Rand Paul: Dems afraid I'll run in 2016

Sen. Rand Paul says Democrats are afraid his stance on war and foreign policy would attract independents and "even some Democrats" if he were to run against Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.

“I think the American public is coming more and more to where I am and that those people, like Hillary Clinton, who — she fought her own war, 'Hillary’s war,' you know?" Paul said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"And I think that’s what scares the Democrats the most — is that in a general election, were I to run, there’s going to be a lot of independents and even some Democrats who say, ‘You know what? We are tired of war. We’re worried that Hillary Clinton will get us involved in another Middle Eastern war because she’s so gung-ho.’"

(VIDEO: Sunday shows in 90 seconds)

The Kentucky Republican, widely speculated as a contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, said the election would be "transformative" if Clinton runs.

“If you want to see a transformational election in our country, let the Democrats put forward a war hawk like Hillary Clinton, and you’ll see a transformation like you’ve never seen," Paul said.

Michael Czin of the Democratic National Committee subsequently offered a response to Paul's remarks: “Senator Paul’s foreign policy vision is to retreat from our responsibilities abroad by ending all foreign aid to our allies – including Israel. That’s the vision he’s laid out and defended time and time again and that even conservatives have said would bring ‘terrible misery’ to millions of people across the globe."