Introduction:
[Copied from the main RINO page, and trimmed slightly.]

Unfortunately, instead of the two major parties competing with each other in the marketplace of ideas, in debates over liberty versus dependency and freedom versus tyranny, the lines have been blurred and the two political parties often appear to masquerade as each other.  Democrats sound like conservatives when they're campaigning for office, and Republicans act like big-government liberals once they're elected.  This annoys a lot of people and leads to disillusioned and apathetic voters who see very little difference between the two parties.

Democrats who are just too conservative to be called Democrats are called centrists or Blue Dogs, but Republicans who play on both sides of the fence are derisively called RINOs — Republicans in Name Only.  I do not understand why left-leaning RINOs are allowed to call themselves Republicans and use the party's resources to get elected.  The RINOs want the Republicans to boast about their "Big Tent", which can include numerous divergent viewpoints.  I take the opposite view:  The lefists and centrists should get with the conservative program or get out.  If you support same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, abortion, high taxes, and a multi-billion dollar welfare state, you'll be (or you should be) much more comfortable in the Democrat party.

Republicans who have voted for indefinite detention of American citizens without trial, or for the Patriot Act, the START Treaty, Planned Parenthood, Common Core, any kind of gun control, cap and trade, raising the debt ceiling, 1.6-gallon toilets, fluorescent light bulbs, solar panels, windmills, restrictions on oil and gas drilling, or any other impediment to free enterprise and individual liberty, are those who deserve the title of RINO.

Senator John McCain

The Editor says...
Senator McCain might have won the 2008 election if he had run as a Democrat.  He is a much-too-permanent fixture in Washington and intends to stay there indefinitely, which requires his constant opposition to those who would rock the boat.  For indeed, the boat is quite comfortable.  In 2008, Senator McCain (in my opinion) failed to demonstrate that he wanted the job of President.  If he had aggressively sought that position, he would have pointed out some of Barack H. Obama's many obvious flaws.  But he was reluctant to do so because he had spent the previous several years "reaching across the aisle" and making deals with his friends in the other (half of the same) party.  If you're not going to point out your opponent's known flaws — birth certificate, Jeremiah Wright, missing college transcripts, noncommittal voting record, pro-communist upbringing, Muslim roots, inexperience — then step aside and let somebody else do it.

[The] McCain Library [will be] Built With $83M in COVID 'Public Health Emergency' Money.  Biden paid a visit to Arizona to claim that everyone who opposes him is a threat to democracy, to brag about encouraging former Senator McCain to cheat on his disabled first wife, and to announce $83 million in taxpayer money for the John McCain National Library.  The 80,000-square-foot library built on 22.5 acres at Arizona State Universe will archive McCain's papers and claims, implausibly, that it will have over 100,000 visitors a year.  Politicians stealing taxpayer money to build useless monuments to each other's vanity is nothing new, but what is unusual is the source of the money for the McCain library.  The Biden administration put out a press release announcing that the $83 million in federal funds for the McCain Library were being drawn from the American Rescue Plan's Capital Projects Fund.  The full name of the fund is actually the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund.  The Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund consisted of $10 billion that was supposed to "directly support recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency" in response "to the public health emergency".  Now nearly 1% of that original $10 billion is being used to build a non-presidential library that will somehow help us "recover" from the pandemic.

No Books.  No Money. Just the Truth.  Let us start at the beginning:  Senator John McCain turned a blind eye to the dealings of his top adviser, Rick Davis, who was making millions of dollars with his partner, Paul Manafort.  Manafort was advancing the interests of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe.  They worked for the Putin puppet Victor Yanukovych and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.  They advanced Russian interests from the Maidan to Montenegro.  John McCain spent his 70th birthday with Oleg Deripaska and Rick Davis on a Russian yacht at anchor in Montenegro.  Why would Senator McCain tolerate such behavior?  The answer can be found in [a] New York Times article from February 21, 2008, written by Jim Rutenberg, Marilyn W. Thompson, David D. Kirkpatrick and Stephen Labaton.  I had the opportunity to privately apologize to Jim Rutenberg several years ago.  Before continuing, I would like to apologize to the journalists whose bylines appear on the story.  Their credibility, integrity and professionalism were unfairly attacked by the McCain campaign of which I was a part of.  I got it wrong.

To the MSM, John McCain Was a Maverick.  Joe Manchin Is an Obstacle.  Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has found himself in the hot seat after announcing he wouldn't support Build Back Better, President Joe Biden's ambitious climate and social spending bill.  His colleagues in the Senate said he didn't have "the courage to do the right thing," and members of the House called the rationale for his vote "a farce."  News outlets reported on Manchin's "betrayal" and questioned his status as a moderate.  Some reporters leapt to Twitter to cry out that Manchin's decision was "objectively devastating" for the planet.  But it wasn't so long ago that a senator bucking his party and his president was greeted by the press in a much different way.  Former senator John McCain of Arizona cast perhaps his most famous vote in 2017, torpedoing the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare.  This was an effort the GOP had made the centerpiece of its 2016 election strategy, and McCain's thumbs-down was a deliberate middle finger to his own party.

Cindy McCain Completes Her Grift.  You'll likely recall the late John McCain's wife, Cindy McCain, as a very outspoken individual during Donald Trump's presidency.  For example, she took a special interest in Syria and the plight of refugees there along with generally criticizing the former president's foreign policy moves.  Later, she would endorse Joe Biden, claiming principle and a false story from The Atlantic as her reasons.  Following Biden's inauguration, in what I'm assured was a total coincidence, McCain was then offered an ambassadorship at the United Nations.  But while that give and take already reeked of a political payoff, it was what happened after the nomination that really cemented the grift. [...] Cindy McCain is now in a political position, appointed by the current president.  Any assertions that she's off-limits for criticism are ludicrous.

Jeff Flake, Cindy McCain confirmed to diplomatic posts on same day.  The U.S. Senate confirmed Cindy McCain and former Sen. Jeff Flake to diplomatic posts Tuesday [10/26/2021], formalizing their roles in the administration of President Joe Biden, a man they helped put in the White House.  Flake and McCain are Arizona Republicans who separately helped send the message to moderates in their party that they could support Biden over then-President Donald Trump.

Report: Biden Is About to Nominate Cindy McCain for a Coveted Position.  Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is in line for an ambassador position in the Biden administration, according to a new report. [...] According to Politico, McCain will now be named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations World Food Programme.  The agency is based in Rome.  McCain, 66, previously worked to fight world hunger and human trafficking as the chair of the board of trustees for the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University.  McCain was also a member of Biden's transition team.  Earlier speculation indicated she could be named the administration's ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to Axios.

After This Latest Stunt, Cindy McCain Has "Transitioned" Into a Full-Blown Progressive Communist.  Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ), went on MSNBC on Monday [3/8/2021] to say that it was "ridiculous" how outraged Republicans were over six books written by Dr. Seuss being canceled from publication.  She also said that the Republican Party must stop pushing "fear and anger and hate."

Raising hell in Arizona.  Outsiders around the country wonder how the Arizona GOP has fallen so hard and how much farther it has yet to go.  It hasn't reached bottom but is closing in fast.  What isn't as commonly known is that the state organization has been at war with itself for decades.  It began around 2000 with the McCain machine against a grassroots insurgency.  John McCain won the seat previously held by Sen. Goldwater himself, despite the former Navy pilot and POW having no ties to the state.  After working on Capitol Hill, McCain married a Phoenix heiress, moved to Arizona, and spent two terms in the House of Representatives, positioning himself to win the Senate seat in a landslide.  By the late '90s, McCain had built a powerful network of business leaders, wealthy donors, and political loyalists.  His equally powerful media savvy and constituent services turned him into a kingmaker.

Cindy McCain is censured by county GOP in Arizona.  Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain, was censured Saturday [1/9/2021] by the Maricopa County Republican Party in Arizona after she supported President-elect Joe Biden in the fall.  The resolution, which referred to her as a "troubled individual" who supported "leftist causes," was passed by a committee vote, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper.  "I am a proud lifelong Republican and will continue to support candidates who put country over party and stand for the rule of law," Cindy McCain, 66, tweeted in response to the reprimand.

The Editor says...
Joe Biden is perhaps the most corrupt and venal candidate to run for U.S. President since Lyndon B. Johnson.  Anyone who has been paying attention for the last six months knows that Biden is not someone who will "stand for the rule of law."

Cindy McCain on Biden win: 'I think my husband would be very pleased'.  Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), said in a new interview that she believes that her husband would be "very pleased" that President-elect Joe Biden won the race for the White House against President Trump.  "I think my husband would be very pleased," Cindy McCain, who endorsed Biden and is serving as part of his transition team, told CNN late Monday [11/9/2020].  "We were good friends with the Bidens," she added.  "And I just know he is looking down and going, 'You did the right thing.'"

Rigged: The Chairman of the Presidential Debate Commission is Co-Founder of "Color Revolution" Org Linked to Steele Dossier and More.  From the failed Chris Wallace-Biden tag-team attempt against Trump, to biased moderator Susan Page's shrill interruptions of Vice President Pence, to the Presidential Debate Commission's ridiculous and politically motivated effort to force a "virtual debate" on Biden's behalf, patriotic Americans have caught on to the fact that there is something deeply unfair about the presidential debates.  This clear bias has justifiably led many observers to wonder what is wrong with the Presidential Debate Commission.  Just yesterday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called out the Commission directly:  [Tweet]  Kayleigh's characterization of the Commission is of course correct.  However, its corruption and bias goes beyond the simple fact that it's in the tank for Joe Biden.  The nominally Republican Chairman of Presidential Debate Commission, Frank Fahrenkopf, is both a co-founder and current board member of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a top "Color Revolution" propaganda outfit.  The IRI was run by Never Trump neoconservative John McCain for decades.  It is closely linked to the thoroughly discredited Steele Dossier at the center of the Russia Hoax.

