Alleviate me of my ignorance.
Is it just his views on campaign finance and immigration? (As far as I know, these are the only two issues which tend to separate McCain from other republicans. On social and fiscal issues in general, as far as I know, he’s as conservative as they come.)
Or is it only one of these?
Or something else?
Or all of the above?
-FrL-
I think it’s mainly because he does not always toe the party line and is willing to work with Democrats to get things done. But the policy difference do play a role, as they are things that many die-hard conservatives are passionate about-- taxes. Still, the Limbaughs of this world want Republicans to oppose Democrats at every possible juncture-- to never give an inch and to offer no quarter.
Fact is, though, McCain is a solid conservative. He’s just not a mindless hack.
The McCain-Feingold campaign finance fiasco and his views on immigration are two of the big issues but there have been other times when he has stepped over to the other side of the fence as well. IMHO, he has done so so many times he has created a trust issue amongst the hard core conservatives.
It is my understanding that, in addition to other conservative heresies, he is disliked because he has dared to work with Democrats to craft compromise legislation. Apparently, if you cross the aisle and co-sponsor a piece of legislation with a liberal like Ted Kennedy, it makes you a traitor to the principles of the Right.
The conservative echo chamber has a vested interest in perpetuating a polarized political system, and they work hard to demonize anyone who reaches out to the other side to actually get something done. I think this will backfire on them in this election cycle, as there is a growing opinion that the gridlock produced by rigid political dogma is one of the things that the voters want to Change.
I know some who consider him a grand-stander. And his previous endless references to “Straight Talk” sometimes made him come across as Jesus Christ bringing The Truth down from heaven.
He is also as beloved by the media as any Republican could be and – knowing that the media voted 90%+ for Dems in recent elections, this is no endorsement. That the media’s endorsement of him is qualified (“He’s not bad, for a Republican”) (the NYT noted his monomaniacal amnesty efforts and collaboration with Kennedy, but hastened to add “Of course, this does not make him a moderate” – but then in their world, the only “moderates” are super-liberals and everyone else is “far right”).
Finally, movement conservatives have a fear bordering on paranoia of candidates whose conservatism is not solidly grounded or who may court the favor of the elites by “steering a middle [read liberal] course.” Historically this fear is based on (a) G.H.W.B. and his reversal on taxes, his softness on social issues, etc.; and (b) Souter, Kennedy, O’Conner, and other allegedly “conservative” judicial appointments who later “grew in office.”
Word.
Reminds me of how Lieberman was treated around here by many on the left during the last election cycle.
Well, to be fair, Lieberman brought some of that on himself by leaving the Democratic party to run as an independent after losing the primary. McCain has never gone that far.
Well, to be fair, he was also treated that way before he ran as an independent.
Well, to be even more fair, the hatred and distrust of Lieberman was established on the political left well before he ran for reelection. He wouldn’t have drawn a primary challenge otherwise.
Jinx!
Like when Gore chose him to be his VP? That kind of treatment?
Don’t play dumb. You know the timeline.
I think they mean after Lieberman came out for the war.
The problem isn’t per se that McCain compromised. Better and worse men than he have done so in the past and not been excoriated for it. McCain’s just full of himself enough that he has a bad habit of insulting the line he just crossed however, often on pretty thin grounds, or no grounds at all. He’s not really a maverick, as he’s actuall quite conservative. But his habit of jumping ship to side with the Democrats and making a fuss about it while directing snide comments toward the Repuiblicans has earned him a LOT of ire. I never thought he’d get this far, simply because he’s made so many enemies over the years.
Lieberman made it a regular habit to slam Democrats for not supporting Bush’s Iraq fiasco and the war on terror. And not in a constructive, “I respectfully disagree” kind of way; he was parrotting RNC talking points and gleefully reinforcing the notion that Democrats were weak on defense. There were times when Lieberman spoke and you could see Karl Rove’s lips move.
In a two-party system, whenever someone portrays himself as straddling the middle, he can be seen either as a uniter, or as a self-aggrandizing showboat trying to be all things to all men.
Remember Jeffords Hamlet-like keeping-them-in-suspense (and almost certainly feigned) agonizing before he left the GOP? The GOP does, and it’s not irrelevant that recent stories have claimed that McCain himself gave thought to a highly-visible aisle-crossing (the story goes that he was ready to do it but the Dems didn’t realize this and never thought to extend the invite).
And that’s what conservatives see McCain as doing, except on the issues that are important to them.
Another part of it is that a lot of conservatives feel betrayed by President Bush, the Republican leadership and the Republican establishment, and they see McCain as the candidate of the establishment. There’s the attitude that Bush betrayed them on immigration, betrayed them on education with No Child Left Behind and won’t fight for conservative ideas…he gave up on Social Security reform, he hasn’t been attacking the left hard enough on their opposition to the war, etc. So right now, they’re pissed off at the Republican party leadership in Washington, who they see as having sold out to the left, and they see McCain as part of that Washington establishment.
He has also spoken out of both sides of his mouth on gun control, another huge core issue. I absolutely do not trust McCain, I positively do not like McCain. He will not get my vote in either the primary nor the general election. If that makes Hillary or Obama President, so be it!
That will change when he gets the nomination.
You hit on a key point with him being a part of the current Republican Party establishment that the conservative voters feel scuttled their desire for change.