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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has a message for Republicans: Stop acting like our party is 'Democrat light" and start moving away from the center.

Despite Washington's polarizing political paralysis, and despite the fact that the Republican Party's net favorability rating has slumped to a record low thanks in large part to its recent intransigence, Paul on Saturday told the 1,400 delegates at Iowa's Republican state convention that in order "to be the dominant party again" the GOP had to eschew moderation and embrace full-throated conservatism.

"There are people who say we need to be more moderate," he said. "I couldn't disagree more."

Instead, he said, the party should "be even more bold," adding that, "When Ronald Reagan won a landslide, he ran unabashedly."