5 tough questions for Rand Paul’s Twitter chat

Sen. Rand Paul plans to hold a Twitter Q&A Sunday from South by Southwest, the annual tech conference in Austin, Texas. The Kentucky Republican posted a call to his Twitter followers Thursday night, asking them to submit questions using the hashtag #RANDSXSW.  

He asked, and they delivered — including some pretty tough ones. Now the question is whether the 2016 presidential hopeful will answer them.

Here’s a sampling of inquiries posed to the senator that he’ll likely avoid:

1.  Why did you sign that Iran letter?

#RANDSXSW Is it patriotic for govt related/elected employees to directly communicate that their President is lame/weak to foreign nations?

— Chi (@Chiweet) March 13, 2015

Paul was one of 47 Republican senators who signed a letter to Iran, warning the nation against signing a nuclear deal with the United States. The letter has since generated significant backlash in Washington D.C.

2. About your comments on the Civil Rights Act …

@SenRandPaul Why do you keep lying about opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1965? #RANDSXSW

— nuclearneo577 (@nuclearneo577) March 13, 2015

Paul came under fire recently for a 2010 interview in which he commented on the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1965, saying “I like the Civil Rights Act in the sense that it ended discrimination in all public domains, and I’m all in favor of that …  I don’t like the idea of telling private business owners — I abhor racism. I think it’s a bad business decision to exclude anybody from your restaurant — but, at the same time, I do believe in private ownership.” 

In 2014, as his public profile grew, those comments resurfaced, and Paul took heat for trying to walk back his previous statement. 

3. What exactly is your stance on same-sex marriage?

@SenRandPaul Since you oppose gay marriage and want to replace it with contracts, what would the title of the contact be? #RANDSXSW.

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— heaven Shaffer (@HeavenShaffer) March 13, 2015

Paul recently said in an interview on Fox News, “I’m for traditional marriage. I think marriage is between a man and a woman. Ultimately, we could have fixed this a long time ago if we just allowed contracts between adults. We didn’t have to call it marriage, which offends myself and a lot of people.” Come again, Senator?

4.  Are you really anti-vaccines?

Hey @SenRandPaul why don't you believe in vaccinating children even though you're a licensed physician #RANDSXSW

— Kamia (@kamiarath) March 13, 2015

In a February interview with CNBC, Paul said, “I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.” Unfortunately for Paul, the science of vaccinations is straightforward: Public health officials point to extensive research showing vaccines protect the common good. 

5. What about your dad?

@SenRandPaul #RANDSXSW as president would you endorse your father to hold office in your administration? If so, which office?

— Cameron Hernandez (@KillaCAMShazam) March 13, 2015

Paul’s father, Ron Paul, is a former Congressman who ran for president in 2012 but failed to win the Republican nomination. But many have wondered whether Sen. Paul will ally himself closely with his father or distance himself should he decide to run for president in 2016.