Column: Don’t count Paul out of race

There are a lot of ways to describe Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate. Luckily, two words can do it effectively: It stunk.

Despite being a ratings success for CNN with almost 23 million people tuning in, it was a disaster. Not only was it three hours long, but it was also pure chaos. The moderators lacked complete control, turning what was supposed to be an informative event into a game of which candidate could get the last word.

Nevertheless, a winner did emerge: one candidate who made the most sense and whose campaign will hopefully benefit the most from their performance. Carly Fiorina? No.

The true winner of the second debate was Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning senator from Kentucky. Unlike his fellow 10 candidates, Paul brought up what parts of the Republican agenda needed to change, mainly foreign policy and marijuana policy.

On foreign policy, Paul argued for discussion and patience when facing issues involving our standing overseas, going against the Republican trend of promoting a strong military presence abroad. This includes the previously mentioned Fiorina, who advocated for sending troops abroad and adding more items to our already bloated force.

“I don’t think we need to be rash,” Paul said. “I don’t think we need to be reckless, and I think need to leave lines of communication open.”

There was also the issue of marijuana legalization, a hurdle for Republicans who still cannot seem to capture the elusive youth vote.

While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would enforce federal law to ban marijuana in states where it is legal, Paul said the way we handle marijuana nationally is unjust, invoking the 10th Amendment and stating states should be allowed to experiment with the drug. Though some candidates including Christie threw support behind drug rehabilitation, Paul took it a step further, saying the war on drugs has done more harm than good for people in poor and minority communities.

He then added how these individuals are more likely to be arrested for drug use compared to those living in wealthy and white communities, further damaging themselves and inner cities.

“Not only do the drugs damage them, we damage them again by incarcerating them and then preventing them from getting employment over time,” Paul said.

Despite a strong performance, the senator did not nail every topic. His stance on revising birthright citizenship appears nativist. Yet the rest of his arguments should put Republicans on edge about the future of the party.

We are still 13 months away from the election. Paul is polling more than 3 percent nationally in the GOP race, but he still has plenty of time to emphasize his differences from the rest of the field. Was it a perfect performance? By all means, no. However, it hopefully is the performance that gives the Paul campaign a much-needed boost in the crowded Republican race.