Hillary vs. Rand Paul would be ‘tough choice,’ McCain quips

[jct74]

Hillary vs. Rand Paul would be ‘tough choice,’ McCain quips

By Aaron Blake
Published: July 31 at 8:25 am

In an interview with the New Republic, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) acknowledges, laughingly, that a 2016 presidential race between former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would be “a tough choice” for him.

“When Hillary Clinton v. Rand Paul occurs in 2016, I guess you are going to have to decide who to vote for, huh?” TNR asked.

McCain responded with a chuckle: “It’s gonna be a tough choice.”

He then added: “Let me just clarify that. I think that Rand Paul represents a segment of the GOP, just like his father. And I think he is trying to expand that, intelligently, to make it larger.”

McCain has quarreled repeatedly with Paul over national security and foreign policy issues, with McCain’s hawkish style clashing with Paul’s more libertarian, limited-intervention style. At one point, McCain labeled Paul and his ilk “wacko birds.”

...

read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/31/hillary-vs-rand-paul-would-be-tough-choice-mccain-quips/

[Christian Liberty]

Considering his ideology, he'd be stupid not to go with Hillary.

[Brett85]

Considering his ideology, he'd be stupid not to go with Hillary.

Yeah, he's a lot closer to Hillary on the issues than he is to Rand.

[Brian4Liberty]

There would be nothing tough about that decision for McCain. He's a Democrat.

[brushfire]

Hmm... Didn't realize anyone remotely gave a fk what McCain thought.

[RP Supporter]

Sounds good for Rand. Rand can turn around and say in a debate, "My opponent has the support of John McCain. Governor Christie is a John McCain Republican. If you want a Ronald Reagan(ugh I know, but the base) Republican, vote for me. "

[69360]

billary v. Rand will break down a lot of the traditional barriers between the parties IF Rand is given a fair voice in the media and debates to fully explain himself.

[Carlybee]

That should tell people everything they need to know about him. Why is he still in office? Are the people of Arizona blind?

[pacelli]

when will the walking corpse retire?

[mczerone]

There would be nothing tough about that decision for McCain. He's a Democrat.

It's not that he's a Democrat - it's that he's a Statist. A warmongering, anti-freedom, bigoted imperialist.

He fits in with either party, because they both adhere to the same basic mantra that they are the elites who should rule the world.

[mczerone]

Hmm... Didn't realize anyone remotely gave a fk what McCain thought.

Nobody does, but he's pushed onto media to spout talking points, and the media take the appearance to keep in the good graces of the policy makers. What he says stays at the top of the news cycle. Not because people care, but precisely because they don't and powerful people want them to.

[Carlybee]

Isn't there anyone who can run against him?

[twomp]

There would be nothing tough about that decision for McCain. He's a Democrat.

Considering the other tyrants that are currently in the GOP, I'd say McCain is right at home in the GOP.

[alucard13mm]

McCain is a maverick!

[green73]

Drudge hates Mccain. Let's get this on Drudge.

[matt0611]

Well I would say the same thing about Obama v McCain, which is why I didn't vote for either of em.

[quezkittel]

I like that everybody involved in this interview seemed to think it was a given that Rand Paul would win the primaries.

Also, if you read the actual interview in the new republic, he goes off on a rant about isolationism and how the economy has unfortunately brought it back again, and says Rand Paul is from the same ideology as his dad. Well, I actually can't fault him there. He's not exactly his dad, but I do wonder at Rand's ability to get people like Hannity to believe that his positions on issues are so different than his dad's.

[compromise]

Isn't there anyone who can run against him?

Rep. Gosar, Rep. Salmon or Rep. Schweikert, but I doubt an incumbent Rep would primary an incumbent Senator.

Barry Goldwater III is a possibility, if he's interested. He and his father live in Arizona now.

[libertarian101]

I hope Rand just ignore him. He don't need to start another war of words with the old fool. I don't think he was too disrespectful considering Rand didn't vote for McCain as well.

[Cleaner44]

Now if we could get his girlfriend Lindsey Graham on record also admitting he might vote for Hillary over Rand, then more typical Republican voters could see just what they are made of and completely reject them.

[Working Poor]

lol @ Linsey Graham McCain's girlfriend...

[Christian Liberty]

As bad as Obama is, I honestly can't think of any realistic scenario in which he wasn't less harmful in the White House than McCain.

I mean, does McCain have ANY redeeming qualities? I can't stand people like Ted Cruz or Michelle Bachmann, but at least they're conservative on pure fiscal issues. McCain is very liberal on fiscal issues, and makes Obama look like a pacifist in comparison on foreign policy.

Given a choice purely between those two, is anyone else glad America went with Obama?

NOTE: I view both of them as being morally inferior to a criminal on death row. I'm not defending Obama here.

[Legend1104]

Since Rand Paul is so popular right now, McCain is pretty dumb for attacking him.

[RP Supporter]

As bad as Obama is, I honestly can't think of any realistic scenario in which he wasn't less harmful in the White House than McCain.

I mean, does McCain have ANY redeeming qualities? I can't stand people like Ted Cruz or Michelle Bachmann, but at least they're conservative on pure fiscal issues. McCain is very liberal on fiscal issues, and makes Obama look like a pacifist in comparison on foreign policy.

Given a choice purely between those two, is anyone else glad America went with Obama?

NOTE: I view both of them as being morally inferior to a criminal on death row. I'm not defending Obama here.

I'm inclined to agree, for the very fact that had there been a president McCain, there would be no move to non interventionism in the GOP. There would almost certainly be no Rand or Cruz, and probably not Lee. Amash and Massie would have had a tougher time of it as well.

Don't get me wrong, Obama's done quite a lot of damage on his own, but because he's from the other side, we've had some success in influencing the Republican party. The GOP will pretty much oppose anything he does. If Christie or Rubio are elected though, watch that success come to a halt. Any matter of privacy violation or warfare will be okay as long as an Elephant is behind it.:rolleyes:

[fr33]

He's just being honest. We should welcome it. The 2 party system is a joke. McCain has more in common with Hillary than he does with Rand. And I had more in common with Gary Johnson than I did with Romney.

[cindy25]

billary v. Rand will break down a lot of the traditional barriers between the parties IF Rand is given a fair voice in the media and debates to fully explain himself.

not as much as youthink.

pro-life will stay with Rand, as abortion trumps Israel (with them)
Blacks and Hispanics will be with Hillary as handouts trump liberty (with them)

the deciding voter will be young whites, especially young white males.

[helenpaul]

mccain is part of the rubio dirtbag wing of the party.

[Hyperion]

I'm new to Arizona. I can't wait to vote against McCain in the primary if he runs again.

[Christian Liberty]

Don't get me wrong, Obama's done quite a lot of damage on his own, but because he's from the other side, we've had some success in influencing the Republican party. The GOP will pretty much oppose anything he does. If Christie or Rubio are elected though, watch that success come to a halt. Any matter of privacy violation or warfare will be okay as long as an Elephant is behind it.



Exactly.

[S.Shorland]

In Ron's debates,a member of the public was allowed to ask a question but then the interviewer would take over and redirect Ron into a cul-de-sac.If Rand gets a question asked directly by a member of the public,I hope he will answer it directly and refuse all distractions.

[dannno]

In the TNR interview, McCain called Clinton a “rock star” and said she did a “fine job” as secretary of state.

“She has, maybe not glamour, but certainly the aura of someone widely regarded throughout the world,” McCain said.
..