Sen. Rand Paul says establishment Republicans, some of whom have criticized his effort to tie budget negotiations to the defunding of Obamacare, aren't leading the party very well.
Paul said on "
The Laura Ingraham Show" Friday he agrees with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that the GOP establishment is growing "more hysterical" as Paul and fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas assert more authority.
"I think there’s some truth to that, and I think the other thing about it is that the old guard needs to realize they’re the ones that have been losing the last couple of elections," the Kentucky senator told Ingraham.
"If we want to win the presidency we have to compete in the states where we’re not competing. Precisely, up in the Northeast and on the West coast where Republicans are basically on life support," Paul said. "We need to reach out with issues that may attract new people to the party."
Some Republicans have attacked the proposal put forward by Paul, Cruz, and others to refrain from any budget agreement that includes funding for Obamacare. Without a deal the government could shut down at the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1 unless Congress passes a continuing spending resolution to keep it operational at current levels.
"I don’t want to shut down government; I think it’s a dumb idea to shut down government,"
Paul said. "And I will not do anything to try to shut down the government. But I will try to fund the part of the government that’s constitutional, that is not bad for the country."
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