by Kevin Wheatley, @KWheatley_cn2 –
On the heels of a failed vote to block a proposed arms sale worth some $1.15 billion to Saudi Arabia, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s campaign released a new television ad on Thursday highlighting his push to curtail deals between the U.S. and Middle Eastern countries.
The 30-second spot, which is scheduled to first air in Louisville before hitting other television markets as part of a significant ad buy, also highlights the junior Republican senator’s proposal for economic freedom zones, which calls for cutting the federal tax rate to 5 percent in economically depressed areas, and his efforts to increase funding for domestic infrastructure projects, last year through lowering the country’s repatriation rate and this year through earmarking excess foreign aid dollars.
Both were ultimately unsuccessful, but Paul said in a statement that he refuses “to stand idly by while Kentuckians’ hard earned tax dollars are spent overseas on countries who hate us while we don’t have enough money to take care of our own roads and bridges here at home.”
“I’ve stood up for Kentucky time and again in the Senate on this issue and I will continue to do so, because we must put Kentucky, not foreign countries, first,” he said.
The ad can be viewed here:
The ad mentions President Barack Obama but not Paul’s opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.
Gray’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Senate voted 71-27 on Wednesday to table the Saudi Arabia resolution authored by Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn. While unsuccessful, the vote has been interpreted as a sign of wavering support for Saudi Arabia over its battle with neighboring Yemen and suspicions of its ties to terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Paul has also sought to have foreign aid to Pakistan, Libya and Egypt redirected to reduce federal debt, help veterans and fund infrastructure projects in 2012 and 2013 and block the sale of $700 million in fighter jets to Pakistan in March. Those efforts also failed to clear Senate votes.
