Yesterday evening, everyone's favorite do-nothing "maverick" senator made an impassioned speech asking the Senate to cast aside their partisanship and work together, Democrats and Republicans, to pass meaningful healthcare reforms. For this he was once again feted by the punditry, for reasons that only they can adequately explain.
McCain asked in his speech that the Senate return to "regular order," or as he put it two weeks ago in a similarly-themed press release:
The Congress must now return to regular order, hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties, and heed the recommendations of our nation's governors so that we can produce a bill that finally provides Americans with access to quality and affordable health care.
This afternoon Democrats made a motion to do exactly that—send the health care bill to committee so that both parties could work together on it through regular Senate process rather than continuing this mish-mash of nonsense and misdirection McCain so “eloquently” spoke out against less than 24 hours ago. Guess which way John McCain voted.
Yep. He voted against it.
This has been your semi-regular update on John McCain giving grand speeches about comity and principles and then, reliably, doing the exact opposite the moment the cameras are turned away again. Or, in John McCain's Senate career, your average Wednesday.