Cindy McCain Endorses Joe Biden — Nobody Could've Seen That One Coming!  Reuters put out a "breaking" report last night reporting the fact that Cindy McCain, the vain, grasping 2nd wife of the dead John McCain, is — gasp! — not going to endorse President Donald Trump for re-election!  Who could have possibly seen that one coming?

Joe Biden, 2008: John McCain an 'Angry Man', a 'Sidekick,' a Coward.  Former Vice President Joe Biden is touting the endorsement of Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Biden claimed Monday — falsely — that President Donald Trump had disparaged soldiers as "suckers" and "losers."  Biden actually said far worse about McCain while he was still alive, and the two were on opposing sides in the 2008 election.  After the McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, pointed out then-Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) ties to unrepentant former domestic terrorist William Ayers, then-Sen. Biden (D-DE) attacked McCain as a coward who would not dare say that to Obama directly.  "In my neighborhood where I came from if you got something to say to a man, look him in the eye and say it," Biden said.

Cindy McCain endorses Biden for president in rebuke of Trump.  Cindy McCain endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president Tuesday in a rebuke of President Donald Trump by the widow of the GOP's 2008 nominee.  Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain's family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign.  But the McCains have until now stopped short of endorsing Trump's rivals.

We're in a Fight to Preserve Western Civilization and You Don't Do That by Losing.  [Scroll down]  Up until Donald Trump the Republican Party never looked at itself as something that was designed to win.  It was supposed to lose.  Lose with honor.  If it lost, which was going to happen because we're the minority party, this is what the people that led the party believed.  This is what the Romneys and the McCains, you know, this group of people that led the Republican Party, their belief was — like McCain knew he wasn't gonna be elected president.  That's not why he ran.  He ran to put it on the resume.  He ran to make sure that his life and his resume were complete.  He wanted the honor of having started out John McCain, son of John McCain, goes to Annapolis, serves in Vietnam, shot down, Hanoi Hilton, all that, caps it off by running for president.  He knew he gonna lose, especially after he shut down his campaign in the middle of the financial crisis.  Expected to lose.  Romney expected to lose.  They didn't really think they were gonna win.  But losing with honor, losing with good manners, losing in such a way that the left and the Democrats still respect you in the morning was the objective.

All The Republicans Who Have Endorsed Joe Biden For President.  Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain and mother of The View host Meghan McCain (who also endorsed Biden) narrated a video for the Democratic convention detailing her late husband's "unlikely friendship" with Biden.

Cindy McCain details husband's friendship with Biden for DNC.  Cindy McCain is going to bat for Joe Biden, lending her voice to a video set to air during Tuesday night's [8/18/2020] Democratic National Convention programming focused on Biden's close friendship with her late husband, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

America in the 21st Century: 20 Long Years of Constant Brainwashing.  [Scroll down]  These media/government brainwashing campaigns are nothing new, of course.  Hell, they've been carrying out a similar campaign related to "climate change" for the last 20 years, creating a global leftist religious cult in the process.  They ran a massive campaign in 2008 designed to convince America that it was in fact obligated to elect Barack Obama because he was black.  It worked, helped along by a traitorous Republican who intentionally tanked his own campaign.  It worked again in 2012 thanks largely to the same dynamic.  For four long years, corrupt media outlets like the New York Times coordinated with the Democrats and many swampy Republicans like Paul Ryan and John McCain on a campaign to convince you that the "Russia Collusion" fantasy was in fact a real thing.  It wasn't, as Rod Rosenstein formally admitted multiple times under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday; but hey, they're still at it anyway.

Obamagate: Of Course It Comes Back to Obama's Narcissism.  [Scroll down]  And don't forget Hillary, the creator of the Russia collusion hoax narrative.  After her ignominious fit-throwing evening where she didn't have the decency to face her supporters, she immediately began a string of confabulation to justify her loss.  She had to find a boogey man to avoid any blame for a winnable election.  It was her DNC and her dossier, via John McCain to the FBI, that got the ball officially rolling.  Fusion GPS (former reporters who had lots of media connections), the FBI and DOJ, and, we learned this week, President Obama himself all knew about this nonsense because of their surveillance of Flynn.  John McCain was just either the willing dupe or was in on the drive to destabilize the Trump presidency at the beginning.

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this scandal is worse than Watergate by orders of magnitude.  People active on the federal payroll conspired to attempt the overthrow of the Trump administration before Trump had even taken office.  The infamous "Steele dossier" was commissioned by a company called Fusion GPS, hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign to dig up dirt on Donald Trump and call it opposition research.  Literally, a couple of guys getting drunk in a bar made up a bunch of absurd, salacious nonsense [...] that only a mindless twit would ever believe.  Fortunately, the conspirators could count on John McCain to get a copy of this farcical "research" document and pass it along to James Comey at the FBI, who was more than happy to knowingly receive utter garbage in the form of uncorroborated opposition research from a political campaign and then turn around and use it as the foundation to spy on President-Elect Donald Trump.

The ceaseless sadness of Meghan 'My Father' McCain.  'Everyone on both sides of the media class — stop using my deceased father for political points and cheap shots,' Meghan McCain declared on Twitter this week.  'It is painful.  It is traumatizing.  And it is perverted.  Let us all grieve and try and move on in peace!'  Well, as much as everyone would love to move on — it's been nearly two years, after all — Meghan won't let us.

Things I have learned from genuine, honest journalists and other Democrats.  As I have gotten older, I have been enlightened about so many things from honest, genuine, conscience-driven journalists and other Democrats.  Of course, to accept what I have learned, I had to check my common sense at the door.  I learned in 2008 that McCain was a despicable racist who would be a terrible President.  Later, I learned how beloved, smart and honest he was as long as he was trashing Trump.  He was deeply respected when he died and had been in high demand by genuine journalists who only care about the truth.

We dodged a bullet with Romney.  [Scroll down]  Remember McCain, or as I refer to him, McStain, when he would tell his constituency everything they wanted to hear, like when he went to the border and demanded the fence be built, then went about the process of blocking all attempts to fund it?  McStain was a leftist plant decades back, like a cancer wearing the flag of it's host and hiding in plain sight.  It's politics, sadly people that enter into it have no interest in doing the work for the will of the people.  They campaigned to the Right to get elected, then went against all they promised.  Don't get me wrong, there are good people in the party, it's just that the leftist Establishment holds all the key positions and money to keep the Conservative from having a voice.

McCain apparently funneled Steele data to Comey.  We've now learned that after Steele was fired by the FBI as a source due to unreliability John McCain apparently funneled that Steele data to Mr. Comey.  This was not, as previously reported, a singular event:  The IG report documents that McCain passed five additional reports that the FBI had not previously seen from Steele to Comey, all of which were sourced through Fusion GPS which is the firm that Hillary Clinton hired to dig up dirt on Trump.  While McCain may not have known that Steele had been fired Comey certainly did.  Folks, partisan and political animus is nothing new, as I've repeatedly reported.  However, to use the gun-toting federal police force as a means to unlawfully tamper with evidence, commit perjury before a court in order to obtain surveillance warrants and for Comey to apparently circumvent the fact that the FBI had previously found Steele unreliable and had fired him by means of obtaining further information via John McCain is outrageous.

IG Report Reveals Steele Funneled Claims Through John McCain After FBI Dropped Him.  Late Senator John McCain provided disgraced former FBI chief James Comey with five separate reports from Christopher Steele that the FBI didn't previously possess related to unsubstantiated allegations of collusion between Russia and President Trump's 2016 campaign, the Justice Department's recent Inspector General report revealed.  There have long been questions about why it was necessary for McCain to pass Steele's anti-Trump dossier to Comey on December 9, 2016, several weeks after the November 2016 presidential election.  By then, Steele had already met numerous times with FBI agents to provide them with his controversial reports.

Democrats Gush Over John McCain at Debate when Asked to Name 'Surprise' Friend.  Democrats cited Sen. John McCain as one of their "unlikely" friends when asked to name someone by CNN during the 2020 presidential debate on Tuesday [10/15/2019].  "For me, it's John McCain, and I miss him every day," Sen. Amy Klobuchar said.  "I traveled all over the world with him."  Klobuchar recalled McCain standing up for her chance to speak when they were in groups of world leaders.  Bernie Sanders also cited McCain, recalling his time working with the Republican senator on Veterans Affairs.

The Editor says...
John McCain's biggest fans were Democrats, when he was in the Senate, and that continues to this day.  That says a lot about Mr. McCain.

Pete Buttigieg:  GOP 'poorer as a party' without John McCain.  Presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg praised late Sen. John McCain Sunday [8/25/2019] on the first anniversary of his passing, adding Republicans are "poorer as a party" without his presence.

John McCain recited names of dictators during Trump's inauguration ceremony, according to Amy Klobuchar.  Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the late Sen. John McCain compared President Donald Trump to notable dictators aloud during the president's 2017 inauguration ceremony.  Speaking in Iowa on a campaign stop ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Klobuchar said she was seated next to Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders and longtime Republican McCain, who "knew more than any of us what we were facing as a nation."

Why McCain still stinks.  We usually allow the dead to rest in peace because they no longer can defend themselves.  But by using his funeral to get one last lick in on his opponents — Republicans — John McCain relinquished any claim to such decency.

McCain Institute cozies up to Qatar front groups.  Cindy McCain, the widow of deceased Republican Sen. John McCain, and the McCain Institute have continued to cozy up to two shadowy front groups that work to advance the interests of a theocratic Middle Eastern regime.  Over the past few years, Mrs. McCain and the McCain Institute have ramped up partnerships on many fronts with the Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), which describes itself as an "independent coalition aiming to reform the integrity and governance of sport," and its founder, the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), which claims to have similar goals.

A John McCain Anecdote.  I've never told this story before but I was deployed to Guantanamo Bay when McCain came down in 2013 and was asked to give him a briefing as part of his review[.]  For obvious reasons I cannot dicuss the content of the briefing as it was a national security matter[.]  But I can discuss McCain's demeanor[.]

