Not a US citizen, but I would vote for Rand Paul if I was and had the option to do so, even in the 2016 presidential primaries. Why? He's, among the current set of senators on both sides, the most libertarian one and, despite not being a purist on the level of his father, I consider him worthy of the Paul surname. It's impossible to predict something down to this fine graining, but I agree with Rand on the issues he lists at [1] and he has a record of standing against NSA spying [2].

[1] https://randpaul.com/issues

[2] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rand-paul-wraps-up-nsa-filibuste...

Didn't he co-sponsor this bill?

He did, and that's what I find very inconsistent with his prior actions, so there must be something more going on; e.g. [1] says: "This undoes the 73-page publication [2] published on 2016-12-02 by the FCC, most of which took effect 2017-01-03, some parts later on 2017-03-02, both after the election and one of them after the inauguration." So this regulation did not even exist until a few months ago.

I tweeted to Rand Paul to clarify his standing on S.J.Res.34 and I hope he will. The US citizens should e-mail/call Rand and others and demand statements as this is being overshadowed by Obamacare repeal/Ryancare introduction bill.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13943942

Note that it is basically pointless to contact a Senator from a state you don't vote in.

I am aware of that. Call me idealistic, but I am hoping that he, like his father, also cares to spread the ideas of liberty more broadly and is therefore wiling to explain the principles behind his votes.

Didn't expect Trump to win.

Was it a protest vote then?

edit: Oh I see, you voted for a republican senator but not necessarily a republican president.

And knowing that you personally helped bring this about, what do you plan to do?

Fight the two party system.