Dems highlight 2016 feuding in GOP

Democrats are highlighting infighting among Republican presidential hopefuls with a new holiday-themed Web video.

{mosads}The video, shared first with The Hill by the Democratic National Committee, features GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), Govs. Scott Walker (Wis.) and Chris Christie (N.J.) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trading barbs with each other during interviews and public appearances.

“It’s the holiday season. A time when families come together,” the clip opens, and then cuts to a shot of Christie lambasting Paul at a press conference.

“Maybe Senator Paul could, you know, deal with that when he’s trying to deal with the reduction of spending on the federal side. But I doubt he would, because most Washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon,” Christie says in the clip.

Both Christie and Paul are seen as contenders in 2016, and they got into a public feud earlier this year when Christie suggested libertarians like Paul are “very dangerous” to national security.

While their back-and-forth features prominently in the video, they aren’t the only 2016 hopefuls to trade barbs this year.

Bush is seen in the video swiping at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another likely contender, for speaking “not much” Spanish; Walker remarks that the public is looking for an executive in the White House, not another legislator; and Rubio downplays the significance of Christie’s blowout reelection victory.

The video closes with on-screen text wishing the GOP a ” ‘Happy Holidays’ from the Democrats,” the shot wrapped in a bow with a tag that reads, “We can’t wait to see what next year brings!” 

It’s part of an effort by the DNC to keep the focus on the GOP presidential primary field, which is as wide and varied as it is preliminary.

But as the video notes, many of those hopefuls are already jockeying for a position in the fight. And with polling showing a largely fluid field, the potential candidates all face a largely equal opportunity to build a national profile in advance of 2015, when the primary campaign begins in earnest.

Democrats see former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as their likely nominee. Her front-runner status has not made her immune from criticism from within the Democratic Party, however.

She’s faced questions in recent weeks from fellow Democrats about her commitment to progressive values and taking on Wall Street.