Here's Why Donald Trump Still Does Not Like John McCain.  President Donald Trump explained why he did not like the late Senator John McCain, listing reasons why on Wednesday after taking the stage at an Ohio battle tank factory.  Trump asked the hundreds of gathered employees if he should talk about his ongoing feud with the deceased senator.  After several of the employees shouted "Yes!" Trump continued, "I have to be honest.  I never liked him much.  Hasn't been for me.  I really probably never will."

Lou Dobbs Defends Trump Against GOP Critics Over McCain Comments.  Fox Business host Lou Dobbs criticized Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and other Republican critics of President Donald Trump's latest comments about late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain.  Speaking with former Reagan's campaign director Ed Rollins on Wednesday evening about the president's recent positive polling within the Republican Party, Dobbs gave GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel "great credit" before ripping Trump's GOP critics.

McCain's Key Role in Fueling Post-Election Trump-Russia Hysteria.  In his 2018 book, The Restless Wave, the late Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) wondered aloud why he was sought out and given the infamous Steele dossier shortly after the 2016 presidential election. [...] It is true that McCain was an outspoken critic of Putin.  But the big problem with McCain's defense is that by the time he wrote those words — presumably the end of 2017, since the book was published in late May 2018 — it already was public knowledge that the dossier had been authored and distributed by political pimps funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.  When McCain was writing his book, many of the culprits were in serious legal jeopardy.

Donna Brazile Trashed John McCain While He Was Alive; Now She's His Biggest Fan.  Former interim Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile was full of posthumous praise for the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Wednesday's edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier.  The context was President Trump's renewed criticism of McCain after a newly-released deposition showed how deeply McCain was involved in the fraudulent "Russia dossier" that has been used to attack the administration and divide the nation.  Brazile, who Fox News recently hired as a contributor, began by criticizing the president for speaking ill of the dead.

Court files reveal role of McCain, aide in spreading anti-Trump dossier.  Newly unsealed court filings show the office of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., shared with the FBI and a host of media outlets the unverified dossier that alleged the Russians had compromising information on now-President Trump.  McCain had denied being the source for BuzzFeed after it published the dossier, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, but had acknowledged giving it to the FBI.  In a newly unsealed declaration from September, former senior counterintelligence FBI agent Bill Priestap confirmed that the FBI received a copy of the first 33 pages of the dossier in December 2016 from McCain.

Michelle Malkin denounces 'the ghost of John McCain' at CPAC.  Michelle Malkin, a conservative blogger and commentator, blasted deceased Sen. John McCain in an anti-immigration speech she gave Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.  "And yes, I'm looking at you, the ghost of John McCain," Malkin said to a standing ovation after blaming GOP party leadership, including former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for not dealing with what she described as an immigration crisis.  McCain, who was a senator of a border state, advocated for compromises on border security which included more fencing but also a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and a beefed up foreign-worker program.  Malkin took aim not just at illegal immigration but also the H-1B visa program which brings in foreign high-skilled workers.

Meghan McCain:  I Hate America Without My Father's Leadership.  Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC's The View and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), told CNN's Van Jones in an interview broadcast Saturday that she hates the United States without her father's leadership.

The Editor says...
Maybe you should leave, Meghan!  I sure wish I had known it was your father who kept the whole country afloat.  You'd be much happier in Cuba, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe.

Meghan McCain says she no longer calls herself a Republican, cites Trump's influence on [the] party.  Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, said Saturday that she no longer calls herself a Republican because the party is "so tied up with being for" President Donald Trump.  McCain, 34, made the comments during an appearance on CNN's "The Van Jones Show."  She qualified that she is still a member of the Republican Party, and still holds conservative views but lamented what she sees as the president's stranglehold on Republicans.

The Editor says...
Anyone who "holds conservative views" would not appear on television next to Van Jones.

John McCain's family turns on Martha McSally.  [Scroll down]  What I can't help but wonder is why anyone cares what the McCain family thinks.  But, then again, this is Arizona, the state that kept electing McCain, who was a nasty vindictive man right to the end.  A man who over and over again betrayed every conservative principle and so many fellow Republicans.

Classy Bush Funeral Reminds Us of Just How Awful the McCain Family Is.  [Scroll down]  By far, the worst part of McCain's going-away grudgefest was the clown show of audacious hypocrisy, the slathering sanctimony found in a theme that begged for us to go back to the good old days when people were civil with one another — and yet, all of this tripe about "civility" was coming from those who used a war hero's funeral to snub and bash everyone who is not a member of their elitist establishment club — including, unforgivably, the president of the United States.  The catty, childish snubbing of the president is unforgivable, not because Donald Trump was snubbed, but because the office of the presidency was snubbed.

John McCain's family gets hefty taxpayer-funded 'death gratuity' after week-long funeral extravaganza.  For American taxpayers, John McCain's six-term senate career is the "gift" that keeps on taking.  A $174,000 "death gratuity" will be paid to Senator McCain's family, in keeping with a longstanding tradition of giving a year's salary to a departed lawmaker's next of kin.  The $174,000 gratuity will be tacked onto the next federal appropriations bill for taxpayers to bankroll, Roll Call reported.  While the practice is nothing new, it raised eyebrows because John McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, is a wealthy heiress whose net worth reportedly tops $100 million.  Cindy inherited the chairmanship and majority control of Hensley & Co., one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the United States, upon her dad's death in 2000.

The Maverick is Dead, Long Live the Maverick.  In September 2008, the major houses on Wall Street were failing, and President George W. Bush embarked on the largest government program ever to bail them out.  It smacked of socialism, a very nice word for it, because not even a French intellectual could have thought this one up. [...] When the whole thing collapsed, they then turned to President Bush for a bailout.  It was a crisis ready-made for a maverick.  Turn on Bush and Wall Street and failed government policies and say to the people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin that they should not pay a cent to bail out bankers.  Those voters wanted to like McCain anyway because of his war record.  But, no!  The "Maverick" fully supported the bailout, grumbling only that Andrew Cuomo should be put in charge to make it bipartisan.  That was the moment the deplorables started to feel ripped off.

The Circus of Resistance.  [Scroll down]  Anonymous finishes with an encomium to John McCain, whose politicized and unfortunate funeral we have just witnessed, and the likes of which we have not seen since the travesty of Paul Wellstone's own hijacked services 16 years ago.  Tragically, the McCain funeral speeches most certainly should not serve as model of how to honor a distinguished U.S. senator in the future.  McCain's final deification by his erstwhile critics and enemies was mostly a result of his own bitter feud with Donald Trump that in his 11th hour sanctified him to those who had earlier smeared him as a libertine and reckless in 2000 — and vilified him in 2008 as a near-demented racist.  In sum, in death McCain was transmogrified into angelic status by the very architects who in life were responsible for his demonization.

When funerals become politics.  Mr. McCain and President Trump were hardly friends.  During the 2016 election, Mr. Trump had in crude fashion impugned Mr. McCain's stellar military service, which included a horrific five-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war in a dank North Vietnamese prison.  For his part, Mr. McCain had earlier cruelly called Trump supporters "crazies."  Later he helped to bring the largely discredited anti-Trump Fusion/GPS dossier to the attention of federal authorities.  And he flipped on Obamacare to cast the deciding vote that defeated Mr. Trump's effort to repeal and replace it.  That McCain-Trump discord soon became thematic in the funeral eulogies.

The Kitchen Sink and John McCain.  In short, the McCain funeral had nothing to do with the deceased.  If it had, the organizers would not have made a point of excluding Sarah Palin, who had given the inept McCain his only chance of winning the presidency in 2008, and had remained personally loyal to him despite political differences.  But the whole point of the exercise was to stand together, throwing dirt on those such as Palin, extra ecclesia, nulla salus.  Those who respectability must stand with us against them.  By the same token, the weeklong commentary praised McCain chiefly by imputing all manner of evil to Donald Trump and inferring that McCain represented the opposite.  This had the added convenience of sidestepping John McCain's seamy reality.

The McCain Funeral Marked the End of an Era for the Globalist War Party.  Perhaps the most revealing moment in the week-long media extravaganza over John McCain's death came on September 1, when Meghan McCain, daughter of the late senator, chose to use her "eulogy" to rip into Donald Trump. [...] Okay, we get it:  Ms. McCain hates Trump so much that she has to grit her teeth when she talks about him.  Trump and his supporters already knew that, of course.  And as an aside, we might note that the good news is that in making her hatred so evident, Ms. McCain surely kiboshed any chance that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey would appoint her to fill her father's senate seat, as some — even some who bill themselves as conservative — have suggested.

McCain's Friends and Family Did Him No Honor.  Henry Kissinger, who by his eloquence and experience must be the world's greatest eulogist since Bossuet, confined himself to Senator McCain's bravery as a naval aviator and prisoner of war, and scion of a family of admirals.  His remarks were entirely appropriate. [...] But the recourse by President Obama and Senator McCain's daughter to clearly hostile references to the incumbent president (who had facilitated the protracted funeral week with official favors) were in appalling taste.  There was what amounted to an attempted hijack of the funeral of an authentic war hero and prominent senator, to convert it into an expression of anger and of contempt for the absent president.  This campaign was torqued up all week by the Trump-hating media, who then gave maximum play to the gratuitous shots of Obama and Meghan McCain.

McCain's former chief of staff considering Senate bid as Democrat.  John McCain's former chief of staff, Grant Woods, is considering running as a Democrat for the Senate, he told The Washington Post on Wednesday [9/5/2018].  McCain's recent death prompted Woods to consider running, he told the Post.  McCain died late last month after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.  Woods, a former Arizona attorney general, was among those who delivered a eulogy at McCain's funeral last week.

DC wants Meghan to inherit her father's Senate seat.  If you need proof that Washington needs to be drained and demolished, Tom Rogan provided it in his column in the Washington Examiner, "Meghan McCain would be a great Senate replacement for her father."  Rogan was born in the nation's capital and raised in London.  Perhaps he sees our Senate as a House of Lords.  He is not alone, unfortunately.  He wrote, "To be clear, Meghan McCain might not want to be a U.S. senator.  And that's fine, no one should ever face pressure to serve in public office unless in the situation of a national emergency.  But if McCain is open to replacing her father until a special election can be held in 2020, she would make a great conservative successor to her irreplaceable predecessor.  Seriously, Rogan thinks a pro-abortion supporter of the CIA's own Evan McMullin is a conservative.

