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By Ashley Killough, CNN

updated 7:44 AM EST, Mon November 3, 2014

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(CNN) -- In the latest round of Rand Paul vs. Chris Christie, the Kentucky senator tweaked his potential 2016 rival Sunday for his recent outburst in which the New Jersey governor told a heckler to "sit down and shut up."

After watching a clip of the confrontation on CBS' "Face the Nation," Paul smirked and suggested "this sort of bully demeanor" might work well in some places -- but not in all.

"I can't imagine that -- I grew up in the South. And we're 'yes, ma'am' and 'no, sir' and a little bit more polite," the Kentucky Republican said.

Rand Paul on Chris Christie in one word: 'Bridges'

"I think people want someone to be bold. And there was a time when I thought, you know what? When he stands up and he says things boldly, that's kind of good. He's not taking any flak," he continued. "But there can be too much of that, too."

The first-term senator and Christie have butted heads through the media for more than a year over their ideological differences.

Rand Paul 'sucks' air out of GOP conversation

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Paul knocks Christie's 'bully demeanor'

By Eric Bradner, CNN

updated 1:15 PM EST, Sun November 2, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday stood by his comment that the GOP brand "sucks," but said he sees "a lot of avenues for Republicans to break through" with young and minority voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The Kentucky Republican said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the members of his party "have a chance" when they discuss issues like privacy rights, criminal justice reform, poverty and long-term unemployment with traditionally Democratic constituencies.

"But our brand is so broken, we can't even break through, you know, the wall that's out there," Paul said. "And this is the same with Hispanic voters, it's the same with young people in general."

Paul drew attention Thursday when he first said the GOP's brand "sucks" and compared it to Domino's crust, pointing to the pizza maker's advertising campaign admitting it had put out a poor product in the past. His comments were a hot topic among Washington's political class on Sunday.

James Baker, the former secretary of state and chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan, disagreed with Paul, saying he wants Republicans to "stop the fratricide that has occurred from time to time in the past."

"I don't think the GOP brand sucks at all. I have never felt that," he said on CNN's "State of the Union."

But Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told ABC's "This Week," that he's "very close" to Paul, and agrees with the sentiment that the GOP should engage with a diverse set of voters.

"Rand Paul is saying what I've been saying, which is we have spent way too long as a national party showing up at the end, and we've got to do better," he said, noting that Paul's comments came at an African-American engagement office in Detroit.

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Paul 'sucks' air out of GOP message

Washington Is Rand Paul OK with voter ID laws, or not?

That question comes up because Senator Paul (R) of Kentucky kind of straddled the issue when he talked about it on Sundays talk shows.

On CBSs Face the Nation, for example, Bob Schieffer asked Paul whether he supported Republican-backed efforts to require voters to show picture identification in many states.

In reply, Paul said, I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, said Paul, he has to show his drivers license if he wants to go into the Justice Department and see Attorney General Eric Holder. (Does he do this a lot? That would be an entertaining meeting to watch.)

On the other hand, African-Americans claim voter ID laws are mainly an effort to suppress their vote, which is largely Democratic. And Paul thinks the GOP needs to reach out to minorities if it is to win back the White House. He urges combining voter ID with moves to expand voting rights, such as legislation to restore voting rights to felons.

So Im not really opposed to [voter ID]. I am opposed to it as a campaign theme, said Kentuckys junior senator.

In other words, he supports voter ID, but doesnt want to talk about it. Thats the way Democrats saw it anyway, and many of them claimed Pauls response showed he is willing to remake himself to appeal to core Republican voters in advance of the 2016 presidential race.

If rhetoric mattered more than policy, Rand Pauls posture would represent real progress. But for those trying to overcome indefensible voting restrictions, created by Republicans for the most brazen and undemocratic of reasons, the senators interest in a tonal shift is literally meaningless, writes Steve Benen on the left-leaning blog of NBCs Rachel Maddow Show.

Many on the right arent any happier about Pauls way of handling the issue. They point out that voter ID laws are generally popular with the public, as shown by poll results, and that theyre necessary to combat what they see as the widespread problem of voter fraud. This has proved a popular GOP talking point but Democrats and many independent analysts argue that studies have shown negligible levels of voter fraud.

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Does Rand Paul support voter ID laws, or not?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will be at Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's side Monday in a seven-stop fly-around of Kentucky, seeking to boost turnout for McConnell's bid for a sixth term.

Make no mistake, however: Paul has his own stake in Tuesday's election. Although he's not up for election himself, the freshman senator is hoping to flip control of the state House to Republicans. It would make history, as this is the last Southern legislative chamber in Democratic control, and it has been this way since 1921.

More important, a new GOP majority in the Kentucky state House would revive the chances of changing a state law so that the libertarian-leaning senator could run for both president and his Senate seat in 2016. The state Senate, controlled by Republicans, passed a bill that would allow him to file for both offices but it died when House Democrats declined to take up the legislation.

With a margin of 54 to 46 in the state House favoring Democrats, Republicans here had higher hopes early in the year of winning, but privately some strategists in each camp give an edge to Democrats, whose candidates appear to be better prepared.

Still, some Democrats worry that if turnout is down across the state, or if the marquee Senate race breaks heavily for McConnell over Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, Republicans could sweep enough seats to claim the state House, too.

At Saturday's Democratic unity event in Lexington, several Kentucky Democrats made a point to remind voters of what is at stake beyond the Senate race, citing the legislation Paul is seeking to pass.

Paul is considering a court challenge if the law is not changed, citing other states that allow a candidate to run for two offices simultaneously. Delaware and Connecticut elected Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Joseph I. Lieberman to additional Senate terms as they were also the vice presidential nominees in 2008 and 2000, respectively. For now, Paul just wants state law changed.

"It seems like it might not be equal application of the law to do that. But that means involving a court, and I don't think we've made a decision on that. I think the easier way is to clarify the law," he told CNN earlier this year.

Such a situation could force Paul's presidential and senatorial ambitions to collide, prompting a situation in which he would run for president and not seek reelection to his Senate seat.

Other senators have been able to run for president, stumble in the primaries and withdraw, then file for reelection that same year. But that's because those states had late filing deadlines, something that is not the case in Kentucky.

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Rand Paul, not just McConnell, has a big stake in Kentuckys election

Rand Paul: The Republican Party brand sucks
Paul stated, "The Republican Party brand sucks and so people don #39;t want to be a Republican" Connect with eNews Reference Online: Visit eNR Online: http://www.eNewsReference.com Find eNR...

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