Covered at Reason 24/7: Gingrich Calls McCain "Sad" For Attacking Paul

Newt Gingrich has said that the so-called maverick senator from Arizona only hurt himself when he lashed out against Sen. Rand Paul's recent filibuster. Gingrich's comments come amid news that Obama is expressing an interest in exploiting the emerging differences within the GOP.

From Salon:

The sniping over Rand Paul continues, as Newt Gingrich called John McCain "sad" for criticizing Paul's almost-13 hour filibuster in opposition to John Brennan's nomination to head the CIA.

"What I find sad about Sen. McCain's recent comments both to Ted Cruz, when Ted Cruz was frankly raising legitimate questions [about Benghazi] and with Rand Paul, is, you know, when I first knew John McCain in the House — he was a maverick. In the Senate, for years, he was a maverick," Gingrich said on Fox News on Thursday.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Gingrich is wrong as usual. McCain was sad long before this.

[Episiarch]

MAVRICK SMASH!!! ARRRR! GARR!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Are you trying to call me a gook?

[Episiarch]

Trying?

[The Late P Brooks]

Clown show.

Featuring clowns.

[Episiarch]

Oh yes, let the GOP squabbling begin. It's one of things they do best.

[Rich]

Again -- it's not known as the Stupid Party for nothing.

[darius404]

You're not allowed to feel that way, Epi. Didn't you hear? We're all GOP plantation workers.

[Bee Tagger]

A real maverick stops being a maverick when most people recognize him as a maverick. DUH DOY.

[Fist of Etiquette]

YOu're the worst.

[Bee Tagger]

I garner that kind of reaction.

[BakedPenguin]

No, a real maverick sells political pull to bankers to allow them to make stupid loans. That's why he's defending Obama.

[Zeb]

I thought a real maverick was a cow.

[Sudden]

The real maverick is Mel Gibson circa 1870 banging Jodi Foster.

[H. ReardEn]

Obama is going to exploit the neocon / limited gov't divide of the GOP? Does this mean that he's going to pick a side? This should be fun.

[Hugh Akston]

He doesn't have to pick a side. He just has to throw some red meat into the cage and watch the hyenas tear each other to shreds.

[phandaal]

He'll pick the Neocon side, because that's the same side he's always been on.

[LTC(ret) John]

Whatever lets him continue on, power in hand and unquestioned.

[Emmerson Biggins]

But is a maverick maverick, or just you know a maverick maverick.

Maverick.

[Francisco d Anconia]

McCain/Graham, Maverick/Goose?

Great

[Hugh Akston]

One thing I've never understood about John McCain: if he's a Maverick, who's his Iceman?

[darius404]

And who was his Goose?

[$park?]

Lindsey Graham. Duh.

[Hugh Akston]

Not bad. Graham does have the plausible deniability of having a girl's name while not having one of those yucky vaginas.

[H. ReardEn]

Cite?

[Episiarch]

Those things are just terrible, I hear.

[General Butt Naked]

Maverick.

[The Late P Brooks]

SPLITTERZ

[The Last American Hero]

Is this one of those things where Republican Hipsters gain street cred by claiming they were into McCain back when he was a maverick, before his album became popular and he sold out?

Dude, I totally saw him speak at this exclusive VFW hall in Flagstaff back in the 80's man. Guy totally did this extended riff on free markets that almost blew the roof off the place. Next thing I know, he's sponsoring McCain Feingold - total sell out.

[Brandon]

God dammit, McCain, now you've made me agree with Gingrich! Fuck you, McCain.

[wareagle]

on some level, I want to believe that McCain's Rand problem is based on something bigger than the other night - he's worried that people might start listening to the likes of Paul and questioning lots of things about how DC runs. This bastard is threatening to upset the happy little bipartisan club the old farts have established by insisting that congress pay attention to icky old documents like the constitution.

[LTC(ret) John]

DING DING DING!

Correct.

Well, there is a little dash of snit by Maverick because My Dinner With O! got preempted by Mr. Paul Goes To Washington.

[BlogimiDei]

LtCol I agree too. If it werent for those pesky kids in the chamber...

[buybuydandavis]

It's not just the DC bipartisan apple cart, but the Republican establishment.

The fight for institutional control of the Republican Party continues, with Ron Paul supporters and Tea Party candidates making headway against the establishment dinosaurs.

Rand Paul showed leadership in the Senate, upstaging the old guard. More and more, these are the guys who will attract attention and speak for the party.

Rand Paul and Marco Rubio are the future of the Republican party. McCain was the past 10 years ago.

[mad libertarian guy]

This is exactly right, and it's why both GOP establishmentarians and liberals hate Rand Paul, and by extension libertarians. He threatens the 2 party duopoly that keeps both Teams in comfy jobs, and neither will the GOP or liberals will stand for that.

They fear Paul. Not because he has an inordinate amount of power, but because he might draw just enough supporters from both Teams to upset their cozy arrangement in DC as the arbiters of civilization as we know it.

[Skip]

Why does McCain care about any of this? Surely he must know that his time on Earth is narrowing. Hell, lefties said he would die 1 day after becoming President, leaving us with Palin!

[Tman]

I had a fun FB back and forth recently about the whole filibuster, you guys will enjoy this.

I quoted some of Rand from the filibuster and then added that we were lucky to have guys like Rand around to stand up for some principles for a change.

My friend (a raging Obamaphile liberal) answered-"Hmm.. same policy George W, Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld had. I wonder what's different?"

I answered -"I'm pretty sure Rand would've done the same thing if it was Bush in office. But I agree with you that Obama is a giant hypocrite."

Haven't heard back yet.

By far the best part about this whole episode (besides watching Maverick completely lose his mind) has been watching liberals turn themselves inside out from the realization that their dear leader is a raging hypocrite.

[Francisco d Anconia]

My friend (a raging Obamaphile liberal)

?confused?

[Tman]

Yeah, I have a wide variety of friends. They usually know better than to push me on political topics, but when they do I have fun with it.

[Zeb]

Maybe I can help. Friends are people who have mutual sympathy and who enjoy each other's company to varying degrees. I know it can be a difficult concept to understand.

[Francisco d Anconia]

But he's liberal.

Next you'll be telling me it's alright to have gay and black friends.

[wareagle]

so how does your friend like being on the same side as Cheney, Rummy, Bolton, and a host of Repubs who have no problem at all with the droning policy? And how does he rectify his and his party's blatant hypocrisy in saying nothing about issues it used to whine about?

[Tman]

I bet he doesn't like it very much. I however, am enjoying it immensely.

[Skip]

Hypocrisy is a one way street for Democrats.

[hamilton]

Yeah, I had that discussion. And then got defriended. The lonliness of libertarianism (TM).

[carol]

McCain is pissed at Paul because he questioned authority. There's a name for people like and it ain't Maverick.

[BlogimiDei]

"Schild und Schwert der Partei" (Shield and Sword of the Party)

[carol]

I was thinking more along the lines of "Keeper of the Status Quo".

[Hyperion]

I guess Nukular Titties wasn't getting enough attention, so he had to say something controversial. Nukular Newton is cut from the same cloth as McCain, which means we can just ignore him.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Meh. I think Newt always leaned, however slightly, more libertarian than other establishment repubs.

[Hyperion]

This is the same guy who wanted the death penalty for drug dealers?

[Francisco d Anconia]

however slightly

Never heard that. Citation?

[alittlesense]

Two words describe John McCain now: Old fool

[alan_s]

In other news, a pot calls kettle black.

[Aresen]

Since the 1973 Peace Agreement which allowed the POWs to be freed collapsed, aren't the Vietnamese obligated to take McCain back?