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On Wednesday, John McCain advocated on the Senate floor for a vote that would have advanced Montenegros ascension to NATO. But Kentucky GOP senator Rand Paul busted in and objected to McCains stance, stymying the vote. McCain was displeased. He has no justification for his objection to having a small nation be part of NATO that is under assault from the Russians. So I repeat again, McCain said, the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin.

McCain punched first, accusing his colleague of being a foreign agent for an adversary at a time when that actually doesnt seem insane, but Rand Paul came right back at him with a personal attack. Well, I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits, he responded Thursday on Morning Joe. I think hes past his prime, maybe hes gotten a little bit unhinged. Fight!

This is not the first time the two senators, who are at completely opposite ends of the foreign-policy spectrum, have sparred. Here are some highlights:

March 2013: Wacko birds. This animosity probably all began with the infamous wacko birds comment, which is how McCain described right-wing colleagues including Paul who were trying to block the confirmation of CIA director John Brennan over U.S. drone policy.

You know, I think hes just on the wrong side of history, and on the wrong side of this argument, really, Paul said later, adding: I treat Sen. McCain with respect. I dont think I always get the same in return.

September 2014: Dissembler or crackpot.The McCain-Paul war has involved proxies. Mark Salter, McCains former chief of staff, penned an op-ed in response to Pauls false claim that McCain had met with members of ISIS:

I would give him the benefit of the doubt but Im not sure which characterization dissembler or crackpot would be more generous. Nor are they mutually exclusive. Its quite possible, likely even, that he is both.

A spokesman for Paul fired back: Mark Salter advised the Republican Party down a losing electoral path that paved the way for two terms of President Obama, so people should read his angry screed in that context and disregard it.

April 2015: Obamas lapdog.While criticizing President Obamas foreign policy, Paul called McCain and his hawkish pal Lindsey Graham lapdogs who have been wrong about every policy issue over the last two decades.

McCain later responded by barking to a reporter. I mean, cmon.

And by calling Paul, on Fox News, the worst possible candidate of the 20 or so that are running on the most important issue which is national security.

May 2015: Theres a new breed in the Senate. Paul successfully blocked an extension of the Patriot Act. McCain said: Theres a new breed in the Senate. Some time ago senators would try to sit down and work things out and obviously these individuals dont believe in that, and Im sure its a great revenue raiser.

The [fundraising] emails are out now and they were out during the 11-hour performance a couple days ago, McCain added. Paul only said the veteran senator shouldnt question his sincerity.

May 2015: The senator from Kentucky needs to learn the rules of the Senate. Paul opposed an extension of the Patriot Act that would have continued NSA surveillance, putting him in conflict with fellow Republicans. During a Senate debate, Paul tried to cut in as fellow Republican, Indiana senator Dan Coats spoke. Enter McCain.

February 2017: I would say John McCains been wrong on just about everything over the past four decades.After McCain slammed President Trumps tweet calling the media the enemy of the American people, Paul criticized McCains criticism on ABCs This Week. Everything that he says about the president is colored by his own personal dispute hes got running with President Trump, and it should be taken with a grain of salt, because John McCains the guy whos advocated for war everywhere, he said. He would bankrupt the nation. Were very lucky John McCains not in charge, because I think wed be in perpetual war.

Paul continued: I would say John McCains been wrong on just about everything over the last four decades. He advocated for the Iraq War, which I think destabilized the Middle East.

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He also explained why he wasnt impressed with the current makeup of the Democratic Party.

The suspect was reportedly on a terrorism watch list. Though the airport was briefly closed, no one else was injured.

Shes a star. Not your star, perhaps. But thats the point.

For all the efforts being made to normalize Stephen Bannon, evidence keeps coming out of rather alien influences on the presidents chief strategist.

Preet Bharara was overseeing an investigation into the Health secretarys stock trades when the Trump administration demanded his resignation.

Sensitive documents include floor and evacuation plans.

House Speaker briefly forgets how much he is supposed to love and care about the poor.

As far as wiretapping by this past administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps.

Meals on Wheels, Big Bird, and AmeriCorps are likely to survive.

The extremely mature president never forgets a slight.

But the bill is moving forward and to the right.

According to a report in Mother Jones, the alt-right figure may pay for his lifestyle through an income from a cotton farm.

The two have been trading pot shots for years.

Among plenty of other devastating cuts to New York programs.

This one weird trick involves an arcane interpretation of budget rules that would end the filibuster.

