Electoral battles

Paul hits hawks on downing of Russian warplane

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is running of president, took a veiled swipe Tuesday at defense hawks, saying that the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey is a reason to engage more with Moscow, not less.

"The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet illustrates precisely why we need open lines of communication with Russia and should resist calls from some Presidential candidates to isolate ourselves from discussions with our adversaries," Paul said in a statement.