Those hoping for a rousing pro-pot speech Tuesday from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul may have been disappointed, but not pro-liberty voters.

The Republican presidential candidate whipped up the packed crowd at Chopper’s Sports Grill instead with a call for “the right to be left alone” and against the USA Patriot Act, federal spying on citizens and civil-asset forfeiture, in accord the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.

That emphasis, along with his skepticism over U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, separates him from the rest of the crowded Republican presidential field, but Paul argued that the GOP needs to shake up the status quo if the party wants to win nationally.

“There are 18 states we haven’t won in 30 years. Some are saying Republicans can’t win again unless we dilute our message, unless we become more like the Democrats,” Paul said. “I think it’s absolutely the opposite. I think we need to be more boldly for what we are for.”

Paul also called for more diversity, and there’s no question that a Rand Paul crowd has a different look than the typical GOP gathering. His audience was younger, rowdier, inkier, and more predominantly male than that at last weekend’s Western Conservative Summit, for example. (Paul didn’t attend the summit, which featured six Republican presidential candidates speak to large crowds at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.)

“[I]f we want to be the national party that can win in a landslide like [Ronald] Reagan did in ’84, we have to be a more diverse party. We have to bring new people in,” Paul said.

“With tattoos and without tattoos. With earrings and without earrings. With pony tails and without pony tails,” he said. “We need a wide variety of people. We need rich and poor, black and white. The way we get new people is by being the party that defends the entire Bill of Rights.”

What Paul didn’t mention in his stump speech was marijuana, even though he made a little history before the rally with a private fundraiser at the Cannabis Business Summit, a first for a presidential candidate.

In a Tuesday interview with 9News reporter Brandon Rittiman, Paul gave a few more details on his marijuana stance, saying that he “wouldn’t interfere from the federal level” with Colorado’s law allowing recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over.

In that sense, Paul’s position in favor of states’ rights aligns with that of other Republican presidential hopefuls, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who defended Colorado’s “right to be wrong” about marijuana on Saturday at the summit.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina made it clear she isn’t a fan of legalized pot, but added, “I do in general support states’ rights, and the voters of Colorado have made their decision.”

Paul also said in the interview that his primary emphasis has been on decriminalizing marijuana possession.

“I’ve spent most of my time talking about decriminalization. That means taking the penalties to a more proportionate level,” he said. “I think that putting someone in jail for 55 years is ridiculous.”

Paul has already lined up some high-profile Republican supporters in Colorado, including former state Sen. Ted Harvey, who introduced him at the Chopper’s event, as well as state Sens. Owen Hill and Scott Renfroe, who are serving as state campaign co-chairs.

Harvey pointed to Paul’s strong showing in the polls. The RealClearPolitics average has Paul running sixth in the crowded GOP field, but he outperforms other Republicans in head-to-head match-ups with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner.

A Quinnipiac Poll released April 9 found Paul edging Clinton in Colorado by 44 to 41 percentage points.

“As you know, our country’s at a difficult point,” Harvey said. “Rand Paul is beating Hillary Clinton in polls in every one of the swing states. And we have to win Colorado.”

Renfroe praised Paul as the candidate best able to draw Republican support from all factions.

“This is the man who can lead us forward. He can get the job done. He can bridge that gap to bring conservatives and the liberty movement together to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016,” Renfroe said. “He’s the only one who can do that.”

— valrichardson17@gmail.com