Sean Spicer suggested Obama used GCHQ to spy on Donald Trump last fall. Britain told the White House to never make that ridiculous claim again.

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Yadira Arroyo, a 14-year FDNY veteran, was responding to a call in the Bronx.

CNN and Fox News are feuding over whether the host aimed his gun at Juan Williams, or just showed it to him.

Shes the second Republican senator to give a firm no, but several others have been railing against the legislation.

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A Brief History of John McCain and Rand Paul's Sick Burns - New York Magazine

Sen. Rand Paul has long taken the lead in calling for the reform of civil asset forfeiture laws, a controversial police practice in which authorities basically steal the property of citizens without due process and littlerecourse. Billions have been seized from citizens by the police based on nothing more than suspicion, which many see as a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment.

Its state-sanctionedtheft.Under civil forfeiture laws, your property is guilty until you prove it innocent, says the Institute for Justices Scott Bullock.

On Thursday, Sen. Paulreintroduced FAIR (Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration)Act, which specifically addresses victims of civil asset forfeiture who have not been convicted of a crime.

RELATED:John McCain says Rand Paul is now working for Vladimir Putin

The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime,Pauls statement read. TheFAIRActwill protect Americans Fifth Amendment rights from being infringed upon by ensuring that government agencies no longer profit from taking the property of U.S. citizens without due process.

The House companion FAIR legislation is being introduced by Republican Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan.

Some have observed that if implemented, this legislation could be the most significant reform in decades. Heritage Foundation policy analyst Jason Snead writesat The Hill, The bill, if passed, would be the most sweeping reform of abuse-prone federal civil forfeiture law since the 1980s.

Back then, Congress turned to civil forfeiture laws to empower law enforcement authorities to seize and forfeit the ill-gotten gains of drug kingpins, criminal organizations, and money launderers, as well as the property they used to commit their crimes. To encourage the use of this newly enhanced tool, Congress created the Assets Forfeiture Fund and allowed federal law enforcement agencies to keep the proceeds of successful forfeitures.

The result? An exponential increase in forfeiture activities. In 1985, the first year the fund existed, itbrought in just $27 million. In 2012, the value of forfeited assets was $4.3 billion. Today, more than 400 federal laws authorize the seizure of cash, cars, and homes for a range of alleged offenses, and allow forfeiture proceeds to be divided with state and local agencies through Equitable Sharing programs administered by the Treasury and Justice Departments.

The issue of criminal justice reform is not new, but receiving popular support is a fairly recent trend. Both right and left, Republicans and Democrats, have been instrumental in raising awareness at both the local and national level.

Paul and Walberg first introduced the FAIR Act in 2014, Snead writes. At the time, civil forfeiture was something few people had heard of, and there appeared to be little appetite for reform.

But in the years since, dozens of state legislatures have reined in their abuse-prone forfeiture statutes, and last year Congress advanced several forfeiture-reform bills, though none has yet made it to the presidents desk, he added.

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Some criticized Pauls vote to confirm President Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions in February precisely because Sessions has been outspoken in opposing reform to civil asset forfeiture. Paul noted that any other appointment to that post would likely have the same positions on this issue, and also that as a senate colleague he felt he could try to change Sessions mind, something that would be more difficult with an Attorney General with whom Paul had no prior relationship.

Nor are Pauls mind-changing efforts limited to Sessions.

There was a discussion the other day in the White House about civil asset forfeiture, Paul said in February. I think civil asset forfeiture is a terrible idea until youve convicted someone, and Id like to have that discussion with the president,the senator added.

Disclosure: I co-authored the 2011 book The Tea Party Goes to Washington with Sen. Rand Paul.

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Rand Paul introduces the most sweeping reform of civil asset forfeiture law in decades - Rare.us

The in-house Republican battle over the repeal of Obamacare is about to boil overas Kentucky Sen.Rand Paul and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are engaged in an increasingly sharp war over words over their disagreements on how to proceed forward with the promised repeal and replace of former President Obamas signature legislation.

Paul has been waging a war against the House GOP Obamacare repeal and replace plan since before it was given to the public. Calling it Obamacare Lite, Paul has lambasted not only the bill, but his fellow Republicans for their less-than-diligentattempts at getting rid of the unpopular health care law. This time, he turned his attention toward Ryan, who has been the bills primary spokesman.

I think that Paul Ryans selling [Donald Trump] a bill of goods that he didnt explain to the president, and the grassroots doesnt want what Paul Ryan is selling, Paultold CNN.

