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Ted Cruz and Rand Paul: GOP 'One Big Happy Family Now'
Thursday, January 30, 2014 07:18 AM
By: Greg Richter
Despite struggles with members of their own party, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz downplayed infighting in a joint interview Wednesday on Fox News Channel's "Hannity."
"Both of you have had an intramural struggle with prominent Republicans," Hannity said, bringing up Paul's fight with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The moderate governor said in July that libertarians, including Paul, are dangerous to foreign policy.
A war of words broke out, with Paul eventually inviting Christie to meet over a beer. Christie declined, but Paul assured Hannity on Wednesday, "we’re all one big happy family now. It's all under the bridge."
"Under the bridge? No pun intended?" Hannity asked, a reference to Christie's recent Bridge-gate scandal which has dropped him from his first-place position in the 2016 presidential polls.
Hannity also noted that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had some not-so-nice words for Cruz early in the year, naming him and other tea party members of the party "wacko birds." Why, Hannity asked, don't moderates and conservatives unite over constitutional issues?
"I think the way we unite Republicans is we stand for principle," Cruz responded. "If we’re standing to defend the Constitution, that brings together Republicans across every stripe, whether they are conservatives or libertarians or whether they’re right in the middle. That brings together independents and moderates."
Cruz wasn't so conciliatory to President Barack Obama, who said recently he has a pen and phone so he can get things done without Congress' help if need be.
"If he wants to bring back jobs, he doesn't need a pen, he needs an eraser" to erase job-killing regulations and the damage done by Obamacare, Cruz said.