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I don't know how to break it to Rand Paul, but the fact that he's even giving a competing response to Marco Rubio's State of the Union rebuttal for Republicans is a clear indication of the division within the Republican party between the Birch faction and the pretend-moderate faction. This interview with Candy Crowley is almost comical, particularly with regard to Paul's insistence that he won't be divisive simply because he's giving a separate response.

"I see it as an extra response. I don't see it as necessarily divisive," Paul told chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on the CNN program "State of the Union." "I won't say anything on there that necessarily is like, 'Marco Rubio is wrong,'" Paul continued. "He and I don't always agree, but this isn't about he and I. This is about the Tea Party, which is a grass-roots movement, a real movement, with millions of Americans that still are concerned about some of the deal-making that goes on in Washington."

Baby Paul has been asked to give his response by the Tea Party Express. The Tea Party Express is just as mainstream Republican as the RNC is, except that it caters to the Birch Society side of the GOP. There's nothing independent about them. Sal Russo, who has long-standing ties back to the Howard Jarvis anti-tax, anti-immigrant, pro-corporate Ross Perot contingent, is their lobbyist/leader. Other than a deeper hate toward brown people than mainstream Republicans, there's just not that much daylight between them.

Either Baby Paul has been asked to give his response in the hope of reigniting some of the 2010 fire now for 2014, or else he's been chosen to give the point of view of those who want to deport every undocumented immigrant and send prison inmates out to pick the crops.

Whichever it is, it highlights a division in the party simply by virtue of the desire to put him out there as the spokesman for the tainted Tea Party brand. I'm sure Paul's pals at Stormfront.org will cheer him on, at least.

Go for it, Rand. You and 8 percent of the country are simpatico. That should be a great runup to 2014, pal.