Trump Bashing at McCain [and] Franklin Funerals [was] Truly Juvenile.  [Scroll down]  As for McCain, it's true Trump was way out of line attacking his military service, doubly so since Donald had none to offer of his own.  But McCain, whose vaunted maverick qualities often seemed motivated more by narcissism than policy, had more than got his own back on Trump.  His last minute vote to save Obamacare couldn't have been more generated by pique.  And, far worse, though still unclear, is the senator's role in the promulgation of the Steele Dossier.  That could, as information evolves, make McCain party to an attempted coup — not great for his historical record.  At the very least, he appears to have been a useful pawn, his Trump hatred easily exploited.

How much backlash will there be to the 8 days of McCainapalooza?  Yes, he was a brave war hero that endured years of brutal captivity in North Vietnam, and all of us honor that.  But as a politician, his main legislative legacy is a failed campaign finance act, one of those bipartisan feel-good efforts that backfired and made things worse.  So, how is it that his passing and a week's worth of scheduled events merited wall-to-wall coverage?  President Kennedy's assassination required two days of live coverage for the death and funeral.  I am hopeful that the Media Research Center will tabulate the total hours of coverage and compare it to the live coverage of events around the death of President Ronald Reagan.  My impression is that McCain received more hours.

How Our Vulgar Media and Political Elite Ruined Two Funerals.  Please do argue with me if you disagree, but if the media reports are true, was it not John McCain himself who set the childish tone with his mean-girl invite list?  Apparently, he spent eight months planning his own funeral, which was, to begin with, — am I allowed to say it? — just a tad ostentatious.  But to snub a sitting president, to snub Sarah Palin, his unfailingly loyal 2008 vice presidential running mate?  What was that other than petty and childish?

Two Funerals and a Missing Cardinal.  The Maverick's five-day funeral rites were reportedly planned in every detail by the departed and reflected his bitter, vindictive streak.  In particular, he disinvited Sarah Palin, his running mate in his unsuccessful run for the presidency, and the family made this gesture public.  To my mind, without her, his campaign would have been an even bigger failure.

Burying the Dead With Bile-Filled Histrionics.  The big news last week revolved around the funerals of a 1960s pop singer and an unreliable Republican senator with a cult following among masochistic conservatives and cynical leftists eager to capitalize on his capacity to spread dissension among his nominal allies.  I suppose the exploitation of funerals for grubby political ends is nothing new.  Mark Antony did it with notable success when he eulogized Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.  But there was something especially stomach-churning about the injection of partisan animus into the obsequies of Aretha Franklin and John McCain.

Next time, get your own plane.
Trump Approved Air Force 2 to Transport McCain Casket to DC — Then Family and Uniparty Elites Trashed Him at Funeral.  President Trump approved Air Force 2 to fly John McCain's casket to Washington D.C. at the request of McCain and his family, yet the DC elitists still turned the funeral into a Trump-bashing session.  This is further proof that nothing President Trump does to appease these people will ever get them to back down, even at a funeral.

Americans Disgusted With Hyper-Politicized McCain Funeral.  Americans were outraged Saturday [9/1/2018] after John McCain's funeral turned into a Trump bashing session.  Speaker after speaker, from Meghan McCain, to George W. Bush, to Barack Obama took turns to rip President Trump in words of anger.

Obama: 'I never tried to hide the admiration I had for John McCain'.  Barack Obama said being asked to speak at John McCain's funeral was a 'precious and singular honor', but joked he had worked out why he and Bush — his political opponents — had been asked.  'What a better way to get a last laugh than to get George and I to say nice things about him to a national audience,' he said, lightening an otherwise emotional tribute.  Obama and McCain were both in the race to become President in 2008, and though the democratic candidate won, the pair made headlines for how quickly they sat down after the election to find ways to work together.

The Editor says...
As usual, Mr. Obama tried to make the occasion all about him.

It was a Political Rally:  Entire Audience Applauded Meghan McCain's Vicious Attack Against President Trump.  This was a political rally.  The entire crowd at John McCain's funeral applauded his daughter's biting attack against President Trump and his supporters.

The Editor says...
At John McCain's funeral, his daughter said, "All that I am, all that I hope, all that I dream is grounded in what you taught me."  Really?  She was a speaker at the Log Cabin Republicans convention in 2009.  Wikipedia quotes her as saying, "I love punk rock. [...] I have a tattoo. [...] I have lots of gay friends."  All that is "grounded" in what John McCain taught her, she says.

John McCain, Party of One.  [Scroll down]  At its best, his devotion to enlightened honor showed his gift for genuine statesmanship, as when he famously corrected the woman who called President Obama an Arab during a television town hall meeting.  But from a modern political point of view, it proved a weakness.  McCain instinctively understood how a statesman was supposed to behave, but he never wore the duties of a factional leader with ease or understanding.  He was suited for national leadership, not partisan combat.  A fierce warrior for his country, he was uneasy being the same for his party.

Media's praise for McCain is warranted — but where was it in 2008?  Sen. John McCain's passing last weekend has dominated the news, particularly cable news, over the past week.  The life of the former prisoner of war and 2008 presidential candidate is certainly worthy of attention.  But the respect and honesty we're seeing from the 2018 media is a far cry from the Arizona Republican's treatment in 2008.  McCain was labeled as a racist, a get-off-my-lawn grouch with a divisive temper, someone whose health should be scrutinized because of his age.

Dole calls McCain 'my friend and my hero'.  Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kansas) reflected on his relationship with the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), calling the Senate icon "my friend and my hero" in an interview with CNN late Saturday [9/1/2018].  "I was his leader for 10 years when he first came to the Senate, and then I left in '96, but we had a special relationship," Dole said.  "I think we were the only two Republicans with a pretty bad disability."

Meghan McCain Unloads on President Trump at Father's Funeral.  It's no secret to Americans why the third most unpopular US senator is being heiled as a hero.  He hated Trump.  Meghan McCain spoke at her father's funeral today [9/1/2018] and took several cheap shots at President Donald Trump.  Republican President Donald Trump and former Governor Sarah Palin were dis-invited to the funeral.

John McCain Funeral Coverage 'Seems a Little Over the Top'.  Conservative talker Mark Levin told listeners of his nationally syndicated radio show Thursday [8/30/2018] that media coverage of the late Sen. John McCain's memorial services "has gone on a little too long," and "seems a little over the top."

The Editor says...
Not only did McCain have multiple memorial services, the week-long adulation in the news media continued for two days after his burial, with lengthy recaps of the Washington funeral and sound bites from the various Trump-bashing speeches.  The Washington funeral was attended by a Who's Who of the Deep State:  Every poster child for term limits, every fossilized RINO, and every surviving relic from the 1970s and later was there:  Lieberman, Graham, Bob Dull, Boehner, McConnell and even Henry Kissinger.  That was in addition to Bush 43 and Barack H. Obama, who could easily have been defeated, and his disastrous presidency prevented, if McCain had wanted to win.  McCain refused to talk about Obama's highly questionable biography, gaps in his whereabouts over the years, his total lack of qualifications, his fraudulent birth certificate, his phony Social Security number, his Muslim faith, or anything else that could have helped McCain win.  McCain seemed to derive more leverage and face time in the news media by maintaining his unpredictable, duplicitous, "maverick" status in the Senate.

The McCain funeral:  A failed brand re-launch.  McCain will always be known, by friends and enemies, as the only Republican in a political generation loved by the press.  Press love comes pretty cheaply.  Bash Republicans, talk up amnesty, appear ready to cut a deal with any Democrat who wants to deliver a body blow to the conservative middle of America, and you are there.  McCain's major achievements were a campaign finance bill which was overturned and support for Middle East wars that have proven to be disasters.  Many military families had short, one-hour funerals for their dead heroes who came back from these terrible mistakes. [...] This funeral, actually a brand launch for those who will claim it, with fawning press, veiled attacks on Trump failed to launch the brand.  Many speakers did not appear to focus on the man, they appeared to get some petty revenge on his opponents.  It failed because this brand is fleeting.  It will not last more than months.

McCain resurrects the Wellstone memorial disaster.  Two well known and important people passed away this past week: singer Aretha Franklin and senator John McCain.  Both had memorial services attended by the political high and mighty, and both services received extensive coverage on cable news.  Both, rather than serving as a last chance to honor and bury the dead, instead served as a political forum to focus on President Trump.  It's what one would expect at a campaign rally, not at a memorial service. [...] Next was Senator McCain's memorial.  His daughter and cohost of The View took the opportunity to slam Trump.  "We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness," she said.  "The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege."  Forgetting she was at her father's memorial and not on The View, she channeled her inner Joy Behar and added this:  "The America of John McCain does not need to be made great again, because America was always great."

No Further Evidence Needed:  Hate-Filled McCain Family Does Not Invite Sarah Palin to Attend Funeral.  Despite having numerous opportunities over the past several years to criticize her former back-stabbing, war-mongering, decepticon and former running mate, Sarah Palin always refused to be critical of the pontificating pus goblin known as Senator John McCain.  To highlight the severity of the self-interest, elitist superiority and bitter hatred carried in the heart of the entire McCain clan, Sarah Palin was not invited to attend his funeral service.  Barack Obama, Joe Biden and George Bush will deliver remarks.

Did Sarah Palin really deserve that?  I can't think of anything more spiteful or "mean-spirited" than the exclusion of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin from the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain.  According to Breitbart News, not only was she not asked to come to any of the numerous McCain events where she could have been present, but she was actually asked to stay away. [...] Since the Breitbart report, the McCain camp has backtracked a bit and now says Sarah would not be bounced by the security guard at the door if she actually came.

