Paul Trying To Bring Tea Party To Kentucky GOP Contest

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FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Republican Rand Paul has become the star of the Tea Party movement that's brewing up conservative challengers to establishment GOP candidates across the country, turning what was once a one-sided primary into a shootout for the Republican ballot line in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jim Bunning.

The son of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, faces Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who was Bunning's star pupil and the choice of Senate Minority Leader McConnell, the state's senior senator.

The candidates stand in sharp contrast, with Grayson filling the role of the party insider with access to McConnell's establishment network and Paul feeding off the energy of conservatives angered by the growing cost and size of government.

"If your only concern is we need a Republican majority, I may not be the right guy," Paul told about two dozen members of the Franklin County Republican Party here last week. "I want to change the system."

Both candidates seeking to replace the caustic Hall of Fame pitcher have been put on the defensive about who is a truer Republican.

"I'm the conservative candidate, and he's the Libertarian candidate," said Grayson, who once was a registered Democrat. "I'm a Republican," countered Paul. "Libertarian means a lot of things to a lot of people. It also scares some people."

During his remarks before the county Republicans, Paul gave a tutorial on the perils of spending, bank bailouts and big government, sounding a lot like Bunning in outlining his opposition to the Troubled Asset Relief Program and in outlining other views. He minced few words. Asked about immigration, for example, he said an electronic fence would cost one-one-millionth as much as a solid wall, adding that there would be "zero illegal entry into this country if I were in charge of it."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cda_20091203_8998.php