by Mark Silva
ABC News' Jonathan Karl -- fresh from his "senator-only'' elevator interview with Sen. Jim Bunning, the one-man filibuster who held up unemployment benefit extensions for five days-- had a little subway interview with Sen. John McCain beneath the Capitol.
In "the subway series,'' as Karl called his brief chat with McCain, the correspondent asked the senator what ever became of that "old John McCain'' who was known for working across party lines -- negotiating with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on immigration reform, bargaining with Sen. Russ Feingold on campaign finance reform. The senator who also was "a thorn in the side'' of his own party for many years.
Now that McCain is in lockstep with his party in opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation -- and McCain has chafed that what's going on now is not bipartisan by any means, but rather a party-line ramming of a bill through Congress with a reconciliation vote that jeopardizes the integrity of the institution itself -- the senior senator from Arizona maintains that he is doing what he always has done best. Fight.
"The old John McCain and the new John -- the present John McCain,'' McCain told Karl. "I fight for what I believe in. I'm a fighter. I enjoy -- one of the reasons I miss Ted Kennedy so much -- it's because a fight not joined is a fight not enjoyed."
Which will serve McCain well, because he has quite a fight of his own back home with J.D. Hayworth, the conservative Republican challenging McCain for his party's nomination for a fifth term in the Senate. McCain, who was held for five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, first was elected to the House in 1982, the Senate in '86. The "old John McCain,'' who overcame a limited role in "the Keating Five'' influence-peddling scandal, went on to become a champion of campaign reform, ran for president in 2000 and became his party's presidential nominee in 2008.
And McCain mixed it up pretty well once again with Obama -- who told McCain, "the election's over'' -- in their recent bipartisan healthcare summit. McCain likes this fight so much that he has posted in, and this interview with FOX's Sean Hannity, on his Senate Web-site, a tape clearly intended for home-state consumption in that Arizona fight.
Asked if Obama had been a little short with McCain, the senator said of their healthcare argument: "I felt that he wanted to get off the subject as quickly as possible, because it's not defensible.... n Arizona, I've been having town hall meetings for the past year all over my state ever since, as he reminded he, I lost... People are as angry about the process as they are the product.'' See that interview here, and Karl's above.
Comments
Grampy McCain needs to retire.
The only difference between McCain and JD Hayworth is that Hayworth basically admits that he's a liar while McCain is a lying weasel who still likes to tell people that he's a "straight-talking maverick".
*
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-february-25-2010/moment-of-zen---john-mccain-s-legitimate-point
*
Posted by: Georgio | March 4, 2010 5:10 PM
A bill recently introduced to the U.S. Senate, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (S. 3002), by Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan is possibly the most direct assault on natural health freedom we have seen for some time. If passed into law, this bill would require all dietary supplement manufacturers, distributors, and holders all the way down to the retail store level to be comprehensively registered. It would also allow for the arbitrary banning of nutritional supplements by the FDA and the introduction of deceitful reporting of adverse events related to them. John Mcbain is workin for the Pharmceuticls
Posted by: Greg H | March 4, 2010 7:14 PM
McCain's not the only liar in the Republican party. The RNC just announced that they're running a scam on their own Republican donors.
THE RNC INSULTS THEIR OWN REPUBLICAN DONORS, CALLS THEM "REACTIONARY" AND "EGO-DRIVEN"!
"The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."
"The strategy was detailed in a confidential RNC party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”
"In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the RNC's often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the Republican party’s donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives."
*
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html
*
I can't say that I'm surprised to find out that the RNC is run by a bunch of 3rd graders, afterall Michael Steele is the gift that keeps on giving....to Democrats
Posted by: betterthanbefore | March 4, 2010 8:28 PM
I would love to see McCain defeated soundly in the next election. He could then retire to one of his 6 or 7 residences and drive around in one of his 13 vehicles wearing his $400 Italian shoes. At the same time he'll be getting a very cushy retirement, pension, diasbility and free socialized healthcare from the VA.
He can also have time to reflect on his first wife he left after she was seriously injured in a car accident. McCain is a disgrace and a crook to put it mildly.
Posted by: Doug R. | March 5, 2010 9:33 AM
Hey genius,
What Sen. Jim Bunning did was NOT a filibuster. I think you should correct your first paragraph lest you add even more water to the overall liberal stupidity pool.
Posted by: Chris | March 5, 2010 11:02 AM
What the Hey! Hopefully, Crash McCain will crash for the last time and disappear forever from public life! He has been on the public dole all of his life. Hey McCain, do you think you will ever have to pay taxes on that $58,000 dollar pension you get, while at the same time taking a paycheck from the taxpayer? No more double dippers! If you retire and get a pension from the taxpayer, you shall no longer be able to draw a salary or wage or other compensation from the taxpayer. This includes any local, state or federal employee. We shall no longer fund public pensions, if you want a pension, form a group and contribute your own money. Don't expect the taxpayer to pay for your retirement. If you retire, don't try to double dip and take another persons job away from them. If you retire with a public pension you shall no longer be able to work for any government job, including teaching, police, fire, or other public service. If you get elected to office, then your public pension shall cease until you re-retire. Also no sweetheart deals, if my pension is taxable then any public pension is taxable. Is that not unconstitutional to do otherwise? Remember that the republicans never do anything for this nation they only do things to this nation! As a matter of fact this nation should vote all the RepubliCANT'S out of office, we don't need any of them! whiteagle38
Posted by: Raymond L. Juneau | March 6, 2010 9:38 PM