comments_image -

The Bushification of John McCain

By striving to prove his conservative Bush credentials to win the Republican base, McCain risks alienating the very Americans he needs to win a general election.
 
 
LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?
Join our mailing list:

Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email.

 
 
 
 

Senator John McCain is in a high-profile fight with President Bush over the Administration's torture policy. But even as McCain publicly challenges Bush -- gracing the cover of Newsweek with a personal essay which argues that America's image is at risk -- the 2008 presidential hopeful has also been discreetly working to prove his conservative Bush credentials to right-wing activists.

McCain remembers that his 2000 campaign went down in flames when he ran as a sharp alternative to the left of George Bush. His popularity in the rest of America could not help him; radical conservative activists shut him down in preseason.

McCain won't make that mistake again. Now he's trying to run as the closest thing to George Bush.

It is the "Bushification" of John McCain, and it is awkward.

The bad blood between the two men has been infamous since 2000, when Bush's campaign lied about McCain's family and war service, and McCain told Bush to "get out of the gutter."

But during Bush's reelection in 2004, McCain strained to embrace his former rival -- literally. In their first joint appearance, they hugged dramatically before 6,000 soldiers at a Fort Lewis rally. Those events made for great campaign visuals. Yet while most Americans saw McCain's big heart, Republican leaders saw hungry ambition.

Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative magazine National Review, recently described that campaign bear hug as nothing but proof of "the senator's presidential ambitions." Lowry argues it's just part of McCain's scheme to get "the Right to stop loathing him." In targeted moves since the election, McCain has continued his Bushification by changing positions on conservative priorities like creationism, gay marriage and tax cuts.

This summer, he told the Arizona Daily Star about his newfound support for teaching creationism, (which many evangelicals are now calling "Intelligent Design"). That's a big change from 2000, when McCain declared it was an issue for local school boards -- and found himself outflanked by Bush on the right. The 2000 Bush campaign proclaimed creationism "ought to be taught." McCain may hope this 2005 reversal will be old news by 2008, but the Daily Star's headline still blared that, "McCain sounds like presidential hopeful."

In August, McCain announced his support for a strict anti-gay marriage ballot initiative in Arizona. Arizona state law already bans gay marriage, so the move is mostly symbolic. But it may appease conservative activists, who detested McCain's July 2004 vote against the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment. Back then, McCain blasted it as "antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans."

Then in September, McCain delivered a whopper by caving on a key disagreement with Bush: tax cuts.

As the costs of Hurricane Katrina mounted, McCain went on national television and told Chris Mathews the Bush tax cuts must be maintained. But McCain voted against those tax cuts.

In fact, he was one of only two Republicans to oppose Bush's signature 2001 tax cut. Given the surging costs of Katrina, Iraq and Medicare, there is no policy rationale for reversing his position now. The only rationale is political pandering. And that's exactly how some influential conservatives see it. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, recently said that although McCain has "flip-flopped on a number of issues," he is still "anti-taxpayer" because "he's voted against every tax cut."

Yet the mainstream media is so attached to McCain's maverick image, most journalists didn't cover the tax reversal.

Of course, new positions alone won't turn McCain into George Bush. So McCain has been talking with Bush's message guru, Mark Mckinnon, for some help -- and a 2008 presidential campaign. The Dallas Morning News reported that McKinnon has "committed" to helping McCain in a "second presidential bid."

submit to reddit

-
Email
Print
Share
LIKED THIS ARTICLE? JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST
Stay up to date with the latest AlterNet headlines via email
Alternet Special Coverage - Occupy Wall Street
Advertisement
Most Read
Most Emailed
Most Discussed
On REDDIT
On DIGG
 
loading most read content ..
Advertisement
Washington State Legislature Approves Gay Marriage

By Steven Rosenfeld | AlterNet

 
 
Congress Considers Adding GED and Drug Test Requirements to Unemployment Benefits

By Kristen Gwynne | AlterNet

 
 
Study: Medical Marijuana Programs Don't Increase Adolescent Pot Smoking

By Paul Armentano | NORML

 
 
Archbishop Recants Apology for Sex Abuse, Says "I don't Think We Did Anything Wrong"

By Steve M. | No More Mister Nice Blog

 
 
CNN Suspends Roland Martin For Hateful, Homophobic Super Bowl Tweets

By Jorge Rivas | Colorlines

 
 
NYPD Marijuana Crusade Led to Cops Killing a Teenager in the Bronx

By Tony Newman | AlterNet

 
 
Dear Wall Street Journal: Your Editorial on Payday Lenders Is Wrong. On Every Point.

By Uriah King | AlterNet

 
 
Shocker! Komen Staff Knew Defunding Planned Parenthood Was a Bad Idea

By Kaili Joy Gray | Daily Kos

 
 
Look Forward to Trump in Charge of Foreign Policy in Romney Administration?

By Sarah Seltzer | AlterNet

 
 
Dozens Dead as Syria Regime Pounds Homs: Activists

By Agence France-Presse

 
 
 
 
 
loading ...
POWERED BY DIGG'S USERS
 
[ page served from web 2 ]