Rand Paul and the Sinister Washtopus

Rand Paul is running for Senate in Kentucky not just as a conservative, but as the quintessential tea party candidate; ant-spending, anti-Washington, anti-Department-of-Education funding...like his father, the Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, he is a small-government crusader against overextensions of federalism, as he sees them.

So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that his latest TV ad features sinister mechanical tentacles springing forth from the U.S. Capitol, ensnaring things like AIG, GM, and the nation's health care system.

It's reminiscent of the Spiderman villain Dr. Octopus, and his filmic portrayal in Spiderman 2. The ad hits primary opponent Trey Grayson for attending a fundraiser in Washington, DC; for details on the ad and its air time, see Reid Wilson's post at Hotline OnCall.