I’m still convinced he picked her because she was such an obvious albatross, and he was intentionally trying to lose. I believe that by the time he finally got the party nomination, he no longer wanted the presidency.
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A good ~15min summary of the issues here:
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Of course, Obama writes a beautiful heartfelt tribute and the Angry Yam tweets “thoughts and prayers”.
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McCain was still a fiscal and social conservative, something which virtually everyone here disagrees with, but he was one of the few Republicans to stand up to Trump.
He wasn’t perfect, but if all our opponents were like him the US would be a much healthier country.
The technicality was the principle. He wanted the Senate to pass a bill using proper process, including study, debate, and revisions. The Senate did not follow that process, therefore he killed the bill.
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I don’t think he knew what Palin was when he nominated her, but the Palin nomination was probably the biggest indictment of his suitability as President.
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And Iran would be a smoking ruin.
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“Politics” are one thing - when one is in a position to turn those politics into policy which kills thousands upon thousands of people, that’s another thing entirely.
I won’t deny the guy vocally took a number of principled stands on a few issues. It’s just unfortunate he also consistently voted against them.
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My impression, less charitably (but based on things he’s said), was that he listened to advice from the wrong people (and ended up deeply regretting it). I.e. he was told something along the lines of “the young people will love her!” and he traded his dignity for what he thought would be a political advantage (which was probably the case - she did appeal to the GOP base, but it wasn’t enough when Obama energized a whole group of voters who didn’t normally vote).
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Ah, yes.
Just gonna leave these here…
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How? By confirming all his nominations, towing the party line, and voting for nearly all his bills? Wow, that’s really standing up to Trump.
He didn’t save the ACA because he agreed with it in any way. It’s good that he voted the repeal down - don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like he deserves some sort of award for it. If he was actually opposed to the ACA repeal that would be a different story.
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“He would have voted to take health care away from 22 million Americans if only the Senate had followed regular order” is about as far from a ringing endorsement of decency as you can get, IMO.
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Let’s not lose sight of the target. Perpetuating the idea that McCain was principled and thoughtful and that he opposed Trumpism and that those are good things is probably better for keeping pressure on the Republicans, even if one doesn’t believe a word of it. Being able to say “hey, this person that you admire was opposed to this stuff and that man” has political utility.
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Only if they can’t turn around and prove you wrong in every way in ten seconds.
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ACTUALLY he was predisposed
OH GOD THIS IS NOT A JOKE
he was predisposed to select a running mate who looked like Tina Fey
In 2004, Fey and McCain did a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote photo shoot for Life magazine in Washington, D.C., and McCain gave both Fey and her husband a tour of the Capitol.
“[SNL creator] Lorne Michaels always reminds me that Sen. McCain has that [photo] framed in his office,” she says. “[Lorne] thinks subliminally that that’s why he liked Sarah Palin when he saw her — because he was used to looking at me standing next to him in that picture.”
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And don’t forget Sarah Palin. By selecting her he greatly accelerated the far right slide into the slime pit.
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Indeed, and it was Palin’s notoriety that helped birth to the Tea Party movement, which helped get Trump elected.
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This is a very sad day. McCain gave a crucial dissenting vote to try to save our health care safety net. He was a good man. I could aspire to his humanity and courage only in my wildest dreams.
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Arguing from fact is not part of the Republican playbook. Moreover, it would require them to gainsay the myth of McCain as maverick, a myth which they themselves perpetuated.
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I would counter that “proving” is not in their blood as repetition. That’s why they like short, easy to repeat sound bites. And by making McCain a flawed saint, it only irritates the Trumpkins even more because it’s at their dear leader’s expense. Making McCain into a martyr of the anti-Trump conservatives is easer than using the quislings that did cave.
And a dead saint is the best, because they don’t come back.
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