Paul Ryan, during an segment on CNNs The Lead with Jake Tapper, fired back at the Kentucky senator, claiming that his remarks were a jab at President Donald Trump.

Frankly, I think thats kind of an insulting remark to the president as if he doesnt know what hes doing, Ryan said.

We think this is a smarter way to go, Ryan said to Tapper. The alternative is the status quo, and the status quo is in the middle of a collapse.

Ryanhas made the case that this version of the Obamacare repeal bill is the closest we will ever get to repealing it.

Paul, however, believes that Trump is open to changing his mind on the health care bill, despite his prior statements of broad approval,and that its Republican leadership who have dug in their heels.

They are not going to compromise. So the only way that we are going to get to a compromise where they listen to the grassroots that wants complete repeal, the only way we got to that compromise is that we have to demonstrate to the House leadership that we have the votes to stop them.

Other Republicans in Congress have joined Paul in his efforts to push a more conservative version of a repeal bill, which focuses solely on repeal, and repeal alone. Rep. Jim Jordan and Paul have both submitted versions of the bill in the Senate and the House, and has the support of conservative legislators such as Rep.Justin Amash, Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Jeff Duncan, and Sen. Tom Cotton. This list of allies now also includes a group of moderate Republicans rattled by the recent Congressional Budget Office report.

As the battle continues between the conservatives and GOP leadership, the faith of the voters hangs in the balance, according to the conservatives. Paul believes that should the GOP pass Obamacare Lite, Republicans will pay for it come election time. Duncan wrote in the Daily Signalthat should the bill pass, voters will feel betrayed.

If that is true, then winner of the struggle between Paul and Ryan may determine the GOPs future momentum.

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It's Rand Paul vs Paul Ryan in the battle over Obamacare and the future of the GOP - TheBlaze.com

Sen. Rand Paul coming to Louisville

Chris Williams, WHAS 12:18 PM. EDT March 17, 2017

Louisville, KY - Senator Rand Paul is scheduled to return to Kentucky Monday but a spokesperson for his campaign says Senator Paul will not attend the Presidents rally that night in Louisville.

The Monday event is billed as a Legislative Coffee with the St. Matthews Chamber of Commerce. A spokesperson for Senator Paul said the meeting is not open to the public and has been on the schedule for weeks. The meeting with businesses leaders is designed to discuss the first 100 days of the new administration and its impact on business, according to the Senators office.

The Senator is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. after the St. Matthews event and will not attend the rally President Trump is holding that night at Freedom Hall.

Kelsey Cooper, a spokesperson for Senator Paul, insisted that returning to D.C. was in no way an effort to avoid an appearance with the President whom Senator Paul has been at odds recently regarding the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare. Miss Cooper said Senator Paul has to return to Capitol Hill for a series of other legislative obligations.

Senator Paul is always happy to have President Trump in Kentucky, and looks forward to continuing to work with the administration and Congress to address healthcare reform with a real repeal of Obamacare and replace it with conservative market-based solutions that will bring down prices and give families more choices, said Kelsey Cooper.

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Sen. John McCain appears during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 14, 2017, on Capitol Hill.(Photo: Tasos Katopodis, AFP/Getty Images)

Rand Paul thinks it might be time for John McCain to retire from the Senate because maybe he's gotten a little bit unhinged."

"I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits, the Kentucky Republican said Thursday morning on MSNBC. I think maybe he's past his prime.

McCain, a Republican from Arizona, is 80 years old and was just elected to his sixth term in the Senate in November.

Pauls comments followed McCains accusation Wednesday that Paul was working forthe president of Russia.

"The senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin," McCain said on the Senate floor after Paul blocked a bipartisan attempt to vote on a treaty that would allow Montenegro to join NATO.

McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, had joined Democratic colleagues to push for debate on the treaty. Paul objected the motion and then left.

"I note the senator from Kentucky leaving the floor without justification or any rationale for the action that he has just taken," McCain said."That is really remarkable, that a senator blocking a treaty that is supported by the overwhelming number perhaps 98 at least of his colleagues would come to the floor and object and walk away."

"The only conclusion that you can draw is he has no argument to be made he has no justification for his objection to having a small nation be part of NATO that is under assault from the Russians, McCain continued.

Paul does not support expansion of the military alliance and haspreviously blocked a treatyto allow Montenegro in.

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Rand Paul and John McCain trade jabs, as Paul calls McCain 'past his prime,' 'unhinged' - USA TODAY