Today’s Los Angeles Times (12/7/09) gives us a story headlined “The Fight’s Back in John McCain.” In the subhead we learn that McCain is “Bipartisan No More, Especially on Healthcare.”
The Timestells us that “the Mac is back” because he’s sounding an awful lot like a Republican politician: “Gone is the maverick bridge-builder who bucked his party on high-voltage issues such as immigration, climate change and campaign finance reform.”
The paper explains that “some Democrats see McCain turning more partisan because of bitterness at his 2008 defeat, but his friends say the increasingly polarized political environment makes it harder for anyone to cross party lines.”
An easier explanation comes from neither unnamed Democrats nor McCain’s friends: John McCain’s voting record, which has been long been solidly conservative, despite the media’s long-standing crush on their favorite “maverick.” In short, McCain is being McCain–a conservative Republican.Sometimes a journalist notices this and wonders what happened to their beloved maverickJohn McCain, or they take a few rather trivial anecdotes (as the Washington Post didearly this year) and salute the Return of the Maverick. It’d be less confusing if the media hadn’t created the myth in the first place.
I’ve never been able to figure out why John McCain is so revered. I read that he wrecked two military planes before his crash in Vietnam, and only got out of it because of his father. His military career was no big deal and as soon as his dad died, the very next day in fact, he resigned from the Navy. As a Senator, I don’t think he is much better.
Seriously, Peter? This is one of the most mendacious and sloppy articles I’ve seen from FAIR in a long time. Of course he’s a conservative and of course he votes like one. You think to be bipartisan Mccain has to think and vote like you? The point is McCain has a public track record of working with the opposition. This is the definition of the word (“Of, consisting of, or supported by members of two parties…”)
Some of the more noteworthy ‘unnamed’ democrats he’s worked with (seriously, you don’t KNOW this? Or maybe you think it’s not relevant… how FoxNewsy of you) are included in the bills that bear his name — McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman. These are the most prominent of dozens of bills co-sponsored with numerous democrats, many involving controversial issues split along party lines, not to mention his long history of speaking out against Republican dogma.
Trivial anecdotes aside, to pretend he doesn’t have a history of bipartisanship, or at least to omit prominent examples from YOUR article, is at the very least disengenuous. But you KNOW the facts, don’t you, so it’s hard NOT to conclude that you’ve taken FAIR to the FoxNews-Level of reporting. This is known in casual conversation as ‘Lying’. You may not like him or the way he votes, but as for bipartisanship, the facts support him.
Oh, Regina, such a cogent and comprehensive summary of Sen. McCain’s distinguished record in Vietnam. Priceless. That’s right, all he did was wreck two planes and get out of it becuase of his father. Hilarious! But seriously, FAIR sometimes does good work. Is there anyone on this site who can think critically and discuss things honestly.
McCain is a creep. He is no “maverick.” He was with Bush 100% of the time. I am so sick and tired of te corporate media’s love affair with Johnny boy, I want to puke. McCain is an ass! Plain and simple. An Ass!
To show McCain’s stupidity: One word, Palin!
Regina is right, John McCain was made larger than life by the media & I do believe he crashed five planes and if any other young pilot did the same he’ll not be allowed to get near any jet fighter again but thanks to NEPOTISM beside he’s warmonger & corrupted just like any politician .
McCain did have a brief bipartisan phase–after he lost the 2000 Republican presidential nomination to George W. Bush. Since then, he’s been one of the most reliable Republican votes in the Senate, as documented by the VoteView ranking system–a mathematical model that measures, essentially, how likely a given lawmaker is to vote against the senators of the opposite party.
http://voteview.com/sen110.htm — McCain 13th-most conservative in 110th Senate (2007-08).
http://voteview.com/sen109.htm — McCain 2nd-most conservative in 109th Senate (2005-06).
http://voteview.com/sen108.htm — McCain 4th-most conservative in 108th Senate (2003-04)
http://voteview.com/sen107.htm — McCain 45th-most conservative in 107th Senate (2001-02).
I respected John McCain at one time when he was a feisty prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton where I visited in 2003 (I asked the guide to take a photograph of me on the floor in the same room in which he was held!). I lost all respect when McCain came crawling back to george after cretin george had perpetrated a push-poll with voters about McCain’s “illegitimate black child”–an adopted child (ol’ george just cannot help but be a scum bag). How did McCain respond? With groveling! Why he did this I am told was to curry favor with “old yellow stain himself” who went AWOL in Alabama during the Vietnam War when America needed him in Nam to “kill commies for Jesus” (Cardinal Spellman).
Frank Walter
When the Republicans are in charge, “bipartisanship” means Democrats need to compromise.
When the Democrats are in charge, “bipartisanship” means Democrats need to compromise.
Odd how that works.
I liked McCain once upon a time for the wrong reasons. He was a vet, he was a pow, and he was a genuine pain in
the ass to the elephantine party of which he was a member but never belonged. Being a grunt and getting fly boys risking their life and limb doing ground support missions to save mine was and is a good thing and dangerous. Fly boys in general and naval aviators live in a rarified world as rigidly class structured as any. So any slip of the lip may not sink a ship but may sink their career and nothing terrifies them more than losing flight status. He may have played the maverick; as the stakes and the bruises got bigger he started to do the carrier pilot tap dance.
McCain is and always was a RAT. His much-lauded “heroism” and “successes” were to destroy other humans from altitudes (and additudes) irresponsible, reminding us he didn’t herotically choose to be shot down for his volintary crimes against humanity, whereas the “enemy” DID chose to rescure his broken ass and treat him, and save him instead of executing him as the war criminal he was (and remains, again as an enabler and supporter of continued wars).
He was born with a silver weapons in his mouth and still managed to fail miserably in his chosen-active militaristic path. McCain is a sneak, a liar, and a cowardly bully. As people’s representative he only continues his miserable record on a wider scale.
Will we ever stop making heros of the criminal and chose instead our true sacrifiers?
~John L.
(20-year retired military)
While I really enjoy FAIR and it’s reporting. The idea that John McCain has somehow changed to morphed again is silly. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A man bordering on senility. He is emotionally compromised by the misfortunes that make up his life experiences.
He should have never been allowed to fly in the war. He is weak and always has been. He has never made a decision that was not made for him.
He should have retired after his loss.
It is sad to watch an emotional cripple and intellectual light
wieght flay about.
Anyone, who would let george bush treat him like his personal punching bag deserves everything that happens to him.