Will Rand Paul Be Able To Deal With Neocon Money if He Runs in 2016?

Over at
The Week, Michael Brendan Dougherty has written about
the very well-financed opposition Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) may face
from neoconservative Republican donors once his widely anticipated
2016 presidential campaign begins.

Last month, TIME
magazine’s Zeke Miller reported that some donors at the Republican
Jewish Coalition suggested Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino
magnate, was prepared to spend “vast sums” if it looked like Paul
was in a position to do well in the primaries. According to
Miller’s reporting, one former Mitt Romney bundler, who believes
that a Paul nomination would be “scary,” thinks that the Kentucky
senator could win the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire
primary.

Dougherty believes that a Paul nomination is unlikely without
so-called  “‘Paul bundlers,’ ‘Paul angels,’ and
‘Paul-billionaires'”:

Perhaps the Paul camp would welcome such a unified opposition.
After all, it would grant his us-vs-them fundraising campaigns
quite a bit of legitimacy. Surely, his grassroots-savvy team could
light a few money-bomb campaigns with that. But does even Paul
believe that a presidential campaign can run on $100 checks sent in
by hepped-up liberty advocates?

To win, Paul and his anti-interventionist cadres must develop a
fundraising apparatus as well-organized, as active, and as
deep-pocketed as the one he faces. Until the media is buzzing about
“Paul bundlers,” “Paul angels,” and “Paul-billionaires,” I wouldn’t
bet on him winning the GOP nomination.

Slate‘s Dave Weigel asked at the end of last month,
“Could the shadowy network of Rand Paul’s old fundraising machine
sink his presidential ambitions?” Reason Senior Editor
Brian Doherty
wrote about Weigel’s article, saying that the answer to
Weigel’s question is “probably not.”

Although Paul might not have the support of any
“Paul-billionaires” yet, he is enjoying popularity. Paul topped the
list of possible Republican 2016 contenders in a
recent CNN/ORC
International survey, something his father never managed to do,
and won last month’s CPAC
straw poll. Last month Paul also won
a 2016 poll conducted by the Northeast Republican Leadership
Conference.

Of course, popularity this far ahead of the race doesn’t mean
Paul will necessarily clinch the GOP presidential nomination. While
some may be pleased with Paul’s success at the most CPAC straw poll
it is worth remembering that four of the last five winners of the
poll have had the last name “Paul.”

However, Paul’s appeal does reportedly have some
neonconservatives worried, which,
as I have said before, is a sign he’s doing something
right.