Christie fires word volley at Paul

LITTLE FERRY, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t appear to want his war of words with Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul to end anytime soon.

Christie fired back at Paul on Tuesday for Paul’s remark that New Jersey has a “Gimme, gimme, gimme” attitude about federal aid for superstorm Sandy.

Paul said at a fundraiser in Nashville on Sunday that Christie and New York’s Rep. Peter King - both Republicans like Paul - “are the people who are bankrupting the government and not letting enough money be left over for national defense.”

Speaking at a news conference to announce homeowner grants for northern New Jersey residents affected by Sandy, Christie said he “has nothing personal” against Paul.

“I find it interesting that Sen. Paul is accusing us of having a ‘Gimme, gimme, gimme’ attitude toward federal spending when in fact New Jersey is a donor state and we get 61 cents back on every dollar we send to Washington. Interestingly, Kentucky gets $1.51 on every dollar they send to Washington,” he said.

“So if Sen. Paul wants to start looking at where he’s going to cut spending to afford defense, maybe he should start looking at the pork barrel spending he brings home to Kentucky.”