Rubio, Rand Paul Use Different Strokes for Tea Party Folks

Marco Rubio, diligent insider. (AP Photo)

Freshman Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky are both leaders of the tea party movement. But they’ve adopted opposite ways of operating in Washington, with Rubio the diligent insider and Paul, the rabble rouser, Politico reports.

Both approaches are solid, says Matt Kibbe, president of tea party group FreedomWorks, which former House Majority Leader Dick Armey founded.

“The first iteration was a protest movement where we were simply banging on the castle doors trying to get someone to pay attention to our agenda,” Kibbe told Politico.

Rand Paul, rabble rouser. (AP Photo)

“Then there was the get-out-the-vote machine of the November election, and now we’re in a legislative mode,” Kibbe said.

Paul’s style fits more with the first part of that agenda, and Rubio’s, with the final part.