Rand Paul hits Obama on minimum wage in San Francisco

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Sen. Rand Paul mocked President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Saturday over the reasons they recently gave for wanting their daughters to work minimum wage jobs.

Speaking at a downtown conference for libertarian and conservative technology types, the Kentucky Republican and prospective 2016 White House contender said he had an “opposite” view from the Obamas when it comes to seeing his own sons work delivering pizzas and at call

“The minimum wage is a temporary” thing, Paul said. “It’s a chance to get started. I see my son come home with his tips. And he’s got cash in his hand and he’s proud of himself. I don’t want him to stop there. But he’s working and he’s understanding the value of work. We shouldn’t disparage that.”

Paul was swinging at the Obamas over an answer they gave in a joint interview last month to Parade magazine when asked if they’d like to see their daughters follow in their footsteps in working minimum wage jobs.

“Oh, yeah. I think every kid needs to get a taste of what it’s like to do that real hard work,” Michelle Obama answered.

“We are looking for opportunities for them to feel as if going to work and getting a paycheck is not always fun, not always stimulating, not always fair. But that’s what most folks go through every single day,” President Obama added.

“That’s what life is,” Michelle Obama added.

Paul’s remarks about minimum wage come at the end of his three-day trip to San Francisco — he attended a fundraiser Friday for his Senate reelection and political action campaign at a steakhouse overlooking the Bay Bridge and has participated in several round tables and private meetings with technology experts.

Paul is looking to raise money from libertarian-minded tech executives and perhaps recruit talent for a future campaign, something he acknowledged is an uphill climate in such a Democratically-dominated region.

“I come out here and people say we loved President Obama. We’re all for President Obama. We’re from the tech community,” Paul told several hundred attendees at the Lincoln Labs conference. “Why? Why would you be? He’s not for innovation. He’s not for freedom. He’s for the protectionism crowd. He’s for the crowd that would limit the activities of these companies.”

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