Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul took aim at President Obama on Thursday for sharing his take on a proposal to develop a mosque and Islamic community center in New York City's Financial District.
In an interview with Newsmax, the Tea Party-backed hopeful said that Obama was "wrong to weigh in" on the matter, which has become a hot topic for debate in recent weeks.
"I think he is a liberal elitist and that he believes that he knows what is best for people," explained Paul. "And this is true of a lot of liberals, they think they know what's best."
The conservative contender went on to elaborate on his criticism of lawmakers approaching policy from the left side of the aisle.
"They think they can tell us what to do and that most Americans aren't smart enough to take care of themselves," he said. "I think that's a really arrogant approach to the American people."
When asked if he'd call for a Tea Party-takover of the GOP if elected to the serve in the Senate, Paul appeared to all but avoid fully addressing the issue.
"I think that the Tea Party is bringing the Republican Party back to its roots," responded the Kentucky candidate. "I tell people the tea party is equal-parts chastisement to both parties over their failure to do anything about out of control federal spending and the deficit. The people you meet in the Tea Party, they will tell you, if the Republicans are wrong, they want you to vote against them."
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