Kentucky Senator Rand Paul continued to hammer away at Sen. Marco Rubio, who told Megyn Kelly on Fox News earlier this week that Paul “has no idea what he’s talking about” when he supports ending the Cuban embargo and normalizing diplomatic relations. Paul defended his Facebook post directed at Rubio in which he said, “Senator Rubio is acting like an isolationist who wants to retreat to our borders and perhaps build a moat.” Paul also followed up by trolling Rubio on Twitter on Friday.
Hey @marcorubio if the embargo doesn't hurt Cuba, why do you want to keep it?
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2014
Senator @marcorubio is acting like an isolationist who wants to retreat to our borders and perhaps build a moat. I reject this isolationism.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2014
The United States trades and engages with other communist nations, such as China and Vietnam. So @marcorubio why not Cuba?
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2014
.@marcorubio what about the majority of Cuban-Americans who now support normalizing relations between our countries? http://t.co/0qhSOeD9Va
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 19, 2014
Shannon Bream, filling in for Megyn Kelly on Friday, asked Paul if he was picking a fight with Rubio.
“Oh, you know, I never start a fight but I’m happy to finish a fight. I think the remarks were a little bit rude and intemperate. … I didn’t start this, Shannon, you know. But what I would say is that the remarks were intemperate and rude, and so we responded to them,” Paul said, sounding perhaps a bit too much like a 9-year-old girl tattling on her little sister.
“It is about an issue and it is about a fellow Republican who used rude and inappropriate language with regard to a fellow Republican and I think that I won’t stand for it, frankly,” he said. “And if someone’s going to cast aspersions on me and not talk about policy, then there will be an altercation and I won’t shy away from a battle and I think I’ve shown that.”
Apparently, Rubio’s comment that Paul “has no idea what he’s talking about” bruised the thin-skinned Kentucky senator’s feelings, compelling him to scratch back wildly at Rubio with accusations about casting “aspersions” and complaints that Rubio was being “rude” and not talking about the policy.
Contradicting his claim that Rubio was merely hurling insults rather than talking about the policy, Paul then went on to discuss how Rubio’s criticisms of Paul’s policy positions were wrong. You know, the policy that Paul said Rubio wasn’t talking about.
It’s becoming obvious that Paul thinks that picking these little locker room fights will set him apart from the rest of the GOP field and perhaps endear him to voters. That they make him appear strong and willing to fight. The strategy may, however, backfire among primary voters who are increasingly looking for a more substantive debate on these important policy issues. While these petty internecine squabbles may be good for a few retweets and may shore up your fundraising base, they have a way of sounding juvenile and vindictive, which, I suspect, is not the image Senator Paul is going for.
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