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Sen. John McCain is a war hero and we all wish him a rapid recovery from cancer. One needs to preface any criticism of McCain with that, or fans of his DNC-friendly maverickness will allege that you hate sick veterans. But his piece today for the Washington Post is getting passed around as a brave indictment of the Beltway’s favorite hate object, President Donald Trump.
No kidding. Just how many trillions of dollars a year do they need before McCain and friends think it’s enough? It’s like when they ask a representative for a teacher’s union how much would really be enough.
Well said Ex-Jon, well said.
Better to get 60%-70% of what you want than none at all. Now if President Trump wants to attack Red State Democrats (IN, ND, WV, OH, MO and maybe WI & FL) to try and get more Senate votes to make Republican legislative priorities easier to pass rather than Swing State Republicans (like AZ) that would be swell
Jon, I think this would have been a much stronger piece if you had mentioned that Sen. John McCain is a war hero and we all wish him a rapid recovery from cancer. Or words to that effect.
This is the kind of piece that is always written about McCain after he is safely re-elected.
From my perspective, it really is about compromise, just as McCain says. Unfortunately, Senator McCain’s idea of compromise is to bend over an allow the opposition to get whatever it is that will make them happy. McCain for all his bravado is an appeaser. Schumer, among the most despiccable members of the Senate, has a spine which is rigid and unbending, so McCain willingly bends to make it all seem more collegial and to accomplish something that appears to represent a compromise. Schumer whines and McCain appeases. It’s enough to make you sick. I am not crazy about Trump, but I certainly like him better than Schumer, and it seems to me that any Republican who finds it easier to deal with the likes of Chuckie instead of Trump should change the bracketed capital letter after his title and name from an R to a D.
** And a happy retirement.
I sincerely hope that Senator McCain’s condition stabilizes and his cancer goes into remission- long enough for him to witness losing to a primary challenger, who then goes on to be a solid, Ted Cruz/Mike Lee/Rand Paul type.
I’d prefer that shame, embarrassment and rage consume him.
Can I still hate on McCain even though he has cancer in whatever is left in his miniscule, bottom of his class, plane crashing brain?
Perhaps he could work things out with his peers more effectively rather than being a loud mouth, back benching bomb thrower.
Could be round 776, that many days since Trump said he likes heroes who weren’t captured. Good piece. Also, I peronally wish Senator McCain strength and send prayers for him and his family on this journey with cancer.
Jon,
I agree with Henry that you most certainly should have mentioned this. Recently on Ricochet, someone realized that John McCain was reminding them of the Norma Desmond character in the movie “Sunset Blvd.” How strange, McCain also reminds me of Norma’s unquenchable thirst for the limelight.
Regards,
Jim
I thought it was designed to get nothing done unless a good proportion of the people and states agreed it should be done.
So where is this ‘principled’ demand for regular order when it comes to Administrative Law from unaccountable agencies, or the appropriations process vs continuing resolutions, ‘regular, Constitutional order’ when it comes to declarations of war when he and his poodle Graham want to arm/bomb people.
i really don’t like that guy.
Keating Five.
Well said, @exjon.
Alas this is not true when a presidential candidate is so inept, erratic and punchless that his opponent is swept into office with a filibuster-proof majority.
Trump won. McCain lost.
McCain is still a Senator isn’t he?
The sad state of play on ACA repeal was the GOP bargained against itself and wound up with 5% of what they (including one Senator John McCain) promised for seven years. Even that 5% was too draconian for McCain (and, in fairness, ten other GOP senators).
Not one dollar taken from the largest Medicaid expansion in history over ten years.
Honestly, Umbrasijg, what compromise was left to be made? We’d already surrendered on 95% of the central tent pole issue in the GOP tent.
McCain is the second coming of Stephen A. Douglas. Self-dramatizing, unreliable windbag who’s accomplished next to nothing over a nearly 40-year Congressional career.
Maybe that’s unfair. At least Douglas defeated Lecompton.
Jamie & Bryan,
McCain is still big, it’s the politics that got small.
Regards,
Jim
If McCain actually believes all of this then he should refrain from blaming Trump when Congress fails to act.
yes, because he could not win the White House. Thanks to him. we got two years of Obama.
I will hold that against him until he dies. Trump won and beat Hillary. I will celebrate that unitl I die.
If you’re talking about the “skinny repeal”, that was just theater. The only way to repeal ACA is to write a brand new law to make it go away, and that requires 60 votes OR Dems voting for cloture which means they’re going to get a say in the finished product. Pruning it via reconciliation won’t make much of a difference. This is literally a math problem. Get more votes. You can elect some or negotiate for some, there’s no third option.
See if Trump really wanted to get stuff done he’d be running Red State Dem Senators out of Congress instead of losing an AZ Senator. Just saying.
Soon.
I still don’t understand what bearing that has on the argument advanced by McCain here but okay.
Well, he plays one on TV.
Simple. He is a loser. I have no reason to listen to him on how any president should act, as McCain was not even good enough to get elected. Therefore, his judgement is crap.
I have never liked the man, held my nose and voted for him, and got Obama. He is exactly what is wrong with the GOP. Good riddance.
Right so does that mean you no longer listen to what Ted Cruz has to say?
Come on, a good faith effort via reconciliation (50 votes plus Pence) could have rid the country of every Obamacare tax and employer/ individual mandate as well as permitting the most fundamental federalist reduction of Medicare every attempted. It was the Gotterdammerung of Failure Theatre. The 60-70% of the repeal was there for straight party-line enactment. One-quarter of the GOP House and one-third of the GOP Senate are simply professional liars. They are very content with making the most minimal cosmetic changes to the ACA. We were at least 10-15 votes in Senate from approving any bill the Freedom Caucus could countenance.
No, but when he comes out after winning a crucial potentially race-changing primary and starts “Thank Gaaaaaaaaaawwwwwd for..” I stop listening.
McCain’s 2008 President votes: 59,948,323
Trump’s 2016 President votes: 62,984,825
The only thing I wish for John McCain is a quick retirement, and I don’t care if it is caused by the cancer. At 80 years old, he shouldn’t even be allowed in the Senate. Add to that fact, he has freakin brain cancer, and there should be some automatic way to impeach him if he won’t leave. He is one of three reasons the GOP cannot get anything passed. The other two reasons are named Murkowski and Collins.