McCains Maverick Mirage
U.S. Senator John McCain has often been referred to as a ‘maverick’ in the mainstream media, but this description is not accurate. Although he is now trying his best to distance himself from the disaster that is the Bush presidency, he has largely been a rubber stamp for Bush in the U.S. Senate. The Congressional Quarterly documented that McCain has supported the Bush agenda the vast majority of the time. While he is trying to distance himself from Bush this year, he actually supported the Bush agenda 100 percent of the time from January 1 through May 15. Over the last seven years, John McCain has supported the president’s agenda over 90 percent of the time.
On specific issues, McCain has supported Bush policies in the U.S. Senate in nearly every single area. Like Bush, the only real components of McCain’s ‘economic plan’ are the same tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and large corporations. With little regard for the impact on critical programs, McCain has proposed a discretionary spending freeze that mirrors the Bush freeze. On healthcare McCain promotes the Bush agenda which erodes employer-based healthcare. John McCain was a big supporter in the Senate for George Bush’s ill conceived Social Security Privatization Plan. And on Iraq John McCain has been in total lockstep with Bush. Name the issue and John McCain has almost universally supported Bush in the U.S. Senate.
John McCain is trying to have it both ways right now. He is trying to distance himself from George W. Bush while having a record that mirrors him. Political calculations and spin will not trump this reality. The idea of John McCain being a ‘maverick’ is little more than a mirage. When looking at his objective record in the U.S. Senate he has simply been McSame as Bush.