Before his campaign began, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told us in an interview that he planned to reach out to constituencies traditionally unfriendly to the GOP, such as Silicon Valley and the African-American community. And when he launched his presidential campaign website today, he directed users to a page where his team provided pre-made profile pictures for his followers to declare their support on social media. They were even customized, too: “Iowan for Rand!” “Musician for Rand!” “African-American for Rand!” “Jew for Rand!” (Yes, that’s an image you can use):
RT @famblog: Jew for Rand? http://t.co/683sPOlwRw #tcot #tlot #tgdn pic.twitter.com/yXVMyj5GdZ
— ┌П┐(•_•) (@exposeliberals) April 7, 2015
But noticeably absent were photos for Latinos, Asians, women, LGBT, or Muslims to declare their support for Rand.
While it makes little sense for Paul to cater to tiny minorities — e.g. “Asexuals for Rand,” “Furries for Paul”, “Worshippers of Yog-Sothoth for Rand,” etc. — the the absence of these rather large groups, some of them increasingly crucial to anyone attempting to get elected to the presidency, raised a few eyebrows among those aware of Paul’s expansive vision for the GOP:
Latinos can't show they stand with Rand with a snazzy profile pic :( pic.twitter.com/gler7jyCMR
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) April 7, 2015
Rand's intent often better than execution. "@Carrasquillo: Latinos can't show they stand w/Rand w/snazzy profile pic pic.twitter.com/bXZiXV3RZY”
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) April 7, 2015
Or, like, women RT @Carrasquillo: Latinos can't show they stand with Rand with a snazzy profile pic :( pic.twitter.com/JyF1DRKAiI
— Kate Hansen (@KateEHansen) April 7, 2015
@jonathanchait He was also missing Latinos for Rand, Muslims for Rand and LGBT for Rand. Hmmm.
— TheGovnah (@abuetyfulmind) April 7, 2015
Guess Rand doesn't care about Latinos. That's ok. We don't care about Rand either.
— Fulana de Tal (@soulamami) April 7, 2015
How can we stand with Rand if he's always running from us? RT @Carrasquillo Latinos can't show they stand with Rand. pic.twitter.com/1LHVUb8Icd
— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) April 7, 2015
@jbarro Isn't Rand favorite race happen to be asian? I remember Rand saying that years ago. Where's that logo lol
— Zen Del Negra (@xx__ZEN__xx) April 7, 2015
Personally, since I didn’t see Asians for Rand, and since Asians are — for all practical purposes — Jews, I’ve changed my profile pic declaring myself a Jew for Rand.
And in any case, that’s why there’s Photoshop.
[Images via RandPaul.com]
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