McCain's Shifting Stance on Immigration Continues With 'Dream Act' Flip-Flop

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 3:41 PM on July 15, 2008.

John McCain, recognizing the importance of Latino voters in the upcoming election, spoke to the National Council of La Raza yesterday. He told the audience, "I do ask for your trust," adding, "I think I have earned that trust."

I know McCain often has a dry sense of humor, and in this case, I can't help but wonder if he was kidding.

We've already talked about McCain's efforts to mislead the audience about his on-again, off-again support/opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. But after his speech, McCain opened the floor to about 15 minutes of Q&A. A young woman asked whether the Republican senator would support the Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which gives undocumented young people a chance to earn U.S. citizenship by going to college or enlisting in the military.

McCain didn't hesitate to endorse the legislation.

That's clearly the right position for McCain to take. The Dream Act should be a no-brainer: "Roughly 65,000 children graduate each year from high school into a constrained future because they cannot work legally or qualify for most college aid. These are the overlooked bystanders to the ferocious bickering over immigration. They did not ask to be brought here, have worked hard in school and could, given the chance, hone their talents and become members of the homegrown, high-skilled American work force. The bill is one of the least controversial immigration proposals that have been offered in the last five years."

But what McCain neglected to mention is that he already promised conservative activists that he opposes the Dream Act, and would have voted against it had he shown up for work last fall.

In fact, it was captured on tape.

The audio in the latter portion of the clip is from a conference call McCain held with right-wing bloggers in October, in which he vowed opposition to the Dream Act -- in addition to opposition to the same comprehensive immigration proposal he now claims to support.

When the National Review asked McCain about the Dream Act, McCain said, "I would have voted against it. I have said a thousand times, I have heard the message from the American people."

The man is just shamelessly dishonest. McCain co-sponsored the Dream Act, then refused to vote for it, then promised to oppose it, then promised to support it. And just to add a little irony to the whole situation, McCain then concluded, "I do ask for your trust."

Now, under normal circumstances, one might wonder whether McCain will be pressed to explain himself today, maybe with a clarifying press conference. But that's almost certainly not going to happen.

Part of this, I suspect, is because the media just prefers to go easy on McCain. But the other part of the problem is, I have a hunch reporters aren't following the race as closely as we are. That may sound silly -- they are paid media professionals on the campaign beat -- but I genuinely believe they're not especially well informed.

When I heard McCain vow to support the Dream Act, I immediately knew he was abandoning a pledge he'd made during the primaries. When the reporters who travel with McCain heard it, did they notice the same problem? Do they even know what the Dream Act is?

It's one reason, I believe, that McCain is so reckless with his rhetoric. He not only assumes the media has given up on holding him accountable, but he also assumes reporters aren't quite sharp enough to keep track of minor policy details. On this, McCain is probably right.

And what if I'm wrong? What if campaign reporters really do know what the Dream Act is, and knew immediately that McCain is making completely contradictory promises to different groups at different times? That would speak to reporters' competence -- but it wouldn't explain why not one of them thought to mention it in their reports on McCain's La Raza appearance.

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Tagged as: accountability, flip-flop, mccain, latino vote, dream act