Even in death it's hard to grapple with the legacy of 'maverick' McCain.  The longtime Arizona lawmaker and 2008 Republican presidential John McCainnominee's expected passing last Saturday unleashed a whole range of emotions from just about every segment of the ideological spectrum.  Nearly everyone appropriately praised McCain as a man who honorably served his country in wartime and then lived a dedicated if uneven existence as a politician.  Just as it was in life McCain's death engendered a heap of controversy over the lasting meaning of his friendships and liaisons with Democrats and his numerous calls for everyone to "work together" regardless of the circumstances.

Momentum Slows For Renaming Senate Building For McCain.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday [8/28/2018] delayed efforts to rename the Russell Senate Office in honor of Sen. John McCain by creating an official group to vet a variety of memorial options.  McConnell announced plans for the bipartisan committee just days after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., first suggested renaming the building to memorialize McCain, who died Saturday at 81.  Republican reaction to the Schumer proposal was mixed, even as Sen. Jeff Flake, McCain's fellow Arizona Republican, signed on as a co-sponsor.

Sarah Palin Reportedly Not Invited to John McCain's Funeral.  If this is true, it's an unneeded swipe at someone who doesn't deserve it.  The death of Senator John McCain has opened up old wounds between him and President Trump, whom he's never seen eye-to-eye with.  Much ado has been made about the contentious relationship between the late Senator and President.  In the immediate wake of his death, the White House even neglected to lower the flag to half staff in honor of the deceased Senator, only later relenting after media outcry.

McCain Funeral Shocker:  Senator Insisted This Infamous Swamp Rat Got a Front Row Seat.  Many Americans have reported they are getting a tad bit fed-up with the endless coverage of John McCain's many memorial services.  After having a big memorial service in Arizona with all the pomp and circumstance, he was then flown on Air Force Two to Washington, DC where he had another full-blown memorial on Friday morning.  But it's not over.  McCain will "lie in state" at the Capitol, something only 30 Americans have had that honor usually reserved for presidents, before then going to the Naval Academy for another send-off service.  Every single detail was planned by McCain, and he had a list of those he wanted at every service and where they would be allowed to sit.

The McCain Palin Snub.  The exclusion of Governor Sarah Palin from Senator McCain's funeral this afternoon [8/31/2018] strikes us as an off-note from the McCain camp.  It's unclear exactly who — the Senator before he died or his family or others — decided not to extend an invitation.  Reports, in People magazine and Breitbart News, suggest that not only was Mrs. Palin not invited but that she was asked to stay away.  It's a missed opportunity in respect of a man who sought to summon our better angels.  It's not as if Mrs. Palin had pushed her way into McCain's political life.  His presidential campaign was floundering when, in the summer of 2008, he sought to make a Hail Mary play by reaching out to ask Mrs. Palin to join his ticket.

Who Really Started the Trump-McCain Feud?  With Senator John McCain's recent passing, the Trump-McCain feud has heated up.  It's really a manufactured kerfuffle, as one party is saying little, and the other party has departed from the living, no longer able to participate in the feud, except posthumously via the media.  Leave it to the media to resurrect the controversy between the late senator and the U.S. president as a means of bashing President Trump, whom the media detest.  It is also a distraction from the stock market breaking records left and right, a new and better trade deal with Mexico, a country that the media constantly tell us hates Trump and won't do business with him, Bruce Ohr's congressional testimony, and other news the media would prefer to ignore.

John McCain's wife Cindy emerges among contenders to take his Senate seat until after the 2020 election.  Cindy McCain has emerged among candidates to occupy the Arizona senate seat left vacant after her husband John died from brain cancer on Saturday [8/25/2018].  While McCain's term runs until 2023, state law requires anyone taking the seat now to run for election themselves immediately after the 2020 presidential race.  That leaves Republicans with the option of appointing a 'caretaker' to occupy the seat while they decide who best to field in two years' time.

John McCain and the Church Riots:  A Firsthand Account.  On fundamental principles, John McCain was an absolute rock.  He did not give an inch.  He had two broken arms and a broken leg when he was captured.  No one would have faulted him had he accepted early release.  He thought it was wrong, and he would not do it.  A man who believes that there are fundamental principles so important that he is willing to die for them, and to convince others to risk death to uphold those principles, is a man to be respected.

The Establishment Media Still Owe John McCain a Big Apology.  [Scroll down]  In other words, the media are not at all sincere in their outrage over Trump's shot at McCain.  What the media are actually outraged over is that they could not bully Trump into an apology.  Trump refusing to apologize to their mob is what the media find unforgivable.  The only thing the media find unforgivable is defiance.

Will McCain's funeral turn into another Wellstone funeral?  Remember Paul Wellstone?  Probably, but mainly for his funeral.  Wellstone was a well liked Democratic senator from Minnesota who died in a plane crash in 2002.  In the midst of public turmoil back in Washington, what with Bush Derangement Syndrome going full blast and midterms eleven days away, his funeral ended up amounting to a political rah-rah session, a "pep rally" and a "partisan foot-stomp" for the Democratic Party instead of a memorial to a man who was supposedly loved by Democrats.  What it showed was that midterms were more important to Democrats than honoring a man who had died.  For the rest of us, it was just disgusting.  Scroll over to 2018, and note the outlines of the funeral of Senator John McCain, 'who died Saturday.

MSNBC Finds McCain's 'Biggest Political Mistake': Sarah Palin.  Amid glowing tributes to the life and career of Arizona Senator John McCain on Monday, MSNBC took time to use the Republican lawmaker's passing to trash his 2008 vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin, labeling McCain's selection of the then-Alaska governor as his "biggest political mistake."  "McCain made some controversial decisions, some much-criticized decisions.  One of those decisions was who he chose to run with in 2008, Sarah Palin," proclaimed anchor Katy Tur early in the 2:00 p.m.  ET hour.  She then recited a column from Washington Post Associate Editor David Ignatius making that case.

Jim Inhofe: 'John McCain is partially to blame' for White House flag controversy.  One of the late Sen. John McCain's colleagues in the Senate apportioned some of the blame for Monday's White House flag controversy to the Arizona Republican.  "Frankly, I think John McCain is partially to blame for that because he is very outspoken.  He disagreed with the president in certain areas and wasn't too courteous about it," Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., told reporters on Capitol Hill, according to CNN.  "So that's one thing about John McCain and the president — both very strong willed people."

John McCain's ideal Senate successor would be a Hispanic woman, former staffer says.  John McCain likely wouldn't want a white man to take his place in the U.S. Senate, his former campaign manager said Monday [8/27/2018].  "He's always been someone who's encouraged participation in politics, especially in the Republican Party, with minorities and women," Rick Davis said during a news conference.  "I think a Hispanic woman probably would've been his pick for a successor if he would've lived long enough."  Davis declined to go into further detail about McCain's wishes or speculate on specific appointment possibilities, confirming only that the senator had contemplated what the replacement process would look like over the years.

Google Maps renames Russell Senate building for McCain.  Google rushed Wednesday [8/29/2018] to fix its popular Maps application after it renamed the Russell Senate Office Building after Sen. John McCain.  The company blamed overzealous McCain fans for the move, which saw the building just across the corner from the Capitol as the "McCain Senate Office Building" on the search engine's maps of the capital city.  Earlier, it Google was not waiting on Congress.  The internet giant has renamed the Russell Senate Office Building after Sen. John McCain in its popular Google Maps application.

The Democrats are the first to praise McCain, and the most sincere in their mourning.
Schumer to introduce resolution to rename Senate building after John McCain.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., intends to introduce a resolution in the Senate to rename a Senate office building after the late Sen. John McCain, he announced Saturday [8/25/2018]. [...] The Russell Senate Office Building is currently named for Sen. Richard B. Russell, D-Ga., who served in the Senate for nearly 40 years.

John McCain's Failed Second Act.  McCain's Senate career before 2008 illustrated his misguided bipartisanship based on a failure to see what the Democrats had become, and how his dubious perception of "principle" carried water for the Democrat opposition.  The 2002 McCain-Feingold bill banning unlimited contributions to political parties was a patent violation of the First Amendment, as the Supreme Court later ruled in its Citizens United decision, which overruled a lower court's use of McCain-Feingold to justify censoring a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps worse, McCain's outspoken opposition to waterboarding, despite its proven value in gathering intelligence, was given persuasive authority by his personal experience in Vietnam.  McCain's misguided false analogy between the sadistic, pointless torture he suffered, and the carefully controlled and calibrated practice of waterboarding to obtain life-saving information, ultimately led to the banning of this interrogation technique.

Sorry America, McCain Was No Hero.  While the liberal and conservative establishments are sending their regards, Geopolitics Alert instead compiled a list of reasons why we don't care about McCain.  The list is, of course, a history of all the instances McCain has called for US-led intervention around the world.  There's clearly a long history here, so Geopolitics Alert has compiled the most blatant examples from Europe to Asia.

Finally, a Republican!
Arizona governor must pick a Republican to replace McCain under Arizona rules.  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will make the appointment that will fill the seat of the late Sen. John McCain — but only after Mr. McCain is laid to rest next Sunday, according to the governor's office.  Under state law the replacement must be of the same party as Mr. McCain, a Republican, according to election experts.  That ensures the GOP will maintain control of the seat — though because Mr. Ducey is a Republican also, that was likely anyway.

Same Liberal Media That Called John McCain a Racist and Islamophobe Praise Him as Hero in Death.  In 2008 the liberal mainstream media did everything they could to denigrate and slander John McCain and lift Barack Obama into the White House.  Despite the fact that McCain was a weak candidate that didn't stop the media from slandering him as a racist and Islamophobe.

When Obama mocked McCain.  While "the betters" on the Sunday talk shows were praising John McCain, who died from brain cancer Saturday, Mrs. Marathon Pundit turned to me and asked, "Why isn't anyone talking about the number of houses he owned?"  The TV talking heads weren't.  In his laudatory statement about the Arizona senator's passing, of course Barack Obama didn't bring up the houses.  But in 2008, when a Politico reporter asked the Arizona senator how many houses he owned, and in a awkward manner, McCain replied that he didn't know.  He suggested that the reporter check with his staff. [...] The correct number was eight, if you include the homes owned by McCain's wife.  Obama's campaign used the McCain houses remark in television ad. Which, in one of the McCain campaign's better moments, led a spokesperson to retort, "Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?"

