Rand Paul For President In 2016? Senator Uses Burning Man Invitation To Hint At Presidential Campaign

Sen. Rand Paul will not be able to attend Burning Man in 2015. Why? Well, maybe he'll be in the midst of a 2016 presidential run. In response to an invitation to the festival from the Americans For Tax Reform, Paul said he might be too busy to attend the week-long festival in Nevada.

"Thank you kindly for the invitation, Grover. I'll certainly consider it, but I think I might be pretty busy next summer," Paul said.

The founder of Americans For Tax reform, Grover Norquist, issued a challenge to the senator earlier this month to become a member of what Norquist calls his “Dream Team.” He hopes to bring a group of Republican lawmakers with him to next year’s event who have a mix "of athletic, artistic and technical skills,” according to the Huffington Post.

Burning Man takes place the entire week before Labor Day in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The desert is transformed into a “city,” where festival goers and organizers participate in a variety of counterculture activities ranging from building “an egg for shelter” to “covering yourself in silver,” according to the festival’s website. Oh, and some people do a lot of drugs.

“You're here to survive,” according to the website’s description. “What happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes? You know and watch yourself.”

Paul told Fusion that he would have loved to attend the festival, if only he weren’t so busy.

"It's clear that festival-goers are strong proponents of liberty, as well as personal responsibility,” Paul said. “I couldn't agree with those philosophies more. I’d love to experience the festival firsthand.”

Paul is a contender for the Republican presidential nomination. A CNN/ORC poll found that 16 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents would likely support him in 2016.

Aside from Paul, Norquist confirmed to Fusion that his “Dream Team" included Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif).