Paul: 'I Decided a Long Time Ago I Wouldn't Be a Birther'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is offering a beer summit to make up with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who slammed Paul last month for being among those leading a libertarian wing of the GOP.

“As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said.

That sparked a war of words between the two, but Paul said it’s time to put the feud to bed.

“I am from Kentucky so we are used to feuding. We can hold a grudge for a long time, but I’m kind of wanting to get rid of the grudge now. I want to make up,” Paul said yesterday on CNN.

“I’ve offered him a beer. We can have a beer summit. I know he’s busy. I could even come to New Jersey for him and I might buy the beer and I’m notoriously very cheap. And I would offer to buy the beer.”

Paul was asked about Sarah Palin’s comment that she’s on “Team Rand” in the feud.

“I love an endorsement by Sarah Palin. What’s not to love?” he said. “Team Rand, you know, whatever that means can include a lot of people. What I’ve been telling people is that I want to grow the Republican Party and that means that some of the libertarian ideas of respecting people’s privacy, respecting the fourth amendment, not spying on Americans, I think that appeals to a lot of young people and will bring new people into our party if we become the party of privacy. It’s hurt the president significantly.”

When asked what he’s going to do for gay marriage, Paul responded, “Do I have to do something?”

“Part of the Republican Party being bigger is we agree to disagree. Maybe in Kentucky, we still believe in traditional marriage, part of our constitution. Maybe in New York they have a different point of view but maybe we agree to disagree as a union. Some of that sort of our ideas of federalism that different states can have different definitions on maybe some of the cultural things that affect our country that we don’t always agree on is so that we agree to disagree and then maybe we can become a big party,” he continued. “That’s where I am. I don’t think there should be a connection of marriage to the federal government.”

When asked about the eligibility of potential 2016 challenger Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to run for president, Paul said he refused to wade into the argument.

“You won’t find me questioning his eligibility. I decided a long time ago I wouldn’t be a birther,” said Paul. “I’m not a birther for Democrats. I’m not a birther for Republicans. I’m staying out of that.”