Americans Are Fed Up with John McCain.  Several recent rallies that featured Sen. John McCain in attendance showed that young conservatives have had it making excuses for his repeated selling out of his own party.  It would be wrong to ignore his record as a POW in Vietnam and the over five years of his life that he sacrificed for his country.  However, though he has never been as conservative as many of his counterparts wished, he always was reliable to stand by Republicans even when he disagreed with some of their stands.  That has changed over the last two years, epitomized by his dramatic thumbs down vote that saved Obama's disaster called Obamacare and partnering with Democrats on an amnesty plan for illegal immigrants.

Will John McCain's selfishness torpedo Trump's Supreme Court nominee?  Republicans theoretically have a 51-49 majority in the Senate, but in practice, it has been 50-49, since John McCain has left the Senate due to his brain cancer and shows no signs of returning.  This makes it difficult for the Senate to pass legislation, of course, but since the Senate needs 60 votes for most matters, McCain's absence is not critical — except for judicial nominees.  Under current rules, only a majority of senators is needed to approve judicial nominees.  That's why every senator counts.  With McCain's absence, if one Republican senator defects, and no Democrats support Trump's Supreme Court nominee, that nominee will not be confirmed.

John McCain To Resign Senate Seat on the 4th of July, Says Aide.  Cindy McCain [has been] Offered his Seat.  Senator John McCain will resign his US Senate seat on July 4, 2018, says an aide who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press.  "In the end, it was about Kennedy resigning from the Supreme Court," said the aide.  "Confirming a (SCOTUS) replacement before the election is considered in the interest of the national Republican party, so that it doesn't become an issue for Dems to run on in every race," said the aide, meaning every race for Senate or Congress.  The Aide indicated that the Senator wanted to wait until June 1 to resign, so that his seat would not be on the ballot along with retiring Jeff Flake.  Republican Gov. Doug Ducey will appoint a Senator to serve until the 2020 election.

John McCain [is] viewed more favorably by Arizona Democrats than by Republicans.  In the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker poll, Arizona voters weighed in on their state's U.S. senators, and each got more negative than positive views.  Partisanship shapes opinion, but not in the way we typically see in politics today.  GOP Sen. John McCain gets his highest favorable rating from Arizona Democrats of all partisan groups — 62 percent view him favorably.  It's voters in his own party who give McCain his most negative ratings — nearly 7 in 10 view him unfavorably.

So IRS Tea Party persecutor Lois Lerner had help all along:  John McCain.  Sen. John McCain, not too long after seeking conservative and Republican votes in his failed 2008 bid for the presidency, went right after those same conservative voters without telling them, by egging on the IRS to ruin them.  It's the sort of political back-stabbing that defies belief, taking an active role in destroying the Tea Party, which was an authentic grassroots movement of local groups calling for smaller government.  Sure enough, Judicial Watch has found McCain's central role right there in the documents.

John McCain Staffer Told Lois Lerner To Audit Non-Exempts Till They Collapsed.  Judicial Watch released some documents revealing that a John McCain staffer urged Lois Lerner to audit non-exempt organizations until they financially collapsed.  What he didn't know was Lerner was already attacking the 501(C)(3), groups.  By April 30th, 2013, Sen. John McCain's staff director Henry Kerner, had moved on to be the chief counsel on the McCain-chaired Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee[.]  On that last day of April he urged a group of senior IRS officials, including the infamous director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner that if she thinks the groups were being political to "audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous."

Judicial Watch Obtains IRS Documents Revealing McCain's Subcommittee Staff Director Urged IRS to Engage in "Financially Ruinous" Targeting.  Judicial Watch today [6/21/2018] released newly obtained internal IRS documents, including material revealing that Sen. John McCain's former staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee, Henry Kerner, urged top IRS officials, including then-director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner, to "audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous."  Kerner was appointed by President Trump as Special Counsel for the United States Office of Special Counsel.  The explosive exchange was contained in notes taken by IRS employees at an April 30, 2013, meeting between Kerner, Lerner, and other high-ranking IRS officials.  Just ten days following the meeting, former IRS director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner admitted that the IRS had a policy of improperly and deliberately delaying applications for tax-exempt status from conservative non-profit groups.

McCain Now Openly Supporting Other Nations Instead of US Elected Leaders.  [Arizona Sen. John] McCain, like so many others of the reflexive anti-Trump and NeverTrump movements, has made it clear that he will stand with whoever is viewed as in opposition to the president, so strong is his dislike for the man.

John McCain viciously undermines Trump to world leaders in absolutely inexcusable message to our allies.  Poor John McCain.  The Arizona senator, who's battling terminal brain cancer, thinks someone died and made him the leader of the free world.  Proving that he's determined to be a thorn in President Trump's side even on his deathbed, McCain once again tried to undermine the billionaire by slamming the tariffs Trump slapped on China and Canada (you know, like the ones they charge on American goods).

McCain giving one last middle finger to Arizona conservatives by refusing to resign.  Even in death the man shows lack of integrity.  He hasn't been able to show up for work in months but he's still drawing that Senate salary and grasping those Senate perks and denying Arizona its second vote in the Senate.  [Scroll down to the comments:] ["]We truly need term limits in this country, there are too many in DC who think the seat they hold is "theirs" and they get to decide its fate.  It is a real hatred for the people.["]

The Only Thing Worse For Republicans Than John McCain In The Senate.  Mrs. McCain, known for her white blonde hair and hard-edged fashion choices, is the daughter of the late Jim Hensley, who built one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the United States.  And, in the minds of many, it was the Hensley wealth and ambition that built John McCain's political career. [...] Senator John McCain's maverick personality and tendency to adopt the views of Democrats on issues such as amnesty for illegal aliens, restriction of free speech through radical limits on political campaigns, abortion and the radical homosexual agenda have long made him an outlier in the Republican Party who forced a perennial leftward crack in the Senate's Republican Conference.  With her radical leftist views on same sex marriage and opposition to the Republican Party's platform position on abortion, the only thing worse than having John McCain in the Senate would be for him to be succeeded by his liberal wife Cindy.

Report: Cindy McCain Likely to Succeed Husband John McCain in Senate.  Cindy McCain, wife of ailing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), is likely to succeed the longtime lawmaker, a new report says. [...] One longtime friend of the McCain family told Newsmax he long thought Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would appoint Cindy McCain to the Senate after her husband became too ill to serve.

The Editor says...
Obviously he's "too ill to serve" already.  That doesn't mean his wife is entitled to his job.

Cindy McCain Set to Succeed Husband in Senate.  As Arizonans prepare for their final salute to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Republicans and political pundits in the state privately tell Newsmax they expect the appointment of his wife, Cindy, to succeed him in the Senate.  Of course, no one in the Grand Canyon State who spoke to us wants to go on record discussing what will happen when the ailing McCain no longer holds his seat.  But those who did, agree almost unanimously, Cindy McCain following John in the Senate through appointment by Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz., is a near certainty.

The Editor says...
Oh, good.  Will she vote in sync with the Democrats, just like her husband?  Will she be immune to criticism because she's a grieving widow?  What are her qualifications for a Senate seat — or for any office?

Time for Mccain to Resign.  McCain's extreme vanity gets in the way of putting the public interest ahead of his towering ego.  Meanwhile, he continues to grandstand in his convalescence, this week saying that he opposes the confirmation of Gina Haspel to be CIA director because she's a torturer, and also saying that he regrets picking Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008.  I regret it too, because her premature elevation to the national stage, with no serious preparation for it by McCain's staff, ruined a talented person with a bright future ahead.  And the motivation for him to make such a graceless statement about Palin just now is obvious:  it plays well with his real base — the news media.

John McCain:  Fake Maverick.  John McCain's Republican Party is over, perhaps before it even got started.  That's the argument Daniel McCarthy makes at Spectator/USA.  It is worth considering.  McCain has always enjoyed being called a "maverick" — a moniker used by friend and foe alike in describing him.  It's universal usage was less an indication of any shared understanding of the man, however, than it was the result of carefully crafted branding.  That one could scarcely tell whether a person used "maverick" as an epithet or as a compliment at any given moment, not even when the political leanings of said person were evident, speaks to the utter meaningless of the term as it was applied to McCain.  McCain has been a "maverick" in the same way that people who buy Apple products "think different."  That is to say he isn't and they don't; at least not for their participation in this absurd branding exercise.

John McCain calls on Senate to reject CIA nominee Gina Haspel.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on the Senate to reject Gina Haspel's nomination to become CIA director Wednesday, charging that she was unable to address concerns with her role in the use of enhanced interrogation techniques during the Bush administration.

McCain defends giving dossier to Comey: 'I would do it again'.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote in his upcoming memoir that he does not regret alerting the FBI about the so-called Steele dossier, which details President Trump's alleged ties to Russia.  McCain acknowledged in January 2017 that he delivered a dossier of "sensitive information" to then-FBI Director James Comey.  In his upcoming book, "The Restless Wave:  Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations," McCain wrote that he "did what duty demanded I do" in passing on the documents.  "I discharged that obligation, and I would do it again.  Anyone who doesn't like it can go to hell," McCain said, according to excerpts of the book published by The Guardian.

Retired general:  Torture worked on John McCain, that's why they call him 'Songbird John'.  Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney on Thursday [5/10/2018] referred to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as "Songbird John" and said torture worked on the former POW.  McInerney, during an interview on Fox Business Network, was slamming McCain's refusal to support CIA director nominee Gina Haspel over her past work at the agency involving enhanced interrogation techniques that are considered torture.  "The fact is, is John McCain — it worked on John.  That's why they call him 'Songbird John,'" McInerney said.

