In today’s New York Times there is a story about how the GOP wants to keep Bush’s tax-cuts for the wealthiest Americans. At the end of the article, it mentions the upcoming vote on Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell — and discusses opposition by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.). The senator actually has the nerve to say that Majority Leader Harry Reid is scheduling a vote because of politics instead of principle. According to the Times:

The senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said he would try to block the Pentagon measure because he said the White House was moving to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” without properly gauging the impact on battle readiness and troop morale.

Mr. McCain said that he did not believe there was time to complete the bill and that Democrats had other motivations. “Everything that’s done around here is done for political reasons,” he said. “And Harry Reid does everything for political reasons.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

This is the same John McCain who has reinvented himself as a Tea Party conservative in the past year to win his GOP primary. This is the same John McCain that put our national security at risk by choosing the inexperienced Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential nominee. This is the same McCain who ran for president as a maverick, but now denies that he is a maverick. This is the same crass politician who spent his sorry career pushing for campaign finance reform– only to run away from the issue in this year’s campaign. This is the same McCain who wanted sensible immigration reform, but now supports the draconian and discriminatory Arizona law and poses by the border saying we should build the dang fence.

In the history of modern politics, has there been a more protean politician than John McCain? Has there been a bigger phony in Washington? If there is, I certainly can’t recall his or her name. John McCain is a self-absorbed, power-hungry charlatan who stands for only one issue: His career.

Our friend David Mixner wrote a good piece in 2007, “The Selling Out of John McCain”. Here is a short article I wrote on McCain.

John McCain (R-AZ) is defending his U.S. Senate seat against a challenge from ultra-conservative radio host J.D. Hayworth. (Yes, the same Hayworth who was a very large recipient of money and gifts—like sports skyboxes—from the shamed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to the New York Times)

While voters may find McCain’s name on the ballot, the man is utterly unrecognizable, switching positions daily to mollify the unruly Tea Party crowd. According to today’s Times:

….McCain now finds himself jammed, moving starkly‚Äîand often awkwardly‚Äîto the right, apparently in an attempt to gain favor among the same voters whom Hayworth, a consistent voice for the far right, could pull toward him like taffy come summer.

McCain now sharply criticizes the bailout bill he voted for, pivoted from his earlier position that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility should be closed, offered only a muted response to the Supreme Court’s decision undoing campaign finance laws and backed down from statements that gays in the military would be OK by him if the military brass were on board.

I never agreed with John McCain’s largely conservative voting record. There once was a time, however, that he had a small independent streak and could be counted on to occasionally buck the party line. Unfortunately, he threw his integrity out the window when he chose Sarah Palin for his running mate.

He knew she was incompetent and not qualified to be President. Yet, he sold out America and placed our national security at risk for a short uptick in the polls following the Republican convention. (Read More)