Rand Paul: Trade Democrats for U.S. Marine in Mexico

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Apparently inspired by the controversial return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Taliban captivity in exchange for five Taliban-affiliated detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has his own idea about how to bring home a U.S. Marine who was imprisoned in Mexico after taking a wrong turn across the border with his guns.

"Mr. President, you love to trade people, so why don't we set up a trade," Paul said in remarks to the Texas Republican Party Convention. "But this time how about instead of five Taliban, how about five Democrats? I'm thinking John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi - couldn't we send them to Mexico?"

Paul also wrote his proposal on Twitter:

Having been anything but coy about his interest in a 2016 bid for the GOP presidential nomination, Paul told the Associated Press on Friday that he and Texas counterpart Ted Cruz will be "friendly competitors" should they both decide to throw their hats in the ring. Cruz was also slated to address the convention.

Though Paul said he's not made up his mind about running, he noted that he's traveling the country frequently, keeping his options open. And since he's undecided, he noted he hasn't spoken to Cruz about both possibly running. They're both tea party favorites and could compete for the support of the same conservative activists. But Paul said only that "we'll both be competing for Republicans."

A native Texan, Paul's father Ron was a longtime Texas congressman and frequent presidential candidate.