Sen. Rand Paul is putting his own mark on the debate over raising the nation’s debt limit, starting a new campaign geared towards getting the federal government to cut what he considers wasteful spending.
Called “Cut Their Card,” the new push coincides with the approaching deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, which limits the amount of money the federal government can borrow. The U.S. Treasury has said the current deadline is November 5th.
The Paul campaign is releasing a series of web-only videos that decry federal overspending – the first two note that the government spends $180,000 a year studying the effect of cocaine on the sexual habits of Japanese quail (which the fact-checking site Politifact notes is actually part of a study on human sexuality).
“Washington has an addiction. They spend more than they have!” Paul exclaims in a voice-over, while punk-sounding music plays in the background. “I have a revolutionary idea. Instead of running up their debt, let’s stop. Let’s cut off their credit card.”
The “Cut Their Card campaign” also features a pop-up visual of a hand cutting a credit card in half, which will feature at all upcoming campaign events, and will encourage supporters to use the hashtag “#CutTheirCard.”
The Paul campaign is also directing viewers to www.cuttheircard.com, which currently features a Paul quote and picture and redirects visitors to a campaign donation page.
This push allows Paul to fuse his work as a U.S. senator with his campaign message of reining in government spending.
“With the debt ceiling deadline looming, this will be a major topic of discussion at each of the senator's campaign stops. This is especially relevant to college students looking to join the work force,” campaign spokeswoman Eleanor May said in a statement.