It had to happen: anti-Trump attack ads from the GOP side. One of the first Rs to launch a torpedo at the tycoon topping the polls is Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-ish Kentucky Republican whose campaign has yet to gain traction. In what can be taken as a sign of frustration -- or desperation -- this week Paul released a commercial assailing Donald Trump. The ammo is nothing new, with the spot focusing on old Trump statements and positions that ought to tick off Republicans. It shows Trump calling Hillary Clinton a "terrific woman" and remarking (in 2004) that he identified more as a Democrat than a Republican. Trump responded by pooh-poohing the attack, once again saying his views have evolved. And he added a dig at Paul: "Recently, Rand Paul called me and asked me to play golf. I easily beat him on the golf course and will even more easily beat him now, in the world in [sic] the politics. Senator Paul does not mention that after trouncing him in golf I made a significant donation to the eye center with which he is affiliated."
Ouch.
It's doubtful Paul is going to score many points with the ad. After all, of the GOPers running for president, Paul has perhaps the longest list of troublesome past comments, and he's the most likely to be accused of heresy. For instance, he repeatedly asserted that Dick Cheney, as vice president, pushed for the Iraq War so Halliburton, the megamilitary contracting firm Cheney once led, would bag billions of dollars in profits.
