2016 Watch

Rand Paul disses Ronald Reagan

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) may want a do-over.

Mother Jones' David Corn, who caused headaches for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign by landing video of the candidate's "47 percent" moment, has another video scoop, and this one looks bad for Paul. In a video montage posted Wednesday, Paul is seen repeatedly bashing Reagan on federal spending, saying the revered Republican was worse than Jimmy Carter when it came to handling the nation's finances.

Paul has already placed himself at odds with Republican hawks by dinging the Bush-era national security policy; earlier this month, Mother Jones also flagged video of Paul saying Dick Cheney used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq and enrich his cronies at Halliburton. And as our Michael Brendan Dougherty wrote, Paul will face a big money backlash if he gets in the 2016 race, with well-heeled donors spending whatever it takes to keep the party from going soft on defense.

Criticizing Reagan raises yet another red flag for GOP primary voters. Imagine the awkward optics if the GOP holds another primary debate at the Reagan Library, and Paul is asked about his old remarks.