Rand Paul was accused by McCain of working for Putin after McCain did not get the vote he wanted about NATO. And to add insult to injury, instead of fighting with McCain and pals like it was fifth grade, Rand Paul acted like an adult: he voted and left. In the world of McCain and Shaheen and Cardin, Rand Paul not voting the way McCain wants him to = working for the Russians? Actually, no Mr. McCain and your Democrat pals. I live in MI-3 and it is called voting your conscience. And Rand Paul’s staff went and had fun on twitter discussed here and here. Reason had a nice breakdown (and good snark).

What do you call a U.S. senator who opposes the expansion of NATO to include the troubled former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, a country that survived a (reportedly Russia-backed) coup attempt as recently as last fall? If you’re Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and that colleague is intervention-skeptic Rand Paul, you call him, remarkably, a pawn of Vladimir Putin.

Are you kidding me? Mr. Paul voted the way my congressman would with the same logic. It is called being principled and consistent Mr. McCain. The tantrum continued

“You are achieving the objectives of Vladimir Putin… of trying to dismember this small country,” McCain lectured Paul on the Senate floor today. (Was it really just five weeks ago that Mitch McConnell silenced Elizabeth Warren over impugning the conduct and motives of a Senate colleague?) McCain then asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to approve Montenegro’s accession into the U.S.-led military alliance, and Paul objected, before quickly exiting.

The reply from Rand’s staff:

Rand’s staff answered appropriately on Twitter:

@nielslesniewski До встречи в суде

— Doug Stafford (@dougstafford) March 15, 2017

Huge points for replying in Russian. No Mr. McCain, a libertarian minded senator who elected as such will not roll over like a good doggie and bark at your command. They will vote their principles. That is not Russian. That is having a backbone.