Rand Paul Prepares To Do Battle With Hillary

After months of teasing, waiting and hoping, Hillary Clinton has announced her candidacy for president — and we're all ready for Hillary. Her conservative opponents are ready too, of course, making the media rounds on Sunday to counter Clinton's enthusiastic announcement. However, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul had a different agenda: Paul wants everyone to know he's not sexist.

The junior senator from Kentucky went on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday to talk — what else — Clinton and her gender. I mean, Paul really didn't want to talk about Clinton being a woman, but Dana Bash had to bring it up following his two unfortunate media appearances with CNBC's Kelly Evans and Savannah Guthrie of the Today show. As you may recall, Paul shushed Evans on-air. Nearly a month later, Paul attempted to explain journalism to Guthrie, a woman who's been in the business for quite some time.

So, how would Paul respond to Clinton during a debate? Would he attempt to shush her while discussing Benghazi? Mansplain her privately recorded emails?

No, Paul told Bash. He would definitely not treat Clinton any different than how he treats his male colleagues:

I would treat her with the same respect that I would treat a man, but I wouldn't lay down and say, "Oh, I'm not going to respond out of some sort of" -- and I think that would be a sexist response to say, "Oh, my goodness, she deserves not to be treated as aggressively, because she's only a woman."

Paul continued on Sunday:

I would never say that about anybody. And I don't come into our interview thinking, "OK, it's a woman versus a man kind of interview. I just think she's going to ask tough questions, he will ask tough questions, I've got to be prepared."

Following Clinton's announcement on Sunday, Paul launched an attack website, LibertyNotHillary.com, criticizing Clinton's track record as senator and secretary of state. "Hillary Clinton’s attacks on liberty and the constitution make her unfit to serve as President of the United States," Paul states on the website, alongside the first attack ad of election season.