegas, the city most associated with casino gambling in America. Las Vegas is seen as a business hub, which is why Rand Paul’s advocacy for less business taxes and a flat tax on income should find ready supporters. A campaign press release said Rand Paul was for “unleashing the American dream by leaving more money with those who earned it“.
Rand Paul, like his father Ron Paul before him, appeals to business professionals and civil libertarians, who wish to keep taxes low and the government from interfering in people’s lives.
Western Brand of Conservatism
The American west is known as a bastion of libertarianism. Going back all the way to the Old West, the western United States traditionally drew frontier people who took pride in their rugged individualism and self-sufficiency. The streak of libertarianism has continued, given the western states’ far removal from Washington D.C. The geographic isolation of the American West also breeds a certain streak of self-reliance in its people. Such people helped build Las Vegas and Reno into what they are today.
The most famous conservative from the libertarian tradition is Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who ran for the U.S. presidency in 1964. Senator Goldwater lost that election in a landslide, but many see his 1964 presidential campaign as the birth of the modern conservative movement. Besides inspiring a generation of anti-establishment conservatives, it was Goldwater’s campaign which first gave actor Ronald Reagan a prime time spot to speak on behalf of the senator’s campaign. In the wake of Reagan’s 1964 speech, Republican leaders began to see Ronald Reagan as a potential political candidate.
