Senator, and former presidential candidate, John McCain (R-AZ) blasted Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) for voting down the line with President Barack Obama. Sen. McCain was in Great Falls, Montana on Friday. He said Tester’s votes “have threatened the future of our nation.”
McCain, who carried the state of Montana as the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, visited area businesses that could be impacted by defense cuts. He made the trip along with Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT), who also sponsored a veterans roundtable discussion later in the day.
Friday evening, the Associated Press reported that McCain attended a fundraiser for Rehberg, who is challenging Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in a race that could determine control of the US Senate.
I had the chance to spend about 15 minutes interviewing Senator McCain ahead of his trip last week. And, as listeners to our statewide radio talk show heard, when it comes to the election between Rehberg and Tester, McCain didn’t mince any words. He said the first vote from a Senator Rehberg would be to place Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the Senate Majority Leader, while the first vote from a Senator Tester would be to keep Harry Reid (D-NV) as Majority Leader.
McCain added, “Senator Tester is a pleasant fellow and a very agreeable individual, but he has voted down the line with President Obama on major and minor issues and policies that have threatened the future of this nation.”
Click here to listen to the audio from my interview with Sen. McCain on the Rehberg-Tester race.
More to follow with his remarks on defense spending in a separate forthcoming blog post.