2/18/2024 0 Comments John mccain recent news![]() That was the fiercely ideological partisan polarization that has come to dominate the political system. ![]() In fact, the incorporation of the religious right into the Republican Party represented but one facet of a more consequential development. In doing so, McCain revealed his flexibility again on principles that might fatally undermine his overriding ambition – winning the presidency. Sensing an opportunity to establish a winning coalition, McCain jettisoned his former objections to the political influence of the religious right, shifting from antagonism to accommodation. In 2008, Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon considered religiously suspect by many evangelicals, emerged as McCain’s main rival for the nomination. Bush, whose campaign had already expressed allegiance to the conservative religious agenda. That would potentially provide enough votes to boost him past George W. The primary that year also required an outright appeal to independents and even crossover Democrats. John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. But the electorate had changed since then, and McCain showed he was willing to shift his position to accommodate their beliefs. Having railed eight years prior against the hypocrisy of the right-wing religious leadership, McCain may have felt some personal discomfort kowtowing to the dictates of self-appointed moral authorities. His strategy reflected his tendency to abandon principles if they threatened his quest for the presidency. McCain’s about-face revealed a political pragmatist willing to make peace with the Christian right and accept their ability to make or break his last attempt at the presidency. Sarah Palin, an enthusiastic standard bearer for the Christian right, as his running mate, signaled the electoral power of a less tolerant, more absolutist “values-based” politics. McCain’s willingness to defend America as a “ Christian nation” and his controversial choice of Alaska Gov. Bowing to political winds, he adopted a more conciliatory approach. By then, they comprised 26 percent of the electorate. Bush, the stalwart evangelical, on his path to a presidential victory in 2000 against Democratic nominee, Vice President Al Gore.īy 2008, McCain saw the political clout of white, born-again, evangelical Christians. He said their religion served a business goal and accused them of shaming “our faith, our party, and our country.” That message earned McCain a primary victory in New Hampshire but his campaign capsized in South Carolina, where Republican voters launched George W. McCain branded Robertson and Falwell “ agents of intolerance” and “empire builders.” He charged that they used religion to subordinate the interests of working people. The two were conservative icons and leaders of the Christian Coalition and the Moral Majority. McCain enthusiastically bucked his party and steered his “ Straight Talk Express” through the GOP primaries with a no-holds-barred attack on Pat Robertson and Rev. McCain’s first run for the presidency in 2000 captured the imagination of the public and the press, whom he wryly referred to as “my base.” His self-confident “maverick” persona appealed to a more secular, moderate constituency who like him, might be constitutionally opposed to the growing political alignment between the religious right and the Republican Party. McCain ended his career honorably and bravely, but with hostility from the White House, marginal influence in the Republican-controlled Senate, and a public less receptive to the positions he has long embodied. policies permitting so-called “enhanced interrogations.” Nevertheless, his appeals failed to rally sufficient support to slow, much less derail, her appointment.ĭays later, a White House aide said McCain’s opposition to Haspel didn’t matter because “he’s dying anyway.” That disparaging remark and the refusal of the White House to condemn it revealed how deeply the president’s hostile attitude toward McCain and everything he stands for had permeated the executive office. ![]() Having survived brutal torture for five years as a prisoner of war, McCain maintained a resolute voice against U.S. Most recently, McCain opposed Gina Haspel as CIA director for “her refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality” and her role in it.
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