The Christie & Paul Show!

[Antilogic]

I was going to post this in the 2016 thread, but I think it might spark a broader discussion that would be more appropriate out here.



Is anyone else here paying attention to the fight between Rand Paul and Chris Christie on foreign policy? Rand Paul is taking a (predictable) libertarian track while Chris Christie seems to be falling in with a more hawkish neocon-type crowd. Here are some of the juicy bits from this week-long exchange (and I'll apologize for the quote-heavy OP, but there are some pretty good zingers so hopefully it's still entertaining):


First, from late last week:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had blunt words of criticism for those in the Republican party who take a turn to the libertarian way of thinking: That’s dangerous.

...

“This strain of libertarianism that’s going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought,” he said from a Republican governors’ conference in Colorado, the New York Times reported.

When asked if he was referring to Mr. Paul, Mr. Christie replied:

“You can name any number of people, and he’s one of them,” he said, The New York Times reported. “These esoteric, intellectual debates — I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversations. And they won’t because that’s a much tougher conversation to have.”

...

Members of Mr. Paul’s camp in Washington, D.C., however, got the message. And they shot back a scathing reply.

“If Governor Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is ‘esoteric,’ he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans, because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years,” one of Mr. Paul’s senior advisers said.

From Slate, more on Christie and foreign policy:

Every week there’s another reminder that the GOP’s libertarian wing hasn’t truly overcome the Bush wing. Back in Aspen, Christie gave them more fresh evidence. “President Obama has done nothing to change the policies of the Bush administration in the war on terrorism,” he said. “I mean practically nothing. You know why? Because they work.”

This WSJ blog has some updates from over the weekend, and the widening scope including some Republican Congressmen:

...

“They’re precisely the same people who are unwilling to cut the spending, and their ‘Gimme, gimme, gimme – give me all my Sandy money now,” Mr. Paul told the Associated Press, referring to requests from Messrs. Christie and King for federal funding in the aftermath of last year’s Hurricane Sandy, which damaged large swaths of the New York and New Jersey coasts. “Those are the people who are bankrupting the government and not letting enough money be left over for national defense.”

Mr. King said the senator’s attacks on Sandy aid were “indefensible” in an interview with the Associated Press Sunday evening, calling the funding “absolutely life-or-death money.”

The congressman also criticized Mr. Paul’s national security positions, calling efforts to defund the NSA program “madness” on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “When you have Rand Paul actually comparing [NSA leaker Edward] Snowden to Martin Luther King or Henry David Thoreau, this is madness, this is the antiwar left-wing Democrats of the 1960s that nominated George McGovern and destroyed their party for almost 20 years,” Mr. King said.

He said Republicans who voted in favor of the defunding bill were “absolutely disgraceful,” adding, “We are a party of national defense.”

Mr. Paul told Politico Sunday that he is not looking to fight with other members of his party. “I didn’t start this one, and I don’t plan on starting things by criticizing other Republicans,” he said. “But if they want to make me the target, they will get it back in spades.”

And most recently, from interviews on Monday and Tuesday, reported on Politico:

Sen. Rand Paul slammed Chris Christie’s on Tuesday, calling the GOP governor the “king of bacon,” adding another jab in a string of attacks the two Republicans have thrown at each other in recent days.

“This is the king of bacon talking about bacon,” the Republican from Kentucky said on CNN’S “The Situation Room.” “You know, we have two military bases in Kentucky, and is Governor Christie recommending that we shut down our military bases? … No what this debate really is about is that in order to have enough money for national defense, which I think is a priority for the government, you have to be willing to cut spending in other places, and Governor Christie and others have been part of this gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme all this money.”

...

“Maybe he should start cutting the pork barrel spending that he brings home to Kentucky,” Christie said, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. “But I doubt he will because most Washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon so that they can get re-elected.”

Christie said New Jersey gets back 61 cents for every dollar sent to Washington while Kentucky receives $1.51.

...

“It’s really, I think, kind of sad and cheap that he would use the cloak of 9/11 victims and say, I’m the only one who cares about these victims. Hogwash,” Paul said on Monday to Sean Hannity on Fox News. “If he cared about protecting this country, maybe he wouldn’t be in this ‘give me, give me, give me all of the money’ that you have in Washington or don’t have and he would be more fiscally responsive and know the way we defend our country.”

...

“I think it’s not very smart. (Christie) may have heard that, you know, the republican party is on life support in the Northeast. Republicans are in danger of becoming an endangered species,” Paul said. “It’s not smart for Republicans to be attacking Republicans, but I would remind him that what is dangerous is to forget that we have a Bill of Rights, to forget about privacy and give up on all of our liberty that you have to live in a police state.”

On Tuesday, Christie said that he’s got “nothing personal” against the senator, but said Paul’s words seem as though “he has something personal against me, but that’s OK. He can just get in line on that front.”

I was too lazy to add the comic book sound effects between the quotes. I hear there will be a duel at high noon, will update with a link when available.

Thoughts?

 

[_random_]

I would rather see a wrestling match.

 

[Cutlass]

The solution is obvious

 

[JollyRoger]

You know, we have two military bases in Kentucky, and is Governor Christie recommending that we shut down our military bases?

Wonder if Rand Paul know how many military bases there are in New Jersey.

 

[bhsup]

Honest to God, I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Rand Paul is considered a 2016 heavyweight.

 

[Berzerker]

he didn't look the part in those exchanges

 

[JollyRoger]

Spoiler :

 

[Kyriakos]

Well not sure about Rand Paul, but Christie seems like the regular US corrupt 'fat cat'. Sounds even less trustworthy than the average of said ilk.

 

[Smellincoffee]

The OP leaves me confused. I have no idea which side to take. Christie is trying to sound sensible , but he's defending police state powers, so I have to hope for the slightly crazy one to prevail.

 

[Antilogic]

Honest to God, I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Rand Paul is considered a 2016 heavyweight.

It's hard to imagine, but he's apparently leading in early polling amongst national Republicans and in 5-6 states including Iowa and New Hampshire. Standard caveats about it being really early in the process, but he's in way better a position than his dad ever was. And I mean ever.

The OP leaves me confused. I have no idea which side to take. Christie is trying to sound sensible , but he's defending police state powers, so I have to hope for the slightly crazy one to prevail.

It's crazy, right? Up is down, left is right, and we are watching what is starting to look like an incredibly petty schoolboy fight including underhanded references to Christie's weight.

 

[Berzerker]

i quickly became disgusted by christie when he unloaded on a woman for asking about him sending his kids to private schools while cutting public school funding

he's just a rude sob

 

[caketastydelish]

If this is the best they can do the democrats have definitely got in the bag unless the remainder of Obama's second term is terrible at best.

 

[RobAnybody]

They'd almost fit in around here. One of them just needs to find something telling & then "call" each "other" hypocrites.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Honest to God, I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Rand Paul is considered a 2016 heavyweight.

I felt the same way about a great number of primary candidates in 2012.

 

[Oruc]

They'd almost fit in around here. One of them just needs to find something telling & then "call" each "other" hypocrites.

/shrug, oh well

 

[dutchfire]

The OP leaves me confused. I have no idea which side to take. Christie is trying to sound sensible , but he's defending police state powers, so I have to hope for the slightly crazy one to prevail.

In the left right one corner we have Fascism and in the left right other corner we have Anarchy. Place your bets now!