# John McCain says he's not a Maverick, never was one **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 5, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072 "2010-04-05T20:01:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/21 "2010-04-05T22:26:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > So the first rule of Maverick club is… > > Anyway since the politics of this are obvious, the inevitable question is whether he ever specifically called himself a maverick. Wikipedia says he often referred to himself that way but none of the cites show him using the word to describe himself, instead they mention how often it was used to describe him. I haven’t been able to find him actually saying “I’m a maverick” but [here’s](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/john-mccain-im-not-a-mave_n_525600.html) a campaign ad where the announcer describes John McCain as a Maverick and then we hear McCain’s voice immediately afterwards saying “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.” Pretty damning. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/22 "2010-04-05T22:27:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > the inevitable question is whether he ever specifically called himself a maverick. [This Huffington Post article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/john-mccain-im-not-a-mave_n_525600.html#s78766) links to several examples of McCain himself or his campaign ads using the word. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/23 "2010-04-05T22:32:22Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I haven’t been able to find him actually saying “I’m a maverick” but [here’s](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/john-mccain-im-not-a-mave_n_525600.html) a campaign ad where the announcer describes John McCain as a Maverick and then we hear McCain’s voice immediately afterwards saying “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.” Pretty damning. 😃 I’m somewhat kidding. His running mate said it of him very often, so obviously he was fine with the description. > [@scr4](#): > > [This Huffington Post article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/john-mccain-im-not-a-mave_n_525600.html#s78766) links to several examples of McCain himself or his campaign ads using the word. And that’ll do it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/24 "2010-04-05T23:02:17Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > McCain must think Arizona voters are awfully stupid. If I were interviewing him, I’d ask him the classic question that Jack McCoy of Law and Order once asked to a witness: Were you lying then, or are you lying now? YES!! Arizona citizens are pretty stupid. They live in Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/25 "2010-04-05T23:05:02Z")
What I don’t get, if I consider this at all seriously (and that’s a painful prospect unworthy of much effort) is why? What good does it do him to disavow his former mantle of mavericky maverickness? What does he think he gains by this disavowal? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/26 "2010-04-05T23:10:29Z")
He’s trying to position himself as a party loyalist and a dependable conservative. He’s basically saying he can be relied upon not to cross the picket line and work with Obama. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/27 "2010-04-05T23:36:35Z")
He was lying both times. During the last election, he was saying he was a maverick, while pretty much toeing the party line. The Maverick thing was just to get the independents. But now he’s saying he never was a maverick, which is also false. Prior to the last election, he was considered a fairly liberal Republican. In fact, that’s why he picked a staunch conservative for his running mate: to balance it out. I don’t know how many Republicans told me that they were voting between two “socialists”, just that McCain wanted to be more gradual. And, yes, Dio explains why he’s doing it now. And I think he could actually convince people who’d never heard of him before the past election, as remember, his policies were 90% the same as Bush. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/28 "2010-04-05T23:53:56Z")
Huh. What he comes across as, given **Dio** ’s explanation, is a desperate man Romneyfying himself to save his political ass. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/29 "2010-04-05T23:54:00Z")
He’s doing the Reverse Maverick! 😃 Seriously though, this is pathetic. The guy has a lot of money, 7 houses according to the last election campaign, and married to a multimillionaire. Why do people who seem to be decent people outside of politics became these irritating shit stains when in politics? McCain should simply tell AZ voters that he’s going to work with the other side like it or not, because America can’t afford having one party as completely obstructionist. If he gets voted out, fine, but at least he’ll have some dignity left ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/30 "2010-04-05T23:55:13Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > McCain must think Arizona voters are awfully stupid. If I were interviewing him, I’d ask him the classic question that Jack McCoy of Law and Order once asked to a witness: Were you lying then, or are you lying now? I like my own favorite Jack McCoy quote better: “Are you stupid? Or do you just think we are?” ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/31 "2010-04-05T23:59:14Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > For all the bad things that can be said about simplly lying, at least it promotes a world view that is consistent with itself. When you can’t even keep your own story straight, you’ve sunken to a new low. Are you talking about the time the GOP said that the health care bill was awful because federal involvement in health care was the worst thing imaginable and because it would weaken medicare? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/32 "2010-04-06T00:04:18Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Are you talking about the time the GOP said that the health care bill was awful because federal involvement in health care was the worst thing imaginable and because it would weaken medicare? The GOP isn’t known for being entirely honest, but this Orwellian [doublethink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink) seems to be a recent development. “We’re at war with East Asia. We’ve ALWAYS been at war with East Asia.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/33 "2010-04-06T00:27:46Z")
Isn’t a maverick a freaking COW, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/34 "2010-04-06T00:33:21Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Isn’t a maverick a freaking COW, anyway? I tend to think of it as a card player, myself. Grandpa and his stupid westerns… ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/35 "2010-04-06T00:33:50Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > YES!! > > Arizona citizens are pretty stupid. They live in Arizona. Hey! …Fuck it, I can’t deny it. ☹ I’ve often said I would have voted for McCain had he won the 2000 primaries over Gore, but he seemed a different man back then than he did in 2008 and after. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/36 "2010-04-06T00:40:27Z")
McCain and Hayworth are really competing for that Republican nomination. The way this race has been going it appears lying to your base polls really well in the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/37 "2010-04-06T00:40:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I tend to think of it as a card player, myself. Grandpa and his stupid westerns… \*“Grandpa”!? \* Get off my LAN! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/38 "2010-04-06T00:42:57Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Isn’t a maverick a freaking COW, anyway? Unbranded range animal-steer, calf or cow. I’ll bet he is branded-The Frozen C. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/39 "2010-04-06T00:49:46Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > …Fuck it, I can’t deny it. ☹ On the bright side, Arizona is no Texas! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072/40 "2010-04-06T00:52:26Z")
He’ll announce that he’s suspending his campaign any day now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-says-hes-not-a-maverick-never-was-one/535072.md?page=3)