Cross-Posted At Democrashield
The media loves John McCain. They love portraying him as a maverick, as a straight-talker who never panders.
Now, it's standard for candidates to play themselves up using positive labels and positive rhetoric, but this is one of the few times the media has bought the spin hook, line and sinker.
Too bad for our political press--and John McCain--that reality has a well-known liberal bias. When you scratch the surface of the gilded facade McCain has erected around himself, you'll find a long history of flip-flopping, pandering and confusing rhetoric.
Remember, John McCain campaigned for George W. Bush in 2004, despite the fact that Bush's dirty tricks denied McCain the GOP nomination in 2000. McCain knew he would need to win the approval of the GOP establishment if he was ever going to have a shot at being President, so he turned around and embraced the same people who smeared him so horribly before. That's not being a maverick--it's selling out.
Think Progress brings us some more of McCain's pandering:
– Pander On Tax Cuts: In 2001, McCain was one of just two GOP senators to vote against Bush’s destructive tax cuts. Now, however, McCain makes a point of touting his support for making Bush’s tax cuts permanent.
– Pander On Stimulus: For the past few months, McCain has been declaring that passing an economic stimulus package is at the very top of his agenda. Yet when the Senate voted earlier this month on a generous bill providing increased assistance to seniors and veterans, McCain skipped the vote. The bill fell just one vote short of passage, a victory for the far right.
– Pander To Karl Rove: In the 2000 presidential campaign, Karl Rove launched vicious smear tactics against McCain on behalf of Bush’s campaign. Recently, however, McCain has embraced the right-wing political operative. He said that he has "always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics" and specifically refused to condemn Rove’s partisan smears.
In addition, check out this Think Progress piece on yesterday's vote to ban waterboarding:
Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war, has spoken strongly in favor of implementing the Army Field Manual standard. When confronted today with the decision of whether to stick with his conscience or cave to the right wing, McCain chose to ditch his principles and instead vote to preserve waterboarding
Not only that, but McCain's baffling justification is far from straight talk:
The bill yesterday would have restricted the CIA to the Army's rules for interrogating detainees. McCain believes that the CIA should have a freer hand. That includes the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques.
[...] At the same time, he stresses that the 2006 Detainee Treatment Act, the bill he himself sponsored, prohibits the use of any cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment and treatment that "shocks the conscience." He hasn't said which [techniques] meet that description. But he trusts that the Justice Department and CIA will arrive at a "good faith interpretation of the statutes that guide what is permissible."
Attorney General Michael Mukasey gave a taste of what that "good faith" interpretation is when he testified before Congress. What "shocks the conscience" depends on the circumstances, he said. Waterboarding might very well be OK, he argued, if the situation were dire enough.
But McCain says that waterboarding is torture. And as he says in his statement below, "It is, or should be, beyond dispute that waterboarding 'shocks the conscience.'" So he disagrees with the administration's "good faith" interpretation. But apparently he still has faith.
Confused? It's certainly not a position that's easily summarized.
[Emphasis Added]
And McCain has also flip-flopped on immigration, while the media has been reluctant to report his shifting stance:
In endorsing Sen. John McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, The Baltimore Sun asserted that McCain has "stood his ground" on "immigration reform." However, while McCain now says that border security must be addressed first, he previously said that border security could not be disaggregated from other provisions in the legislation on immigration reform. Similarly, the San Antonio Express-News claimed in its endorsement of McCain that his "advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform" is among the positions that may "be attractive" to "independent voters"; but McCain has said he "would not" vote for his own comprehensive immigration reform proposals.
It's clear that, if John McCain was ever a maverick, he isn't one anymore.
The question is, when will the media end their bizarre hero-worship and begin to report on the facts instead of the McCain hagiography?
I wouldn't hold my breath...
UPDATE: More from Steve Benen:
* Pander On Immigration: McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. Now, to make the nativist elements in his party happy, he’s against it.
* Pander to U.N. Critics: McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now, to pander to U.N. critics, he opposes it.
* Pander to Abortion-Rights Opponents: McCain used to say he would not support a reversal of Roe v. Wade. Now, to pander to his party’s base, he’s said the opposite.
* Pander to the Religious Right: McCain condemned radical TV preachers like Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance" in 2000, but once he began running for president again, he pandered to the religious right by cozying up to the man who said Americans "deserved" the 9/11 attacks.
* Pander to Iowans: McCain was anti-ethanol before the 2008 campaign. Once on the trail in Iowa, he became pro-ethanol.
* Pander to South Carolinians: McCain was against official promotion of the Confederate flag, but in 2000, hoping to curry favor with South Carolinians, pandered shamelessly on the issue, and later conceded that his position was one of "cowardice."
"McCain refuses to pander"? Given his record, I think he refuses to stop pandering.
[Emphasis Added]
John McCain: he stands for something. And as soon as I figure out what that is, I'll be sure to let you know.