A war of words that began last week when New Jersey governor Chris Christie slammed Kentuckysenator Rand Paul for his criticism of government surveillance.
This strain of libertarianism that's going through both parties right now,
and making big headlines, I think is a very dangerous thought.
Senator Rand Paul, for example?
Listen, you can name any number of people of dubitation.
He's one of them.
The back-and-forth continued onto the Situation Room.
And attacking me isn't helping the party.
He's hurting the party.
Paul has accused Christie of harming national security by hoarding federal relief money forHurricane Sandy victims.
Christie has called on Paul to cut pork barrel spending in Kentucky.
But I doubt he would because most Washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon so that they can get reelected.
This is the king of bacon talking about bacon?
Beyond the jabs, some Republicans say it's Paul's noninterventionist views on foreign policy that are setting the stage for a fight for the heart and soul of their party.
This is the anti-war, left-wing Democrats of the 1960s that nominated George McGovern and destroyed their party for almost 20 years.
According to a new Pew Research Center poll, Paul is popular among Republicans.
Fifty-five percent of GOP voters view him favorably.
Only 19 percent unfavorably.
Contrast that with Christie.
Forty-seven percent see him in a positive light, 30 percent don't.
Both men have an opportunity as Republicans don't have a clear leader.
Ten percent say it's House Speaker John Boehner.
The rest register in the single digits, with a whopping 56 percent saying nobody or they don't know.
I think we're going to end up with a Republican primary that looks a lot like a cage match.
If I was asked who the leader of the Republican Party is right now, I couldn't give you the name of that person.
Paul appears determined to carry on much of his father Ron Paul's libertarian legacy.
The senator just introduced an amendment to cut foreign aid to Egypt.
Yet no one questions sending billions of your dollars to Egypt.
But that amendment lost, a reminder that the GOP is not quite ready to follow his lead.
