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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, shown campaigning for Senate candidate Steve Lonegan earlier this year, continued his attack on Gov. Chris Christie yesterday

(John Munson/The Star-Ledger)

There is a saying among Republicans - usually attributed to President Ronald Reagan but actually uttered by a campaign worker in Reagan's first bid for governor of California- "thou shalt not speak ill of any Republican."

Well, these days, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul shalt.

Paul continued his war of words with Gov. Chris Christie yesterday, this time telling a radio host Christie's reelection landslide was built in large measure on federal money.

"Well, his victory was, in large form, based on that he got a lot of federal money for his state," Paul told radio host Dom Giordano. "The problem is...unlimited spending is sort of – you could call it moderate, or even liberal, to think that there's an unlimited amount of money, even for good causes.

"If you're a conservative Republican, the federal government will be involved in certain things, but when you spend money, particularly when you're at trillion dollars in the hole, it shouldn't be just this, 'gimme, gimme, gimme all my money' without any considerations or strings," Paul said. "It should be, 'Yes, this is why it's necessary, but this is also why I'll cut spending somewhere else."

Paul's diatribe is the latest chapter in a battle of words between the two men that began last summer, though lately, Paul has been fighting it alone. The day after Christie's 22-point victory in his bid for reelection, Paul threw a jab at Christie, questioning Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan during a Senate committee hearing on the use of Sandy relief money for television commercials.

"In New Jersey, $25 million was spent on ads that included somebody running for political office," he said. "Ya think there might be a conflict of interest there? You know that's a real problem. That's why when people who are trying to do good and trying to use taxpayer dollars wisely they are offended to see our money spent on political ads. You know that's just offensive."

Paul did not mention Christie by name, but the question - and the quick smirk caught by the camera - was a not-so-veiled shot at Christie's appearance in commercials aimed at touting the ongoing recovery of the Jersey shore.

Paul revisited the attack yesterday.

"It should be against the law for any politician to put their image on TV at taxpayer expense," Paul said. "It's one thing if you want to put your image on TV and say, 'I'm gonna give a million dollars to help Sandy funds of my money,' but you're getting somebody else's money, and if you're doing that, should you then take part of that money to promote how good you are at getting somebody else's money to come to New Jersey?"

A spokesman for the governor had no comment on Paul's latest attack.

Paul and Christie could very likely be among the crowded field of Republicans vying for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

The feud between the two men began this past summer during an Aspen Institute panel discussion among governors when Christie called the "strain of libertarianism" running through the GOP a "dangerous thought."

The comment came during a discussion on warrantless government spying.

"You can name any number of people and he's one of them," Christie said, referring to Paul "These esoteric, intellectual debates -- I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. And they won't, because that's a much tougher conversation to have."

Paul, who along with his father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, have made their bones as small government libertarians. The senator from Kentucky took to Twitter the next morning to fire back at Christie.

"Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional," Paul wrote.

Later the same week, Paul accused Christie of hurting the GOP.

"He's making a big mistake picking a fight with other Republicans," Paul said. "I'm the one trying to grow the party by talking about liberation ideas of privacy and the internet. And attacking me isn't helping the party. He's hurting the party."

The battle then moved to pork spending with each man accusing the other of feeding at the trough and Paul calling the New Jersey governor, the "King of Bacon."

The feud seemed to be put to bed this summer when Paul invited Christie for a beer - an invitation Christie refused.

Christie has not engaged Paul since.