Republican rift over drones

>>> the drone debates is on capitol hill and highlighting a growing rift in the republican party . john mccain and lind psi graham being taken to task for their blistering talk about the filibuster. calm down, senator. the u.s. government cannot randomly target american citizens on u.s. soil or anywhere else.

>> to my republican colleagues, i don't remember any of you coming down here suggesting that president bush was going to kill anybody with a drone.

>> we covered that exchange live right here yesterday perry bacon is here, and democratic strategist chris scopenas and alice stewart . alice, i want to start with you, because it shows how elevators make for strange riding mates. there is senator rand paul and jacques mccain standing awkwardly in the elevator as they ride together. what do you make on the heels of the filibuster that mccontained took the floor, and now they have to figure out this rift. it is perception being reality, a rift.

>> well, you look at the photo, and all you can think is uncomfortable, but the trust is, when mccain and graham spoke out, they were concerned about whether or not this led to some fearmongering or scare tactics. the sad thing is we had to do this to get a simple answer to a simple question to eric holder -- will the administration use drones to kill american citizens? it should have been a simpler no, and it took us 24 hours to get there. the fact is republicans are united, and the concern about transparency and the administration's use of drones and lack of transparency with benghazi, and the fiscal cliff --

>> why did they ask for the clarification under president bush .

>> there's certainly more transparency. we heard from robert gibbs , the press secretary for the president, saying he was told not to talk about it. that's the problem, we're seeing repeatedly a lack of transparency and why we're having to ask questions over and over and sitting at the well 13 hours asking questions.

>> we did get reaction from senator rand paul on a politico interview. take a look.

>> i think they're on the wrong side of history on this one. they are of the believe that the war is everywhere, so they kind of agree with some of the things that the president has been saying.

>> chris , your impression of all this, do you think they'll be on the wrong side of history as rand paul says?

>> i have to say i get some enjoyment watching john mccain explode for the umpteenth time. he did it with my old boss, you know, when senator manchin questioned or continuing buildup and troop commitment in afghanistan. he said we need to focus on the united states . that being said, i think senator paul , you know, he pushed credibility in terms of the example, but he raised, i think, some serious questions. did he go too far in terms of his rhetoric? yes. now senator mccain , here's the problem. it seems like with senator mccain and graham, that there's not a war they don't want to fight. there's not a battle they don't want to engage. that, i think is really exhausting, considering the heavy price and cost this country has already paid, including, by the way, a war this country didn't fight, that senator mccain led the rally for. so criticize senator paul for what needs to be criticized, but senator mccain is pushing the notion he can be justifiably --

>> you know, they're going to have people scratching their heads on that one. let's talk about rand paul and what this means to his rising star , as they were talking about it on fox news.

>> i thought it was a brilliant political play by paul ?

>> it was genius. look. i would call it a stunt, except for the fact that he was entirely sincere, and he was entirely right.

>> entirely right. you know, in that politico interview as well. rand paul was asked about his run for 2016 , potential run. perry he said i think our party needs something new, fresh and different. is rand paul something new, fresh and different that can be thrown into the 2016 run with the chris crist yix or jeb bushs?

>> he really is. there's been an emerging rift. remember early 2000 you had two wars where pretty much every republican was in support, and now a small group of republicans led by rand paul that's very skeptical of wars in general. very isolationist. so there is room in the republican party . i think most republicans are where lindsey graham and john mccain are, but rand paul will be a new leader in this part of the party, doesn't like a lot of intervention, and i think he's going to be someone a force to be reckoned with,.

>> i want to thank our power panel today. thanks, gang. appreciate it.