Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has taken a side in the ongoing feud between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over national security, and he's choosing to stand with Rand.
In an interview on Fox News' Power Play, Cruz said he was proud to align himself with Paul on issues of national security. Though Cruz argued that most people "don’t care about politicians bickering in Washington," he remains loyal to the politician with whom he's repeatedly defended constitutional liberties.
"I am proud to stand side-by-side with Rand Paul," Cruz said. "He and I have been fighting over and over and over again in the Senate to defend our constitutional liberties. I’ll say this, some of this tiff, Governor Christie is entitled to his views, he’s entitled to express his views, I think most Americans don’t care about politicians bickering in Washington. They don’t care about the egos, and the battles that will happen in the beltway. What they’re interested in is solving the problems that we’ve got here."
Christie criticized Paul last week for his libertarian position on surveillance, illustrating a growing split over national security among members of the Republican Party. Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Colorado, Christie accused Paul of engaging in "esoteric debates" over foreign policy, and cited the 9/11 attacks as rationale for heightened surveillance.
Paul responded to Christie's comments on Sunday after speaking at a fundraiser outside Nashville, telling reporters that politicians with Christie's views jeopardize Republicans' chances in national elections and will only cause more harm to national security.
"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,'" Paul said, referring to federal aid for victims of last year's hurricane. "Those are the people who are bankrupting the government and not letting enough money be left over for national defense."
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