Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tore into Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday during an interview on Brian Kilmeade’s Fox News radio show, arguing that Cruz’s attacks on his colleagues make him an ineffective legislator.
Kilmeade asked Paul if he felt Cruz was snubbed when his fellow Republican senators denied him a roll call vote Monday night on a measure that would have defunded Planned Parenthood. The Senate instead advanced a temporary funding resolution that includes funding for Planned Parenthood.
“Ted has chosen to make this really personal and call people dishonest in leadership and call them names, which really goes against the decorum and also against the rules of the Senate, and as a consequence, he can’t get anything done legislatively,” Paul told Kilmeade. “He’s pretty much done for and stifled, and it’s really because of personal relationships, or lack of personal relationships, and it is a problem.”
Cruz also railed against Republican leadership in a Monday night speech, accusing House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) of surrendering to congressional Democrats.
Paul told Kilmeade that while he opposes federal funding for Planned Parenthood, he uses a different approach than Cruz, referencing the Texas senator’s July speech in which he called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a “liar.”
“I approach things a little different,” Paul said on Tuesday. “I am still just as hardcore in saying what we are doing is wrong. I just chose not to call people liars on the Senate floor, and it’s just a matter of different perspectives on how best to get to the end result.”
Kilmeade then asked Paul if McConnell has let him down by pushing for a temporary funding measure that does not eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.
“I think I would say we have disagreements on tactics on how to do it, and I stand up forcefully for what I think is right but I try not to make it personal,” Paul replied.