'I would do it again,' McCain writes about release of Steele dossier to FBI.  U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., apparently has no regrets about his role in the release of the so-called Steele dossier, which is said to contain salacious allegations about then-candidate Donald Trump.  In excerpts of his forthcoming book, "The Restless Wave:  Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations," the 81-year-old senator — who is recuperating at home following recent cancer treatment and surgery — acknowledges that he delivered the information to then-FBI Director James Comey.  "(A)nd I would do it again," McCain writes, according to excerpts published by the Guardian.

'Songbird' McCain:  The evidence — in his own words, his fellow veterans, and his captors.  McCain had a unique POW experience.  Initially, he was taken to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison camp, where he was interrogated.  By McCain's own account, after three or four days, he cracked.  He promised his Vietnamese captors, "I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital."  His Vietnamese capturers soon realized their POW, John Sidney McCain III, came from a well-bred line of American military elites.  McCain's father, John Jr., and grandfather, John Sr., were both full Admirals.  A destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, is named after both of them.  While his son was held captive in Hanoi, John McCain Jr., from 1968 to 1972, was the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Pacific Command; Admiral McCain was in charge of all US forces in the Pacific including those fighting in Vietnam.  The Admiral's bad boy was used to special treatment and his captors knew that.  They were working him.

Fox News Bans Guest Analyst Who Said Torture 'Worked' on John McCain.  A spokesperson for Fox News said they have banished the guest who said torture "worked" on Sen. John McCain, calling him a "songbird" for his five years spent a prisoner of war in Vietnam.  Air Force veteran and former military analyst Thomas McInerney caused massive outrage yesterday for his interview on Fox Business Network where he bashed McCain for his opposition to Gina Haspel's nomination as CIA Director.  McCain opposes Haspel because of her history overseeing the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, and when McInerney spoke to Charles Payne about this, he bashed the Arizona senator.  "The fact is John McCain — [torture] worked on John.  That's why they call him 'Songbird John.'  The fact is those methods can work, and they are effective," McInerney said.

Fox Business guest endorses torture because 'it worked on John McCain'.  Torture is good, a Fox Business guest said Thursday, because it worked on John McCain.  Appearing on "Making Monday," retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney simultaneously defended Gina Haspel's 2002 torture of an Al Qaeda militant in a black-site prison and took a nasty dig at McCain, who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.  "That's why they call him 'Songbird John,'" McInerney told host Charles Payne.  "The fact is those methods can work, and they are effective, as former Vice President Cheney said.  And if we have to use them to save a million American lives, we will do whatever we have to."

Senator McCain's Regrets.  As the [McCain presidential] campaign faltered, our view was that it was because of the kinds of errors that could be laid only to the candidate at the top of the ticket.  We marked that on September 5, 2008, in "Wrong-Way McCain."  It rued the way the Senator was running against the "tobacco companies" and "drug companies" and kvetching about the oil companies.  For that we needed a Republican?

McCain says he regrets choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate.  Quite clearly, McCain is part of the Republican internationalist establishment, against which Trump is fighting.  I suppose it is admirable that he is sticking to his guns to the end.  But there is no way that these views are less than an insult to the woman who dropped everything after being asked to be his running mate.

Palin: That's not what he told me!  Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin says hearing that Sen. John McCain now regrets choosing her as his 2008 running mate is 'like a perpetual gut-punch' every time she hears about it.  And the latest verdict from the ailing 81-year-old Arizona Republican, she said, is perplexing because McCain has told her very different things over and over in person.  'That's not what Sen. McCain has told me all these years, as he's apologized to me repeatedly for the people who ran his campaign — some who now staff MSNBC, the newsroom there, which tells you a lot,' Palin said.

John McCain — The Insane Traitor Who Masquerades as an American Hero.  [Scroll down]  McCain has an impeccable record of being anti-American with every piece of legislation he endorses and writes.  McCain does not support war veterans.  McCain is anti-second amendment.  McCain supports an open border policy.  John McCain also has his POW records sealed, which is not consistent with someone proud of their record.  John McCain supports almost every bill that comes along the pike that is bad for the American people and for the country in general.  Senator McCain has also been wrestling with insanity since the public has known him, with angry outbursts, foul language, and rants.  This, along with his general anti-Americanism are a direct result of the brainwashing he went through during his time as a POW and the guilt he carries around all the time in his subconscious because he aided and abetted the enemy.  He has been carrying this around ever since.  Definitely not a person who we want in public office making important decisions about our country.

McCain says he regrets picking Palin as running mate.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he regrets choosing former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to be his running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign.  The New York Times reported on Saturday that McCain, while still defending Palin's performance, said in his upcoming book, "The Restless Wave:  Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and other Appreciations," that he wishes he had instead selected former Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.)  His advisers reportedly had warned against choosing Lieberman, who was once a Democrat, stating that Lieberman's support of abortion rights could divide Republicans.

John McCain:  I regret picking Sarah Palin as running mate.  Arizona GOP Senator John McCain said Saturday he's sorry he chose then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the presidential race he lost to Barack Obama.  He told the New York Times that if he could do it over he would have picked former Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

McCain aide took the Fifth Amendment on role in Steele Dossier.  More threads are unraveling in what may be the biggest political scandal in history:  the use of intelligence agencies to spy on a rival-party presidential campaign and then unseat a duly elected president.  The blowback from the Steele dossier, the multi-million-dollar operation of the Hillary campaign and the DNC, may reach all the way to Trump-haters in the GOP.  The Steele dossier scandal's tentacles are reaching all the way to Trumpophobic John McCain, via a close associate of his.  The longtime aide to Senator McCain who flew to England to get a copy of the Steele dossier and speed it along to the FBI in 2016 has clammed up and asserted his right to avoid self-incrimination.

Paul Ryan Blames John McCain for Tanking Obamacare Repeal.  House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in 2017; however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed to pass an Obamacare repeal package when Sen. McCain infamously voted against the "skinny" Obamacare repeal bill.  Sen. McCain also opposed the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare block grant repeal proposal after the legislation nearly achieved a majority of support from Senate Republicans.

Report: John McCain's Role In Attempting A 2016 Election Coup Revealed.  John McCain hated how Donald Trump, a break-the-political-rules outsider, became what he had always longed to be — President of the United States.  Mr. Trump, in turn, considered McCain a self-involved globalist who had been in D.C. far too long.  A war hero fifty years ago?  Trump didn't care.  He simply saw a bad politician who was hurting the country.  And so it was with that backdrop that John McCain is said to have been motivated to attempt to circumvent the wishes of tens of millions of Trump supporters by allegedly colluding with high-ranking U.S. intelligence officials, foreign agents, and the Hillary Clinton campaign.  It's interesting to note how John McCain worked harder to defeat Donald Trump in 2016 than he did Barack Obama in 2008.

Intel Memo Mystery:  John McCain Pushed 'Pee' Dossier to FBI Months After Feds Already Used It to Gain FISA Warrant.  Last week's release of a four-page House Intelligence Committee memo alleging abuse of surveillance authority provides details that raise new questions about Sen. John McCain's role in delivering the infamous, largely discredited 35-page dossier on President Donald Trump and Russia to the U.S. intelligence community under Barack Obama's administration.

McCain, at it again, deals with Dems and kills wall funding.  Sen. John McCain is reportedly joining with Democratic colleague Christopher Coons to introduce legislation that gives Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals' illegals a path to citizenship, but denies President Donald Trump his funding to build a wall.  McCain giving the Democrats what they want at the expense of the Republicans — now there's something you don't see every day, right?  Not.

RINO McCain.  Arizona senator John McCain has worked tirelessly to thwart President Trump and the rule of law in our country.  In these past two months McCain has denigrated Trump overseas in a fashion that even surpasses the Democrats innuendo and lies about our President.  Claiming that even Congress is not to be trusted in investigating the supposed Russian meddling, which has been debunked by the past administration and members of the intelligence community, he has thrown the members of the Congress under the bus.  The senator is now standing with those who would impeach President Trump or at the very least create an atmosphere of agitation and chaos to make it as difficult as possible for President Trump to govern.

McCain rebukes Republicans:  Attacking FBI serves 'only Putin'.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday delivered a subtle but stinging rebuke to House Republicans over their move to release a classified memo alleging misconduct at the FBI, urging President Donald Trump and other Republicans to stop "manufacturing partisan sideshows" that benefit Russia.  The statement from McCain, who is away from Washington undergoing treatment for brain cancer, came minutes after Trump signed off on the release of the memo crafted by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee.  McCain directly connected his fellow Republicans' campaign to undercut the FBI with Russian President Vladimir Putin's meddling in the 2016 election.

John McCain Worked With Foreign Agents, Obama White House, DNC, & FBI To Try And Defeat Trump In 2016.  Whatever legacy Senator John McCain might have had left, it's taking a brutal beating with today's stunning revelations via this report out today.

Fusion GPS Admits They Used John McCain to Pass Anti-Trump Dossier to Obama-Era Intel Agencies.  The founders of the controversial opposition research firm Fusion GPS admitted that they helped the researcher hired to compile the infamous, largely discredited 35-page dossier on President Donald Trump to share the document with Sen. John McCain.  The goal of providing the dossier to McCain, the Fusion GPS founders explained, was to pass the information contained in the questionable document to the U.S. intelligence community under the Obama administration.  The disclosure raises questions about whether McCain knew that the information he delivered to the intelligence community was actually an opposition document reportedly funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

McCain associate subpoenaed in Trump dossier probe.  House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes has issued a subpoena to David Kramer, a former State Department official who, in late November 2016, traveled to London to receive a briefing and a copy of the Trump dossier from its author, former British spy Christopher Steele.  Kramer then returned to the U.S. to give the document to Sen. John McCain.  Kramer is a senior fellow at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University.  McCain later took a copy of the dossier to the FBI's then-director, James Comey.  But the FBI already had the document; Steele himself gave the dossier to the bureau in installments, reportedly beginning in early July 2016.

McCain returns to Arizona, won't vote on GOP tax bill: report.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is reportedly returning to Arizona and will miss the final vote on his party's tax bill this week.  McCain, who has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center suffering from the side effects of his treatment for brain cancer, left Washington, D.C., on Sunday to return home for the holidays, CBS News reported Sunday [12/17/2017].

