I think he’s trying to carve out a niche for himself
Let’s face it, we may have hated McCain but the GOP picked him nearly twice. It worked for him being the maverick.
I think the party base has moved on from that. When McCain ran, a lot of people didn’t like him, but they voted for him. Lesser of two evils, he’s a maverick, what choice do we have?
But it’s 2025 now. I can only speak for myself, but I want accomplishments. No half measures. I will not support anyone who gives up chances of winning. I won’t support the lesser of two evils ever again. If you can’t get it done, you’ve lost me. Rand has totally lost me. He can’t do squat and he doesn’t even care.
There are other ways of phrasing that. McCain was the RINO pick. They were happy to have him lose because the minority party gets richer cutting deals. No a position I would aspire to.