McCain Spends New Year's Eve Taking on Putin

Most of us spent New Year's Eve with family or at parties having some fun to end 2016 and start off 2017 the right way. Maybe John McCain figures that for better or for worse, Russia's Vladimir Putin will be a major player in American politics in 2017. He along with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham spent their New Year's Eve in the Ukraine with Ukranian Marines and other Eastern European countries threatened by Putin.

McCain seems poised to make Russia his target in 2017, and he is not being shy about it. He put out the following joint statement with the South Carolina Senator:

“The retaliatory measures announced by the Obama Administration today are long overdue. But ultimately, they are a small price for Russia to pay for its brazen attack on American democracy. We intend to lead the effort in the new Congress to impose stronger sanctions on Russia.”

Putin was already a major factor in 2016 with President-Elect Trump aparent bromance with the Russian strongman, and the alleged election hacking, which McCain argues is a "fact" will surely bring more and more attention to Russian-American relations. McCain wasn't shy about calling out Putin as an agressor.

Some conservatives have taken a diferent view of Vladimir Putin since Donald Trump came on the political scene, some even asking the President Elect invite Putin to his inauguration on January 20th.

Now I doubt Putin will be on the Capitol steps on January 20th, but there will most definetely be fallout from Trump's seemingly cozy relations with Putin. Democrats will be teeing off on the brighteyed new President, as will some Republicans, seemingly to be led by Arizona's own John McCain.