At midday Friday I posted a short item about GOP Sen. Rand Paul bashing Hillary Clinton over climate change.
Clinton called climate change "the most consequential, urgent, sweeping collection of challenges we face." Paul accused Clinton of wanting to battle climate change instead of terrorism.
It was a noteworthy exchange between a pair of potential 2016 contenders, but the disagreement itself is not particularly surprising: Clinton is a longtime proponent of climate action. Paul is a critic of Clinton's and lives on the other side of the partisan divide.
It was what happened next that caught my eye: Shortly after Paul's remarks, a pro-Clinton "rapid response" group called Correct The Record circulated a statement attacking the Kentucky senator. They also emailed me personally to (politely) inquire if I might add it to National Journal's story.
And they weren't alone.
Later in the afternoon, the League of Conservation Voters chimed in with a defense of Clinton's remarks at a green-energy conference Thursday night in Nevada, claiming that Paul's response "reflects a profound lack of understanding of how serious a threat" climate change poses.
NextGen Climate, the group backed by billionaire green activist Tom Steyer, also went after Paul for his stance on global warming: "A real threat would come from a science-denier as the leader of the free world."