Let the battle begin
by digby
…. the battle of the extreme long shots:
In interviews, Graham aides said he was laying out a plan to position himself as Paul’s foil, and will repeatedly contrast his foreign policy positions to that of the Kentucky senator’s more isolationist views, especially in debates. They believe that going after Paul — or “putting wood on him,” in the words of one aide — drives attention to Graham and, at a time of rising concern about threats from abroad, helps establish himself as the hawk of the Republican field.
“It’s nothing personal, not at all,” Graham insisted in a telephone interview on Wednesday, one day before Paul stumped in his home state, pointing out that the two had once played golf together. “My problem with Rand Paul is foreign policy. He’s a libertarian and I come from a more traditional Republican perspective.”
The Kentucky senator, he said, “in many ways is to the left of Barack Obama.” To defeat Hillary Clinton, Graham argued, Republicans would need a nominee with robust national defense strategy. “Sen. Paul isn’t in a good position to do that,” he said.
Paul, 52, declined to comment on his relationship with Graham, and many of his advisers — who over the years have observed Graham launch similar broadsides against Paul’s father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul — are hesitant to respond to Graham’s attacks, believing that it will only help the South Carolina senator.
“Punching down third-tier candidates doesn’t often make a lot of sense,” said Jesse Benton, a former Paul campaign manager who is now helping to lead a super PAC that will be supporting his candidacy.
But some Paul advisers are watching nervously, and are growing convinced the attacks will intensify. One aide pointed out that a group running TV ads against Paul, the Foundation for a Secure & Prosperous America, is overseen by Rick Reed, a veteran Republican operative who’s worked for Graham. On Thursday, BuzzFeed reported that Paul’s campaign had sent a cease-and-desist letter to TV stations, asking them to take down the ad, which it called deceptive.
Here’s that ad.
Paul is such a petulant twit, isn’t he? He gets all mad-daddy at anyone who asks him about the blatant inconsistency of his positions over the past five years. They used his own words. And he’s having a hissy fit. Which is sad. These are his best positions. If he wasn’t so wedded to the idea that people should die on the streets from poverty so rich men don’t have to pay any taxes, he could run to Clinton’s left on this stuff. But his priorities are clear — money and property uber alles. All those civil liberties, anti-imperialist beliefs are in the garbage can.
I’m not sure it’s wise for any politician to be so obvious about what he considers his achilles heel. But I’m going to enjoy watching him squirm at that hand of Huckleberry Graham. That’s just delicious. I wonder if he’ll shush him too …
Update: Lulz
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