Lexington Herald Leader Catches Jack CONway In ANOTHER Lie About Rand Paul. So Who's Surprised, Right?

Campaign Watchdog: Claim that Paul would eliminate a litany of laws ‘false’
By Bill Estep

The statement: “(Rand) Paul would eliminate laws that provide: mine safety, environmental protections, a minimum wage, food safety, toy safety and child labor protections.”

— The Kentucky Democratic Party, in a mailing against Paul, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee

The ruling: False

The facts: Paul has said many times that his general philosophy is that federal power should be rolled back in a wide range of areas, and he does favor eliminating some federal agencies. He has called for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education, for instance, which sends more than $400 million annually to Kentucky.

He has questioned the proper role of the federal government in regulating environmental protection, coal-mine safety and other issues. On mining, he said safety oversight would be better if regulations were written and enforced at the local and state levels — something several local officials said was unrealistic.

However, Paul has not called for an end to federal oversight of mine safety or environmental protection. Asked specifically in a May interview on ABC’s Good Morning America if he favored repealing the minimum wage, he said no.

The claim that he would do away with food-safety laws is based on a charge that he wants to kill off the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which Paul says is not true.

The Herald-Leader could find no mention in its archives or on the Internet of Paul taking a stance on toy safety or child labor protections. The state Democratic Party could not immediately cite a source for those claims.

In the ad, the party provided no citations to back up any of its claims.