Rand Paul fires back at Christie: 'Spying without warrants is unconstitutional

As Jason reported last night, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pushed back against libertarian-leaning conservatives in the Republican Party, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. When applied to national security, Christie warned that such libertarian thinking is “a very dangerous thought.”

With Christie's comments making headlines, it didn't take long for Paul to fire back, via Twitter:

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

In addition, Paul's office told the Washington Times that Christie needs to talk to more Americans about the government's use of unmanned aerial drones:

“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 senior adviser Doug Stafford told The Washington Times. [...]

“Defending America and fighting terrorism is the concern of all Americans, especially Senator Paul,” Mr. Stafford, who is Mr. Paul’s closest adviser, told The Washington Times. ” But it can and must be done in keeping with our constitution and while protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional.” [...]

Saying the protection of liberty supersedes virtually everything in this republican, Mr. Paul’s adviser fired a shot of irony at Mr. Christie: “In the words of the governor’s favorite lyricist, ‘You know that flag flying over the courthouse, Means certain things are set in stone. Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t.’"