# McCain and Chaffee To Become Democrats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 19, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-and-chaffee-to-become-democrats/137630 "2002-11-19T22:44:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-and-chaffee-to-become-democrats/137630/61 "2002-11-21T20:02:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, we know not to take your interpretation of the political spectrum seriously. Why? Because I pointed out that McCain tends to be fairly centrist for a Republican, and Wellstone was about as far left as you can get without channeling Karl Marx? They both appear to be principled, but they also both appear to be very leftist - and I don’t think there’s a connection there, FWIW. > [@](#): > > You mean, like Sens. Richard Shelby and Ben Nighthorse Campbell? Not to familiar with their scenarios. If it was anything like Jeffords, then yes, it was a dishonest way to go about it. I’m all for dems coming into the light (insert 😉 here), but when people vote in a Democrat, a good many of them are considering the democratic alliance to be an important part of the equation, independent of specific views that candidate may have. Whether or not that’s a good way to vote is irrelevant - it’s a way of life, and as such a politician switching teams mid-term is dishonest. The existence of hypocricy on the part of dems and pubs on the matter is immaterial. Jeff ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-and-chaffee-to-become-democrats/137630/62 "2002-11-21T22:45:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElJeffe \* > They both appear to be principled, but they also both appear to be very leftist Well, we can tell how skewed your political spectrum is…Apparently the ACU is a very leftist organization?!? Just in case you missed it, here is the quote of the [Washington Times article](http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020519-98623680.htm) that **IzzyR** posted earlier in the thread: > [@](#): > > To understand why, merely consider how Mr. McCain might appeal to the Democrats’ traditional allies. The pro-choice crowd will not appreciate Mr. McCain’s career-long opposition to abortion. The trial lawyers will not like his votes to limit product-liability damage awards and to reform product-liability litigation. Mr. McCain has been one of the Senate’s staunchest free traders, which included his votes to ratify NAFTA and to grant Permanent Normal Trading Relations to China. Labor will be further upset by the fact that Mr. McCain is just as likely to receive a zero rating from the AFL-CIO for his votes as he is to receive a 100 rating from the Chamber of Commerce. While Mr. McCain recently voted against oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it will hardly make up for the zero ratings the League of Conservation Voters gave him in 1998 and 2000. Remember when Michael Dukakis successfully campaigned for the 1988 Democratic nomination in part by claiming to be “a card-carrying member of the ACLU”? Well, Mr. McCain earned a goose egg from the American Civil Liberties Union for his 1999-2000 voting record. On the national security front, Mr. McCain strongly supports a national missile defense system; and he voted against ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Oh, he opposes affirmative action. And, in 2000, he voted against broadening coverage of federal hate crimes… > > To get yet another perspective of Mr. McCain’s politics, consider the annual voting ratings that the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the American Conservative Union (ACU) gave to the Arizona Republican from 1991 through 2000. The ADA average annual rating was a paltry 8.5 percent. Meanwhile, the average annual rating from the ACU was a robust 85 percent. And, for all the rebellious votes Mr. McCain cast last year, it remains true, according to Congressional Quarterly, that he still supported the position of President Bush on 91 percent of his votes, a level of support that was significantly higher than the support the president received from any Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-and-chaffee-to-become-democrats/137630/63 "2002-11-22T17:32:11Z")
**Zell Miller** won’t switch parties, but what he _might_ do (and there has been talk of this in the Atlanta paper) is surrender his seat to accept an appointed position in the Bush administration. Republican Georgia governor Sonny Perdue would then fill Miller’s seat with a Republican appointee. Advantage, Republicans. (Dang it!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-and-chaffee-to-become-democrats/137630.md?page=3)