Chris Christie And Rand Paul Trade Barbs Over Libertarianism [Video]

Chris Christie doesn’t care much for Libertarians, and singled out Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as an example of a new wave of “dangerous” liberal conservatism in a recent interview.

As New Jersey’s governor, the Republican Christie enjoys popularity across partisan lines. Despite his hardline stance on conservative economic issues, he is usually reluctant to address social issues, leading some to speculate that he may be a Libertarian.

But the one issue that Christie definitely splits with Libertarianism over is national security. Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Colorado, Christie was actually very critical of Libertarians, calling the political philosophy a “very dangerous thought” and calling them out for engaging in “esoteric debates” over national security.

Then the moderator mentioned Rand Paul.

“You can name any number of people who have engaged in [those debates], and he’s one of them…,” said Christie.

“I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and orphans and have that conversation. And they won’t, ’cause that’s a much tougher conversation to have.”

Representatives for Paul wasted no time firing back. Senior Paul adviser Dough Stafford said that “if Governor Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is ‘esoteric,’ he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans, because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years.”

Paul tweeted his own, succinct response.

Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional.

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) July 26, 2013

Do you agree with Chris Christie? Is Libertarianism “dangerous?” Or do you side with Rand Paul? Sound off!