Taking another shot at the man he once called the "king of bacon," Rand Paul indirectly criticized New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday for using taxpayer money to fund what Paul and others saw as de facto campaign ads.
At a Senate hearing over post-Sandy recovery efforts, Paul questioned Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan over whether the use of taxpayer money for ads featuring politicians was appropriate. While Paul never mentioned Christie by name, the implication that the New Jersey governor was the subject of Paul's criticism was unmistakable.
"Some of these ads, people running for office put their their mug all over these ads while they’re in the middle of a political campaign," Paul said. In New Jersey, $25 million was spent on ads that included somebody running for political office. Do ya think there might be a conflict of interest there?”
The ads in question were part of New Jersey's "Stronger Than the Storm" campaign, which was intended to draw people back to the Jersey Shore in the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. The ads featured the Christie family urging viewers to visit the shore and repeating the "stronger than the storm" slogan.
"That’s a real problem. And that’s why when people who are trying to do good and trying to use taxpayers’ money wisely, they’re offended to see our money spent on political ads," Paul said. "That’s just offensive."
Watch one of the "Stronger Than the Storm" ads below:
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