Inside the Trump dossier handoff:  McCain's 'go-between' speaks out.  The man who says he acted as a "go-between" last year to inform Sen. John McCain about the controversial "dossier" containing salacious allegations about then-candidate Donald Trump is speaking out, revealing how the ex-British spy who researched the document helped coordinate its release to the FBI, the media and Capitol Hill.  "My mission was essentially to be a go-between and a messenger, to tell the senator and assistants that such a dossier existed," Sir Andrew Wood told Fox News in an exclusive interview with senior executive producer Pamela K. Browne.

McCain's Lies Are Nothing New.  It was a little while ago that Sen. John McCain was awarded the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.  The Liberty Medal is given to those who have "secured the blessings of personal liberty to people the world over."  In the speech McCain spoke brashly about of the current President.  It is alarming that this particular award was given to a Senator who has constantly ignored the damage done to civil liberties in the search for "national security".  Senator McCain has never worried about past conflicts started without Congressional approval, at least until Donald Trump became President.  Now he wants in on the action and to make the decisions for going to war that are not his to make.  The speech was nothing more than Trump bashing by the ultimate RINO.

Is the GOP establishment behind the Roy Moore hit?  [Scroll down]  Hours after the Washington Post piece went viral, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell joined the dance, calling for Moore to withdraw from the Alabama Senate race "if these allegations are true."  No pause.  No circumspection.  No waiting until the facts are in before rushing to judgment.  It's reminiscent of President Obama immediately concluding that the Cambridge police acted "stupidly" after the Henry Gates incident or jumping on the "hands up, don't shoot" bandwagon before the facts were known.  McConnell's dance partner, Senator John McCain, was quick to the microphone, not even considering whether the allegations against Roy Moore were true, saying, "The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying.  He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of."  It is just like when senators also wanted Clarence Thomas to step aside based on disturbing allegations that could not be substantiated.  Senator McCain, judge, jury and executioner.  He and McConnell are moving faster on this than they ever have on a piece of legislation.  Too bad they couldn't move even half as quickly on tax cuts or Obamacare repeal.

Monumental McCain hypocrisy on Roy Moore.  I am really sorry that John McCain suffers from a brain affliction, but he continues to play an active role in politics, and so I must call him out when he does something really outrageous.

John McCain is a self-satisfied bore.  The single most interesting thing John McCain has done in the last three or so decades is beat a guy named Richard Kimball in his first Senate election in 1987. [...] Otherwise, his tenure in the Senate has been a long series of contributions to the turbid ebb and flow of human misery — mostly drops, but a handful of big splashes — from his sordid involvement with Charles Keating of Savings and Loan fame until Monday night [10/30/2017], when he seized upon what should have been a very cursory rah-rah patriotic sort of speech at the U.S. Naval Academy to remind us what a tirelessly self-satisfied bore he is.

Sen. John McCain urges bipartisanship, wants Trump to stop attacking Republicans.  Sen. John McCain said he'd urge President Trump to stop tweeting and attacking Republicans if he were to talk to the president again.  "We've got enough people who attack them," Mr. McCain, Arizona Republican, said in an interview that aired Thursday on MSNBC, referring to his party.  Mr. McCain also said the role of the press is "more important than ever before."  "I hate the press, OK, but the fact is without a free press in this country, the pillar of Democracy is destroyed," he said.

Day Seven:  John McCain Continues to Dodge Questions on Role in Trump Hoax Dossier.  Sen. John McCain has still not responded to questions raised in light of the disclosure last Tuesday that the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) helped fund research utilized in the infamous, largely discredited 35-page dossier on President Donald Trump.  In December, it was McCain who notoriously passed the controversial dossier produced by the Washington firm Fusion GPS to then FBI Director James Comey, whose agency reportedly utilized the dossier as a partial basis for its probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

McCain joins Dems to regulate Drudge, Google, Facebook political ads.  Big websites like Facebook, Drudge Report, Breitbart News, Google and the New York Times would face substantial punishment if they don't make "reasonable efforts" to block foreigners from posting political ads under new election legislation pushed by Sen. John McCain and two Democrats.  The "Honest Ads Act," co-sponsored by Democrats Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, would put new legal requirements and punishments on websites with 50 million unique monthly readers that take a tiny $500 or more in political ads from one advertiser.

The Editor says...
By now you should know how these things work:  The initial "50 million unique monthly readers" boundary will affect so few web sites that nobody could possibly object to it.  But then, over the next few decades if necessary, the parameters will be incrementally tightened so that the law will constrict free speech — or at least political advertising — for everyone.  The incremental changes tactic is probably on about page five of the Democrats' playbook.  (See:  Origins of the Income Tax)

Bush, Obama, McCain — three peas in a cowards' pod.  Once upon a time, there was a moral concept that taught if you had a problem with somebody, you went to that person directly and spoke of that matter in private — you didn't throw darts at public walls.  Then came Sen. John McCain.  And in speedy order, then came George W. Bush and Barack Obama.  The trio just can't seem to get enough of trash-talking President Donald Trump in public.  But they do it in a way that's sneaky and cowardly.

McCain's amnesia on Obama's foreign policy failures.  Somehow, Senator McCain was able to stand and watch as:
  •   Obama, Hillary, and Kerry essentially bragged about leading from behind.
  •   Obama said he wanted to remake America.
  •   Obama went around the world apologizing for what America had previously done.
  •   Obama drew the fictitious red line in Syria.
  •   North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Iran were essentially able to do whatever they wanted with almost zero consequences.
  •   Obama tried to undermine Israeli elections.
  •   Obama sold uranium to Russia.
  •   We paid ransom — over a billion dollar in cash — to Iran.
  •   Obama considered ISIS the J.V. team.
How could McCain have watched everything Obama did from his seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and not given a speech about abdicating American leadership?  I would love to have McCain or anyone else list Obama's foreign policy successes and how they maintained our leadership position that McCain says is now under attack because of Trump.

Time to subpoena Obama on his ties to Russia.  Barack Obama, the pay-to-play president, cut a deal with Russia shortly after taking office.  The FBI investigated, but mysteriously dropped the case according to the Hill.[...] Russians donated to the Clinton Foundation, after Obama and Hillary promised not to accept foreign bribes — er, donations — while she was secretary of state.  Hillary also signed off on the deal.  Let's see, on his watch, this man who received a Nobel for his efforts in nuclear disarmament:
  •       Gave pallets of money to Iran so it could nuke up
  •       Allowed North Korea to nuke up
  •       Cleared the sale of uranium to Russia
World War III should be named after him.

McCain's defection on health care is inexcusable.  John McCain has once again shown he has no loyalty to his party, his friends, or to his voters.  In likely torpedoing what may prove Republicans' last effort to rid the country of ObamaCare, McCain evinced the nostalgia of an old man for better times.  He wants the Senate to operate as it once did, with bipartisan comity and regular order.  Yes, and I'd like to return to the days when kids were addicted to twilight stickball rather than video games.  Those gentler times are long gone.  What we have now is a bitterly divided Congress, and country.

Before ObamaCare, McCain Tried To Save Another Unpopular Health Law From Repeal.  In what will likely be one of the final acts of his career as a Senator, John McCain may have scuttled the last chance to repeal ObamaCare, a law that he voted against, that was sold to the public on false pretenses, was widely disliked, and that he and his fellow Republicans had promised for seven years to repeal the first chance they got.  McCain says he wants ObamaCare repealed, but only if it's done through "regular order."  Nearly 30 years ago, however, that wasn't the excuse McCain gave in his battle to protect another unpopular health law targeted for repeal.

8 Times 'Maverick' John McCain Has Thwarted Conservatives.  According to analysis by Harry Enten at Five Thirty Eight, McCain voted reliably with conservatives and Republicans from his election to the Senate in 1987 until 1996, which just happened to coincide with his decision to seek the presidency in 2000.  Since that time, McCain has only voted with his party in one Congress out of ten.  McCain has voted particularly against his party during the early years of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations — two Republicans with whom he clashed bitterly during their respective presidential primaries.

Senator John McCain Opposes Any Attempt at Obamacare Repeal.  Will Rogers never met Senator John McCain.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has paid millions to the GOPe to retain Obamacare on behalf of multinational corporations who exploit and erode the U.S. economy.  The largest beneficiaries of those payments has long been the decepticons within the senate.  McCain's position is not a surprise.

Schumer praises McCain for ObamaCare repeal opposition.  The Senate's top Democrat offered praise for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after he said he would oppose the latest ObamaCare repeal bill, which narrows the chance that Republicans can get the legislation to President Trump's desk.  "John McCain shows the same courage in Congress that he showed when he was a naval aviator," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said an hour after McCain's statement.  "I have assured Senator McCain that as soon as repeal is off the table, we Democrats are intent on resuming the bipartisan process."

Candidate McCain Hates Obamacare.  Senator McCain Loves It.  John McCain demands we repeal and replace Obamacare, during election time.  But when given the chance to repeal and replace it, he always shoots it down.  Friday [9/22/2017] he announced he wouldn't support the Cassidy-Graham plan, stabbing his close friend Lindsey Graham in the back as well as Arizona governor Doug Ducey who endorsed the reform plan.  Earlier this week, McCain claimed if Ducey supported it, he would as well.  But just one year ago, Sen. Maverick promised to fight Obamacare.  He ran against former congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, who was booted from her House seat after supporting the Affordable Care Act.  McCain spent 2016 hammering Kirkpatrick and the unpopular program.

McCain Puts 'Process' Over Promises And Saves ObamaCare.  We checked, and we couldn't find Sen. John McCain telling voters who reelected him in 2016 that he'd repeal ObamaCare, but only if the Senate followed all the proper "procedures."  But that's his excuse now for opposing what is probably the last chance to get rid of this law.

Schumer praises McCain for ObamaCare repeal opposition.  The Senate's top Democrat offered praise for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after he said he would oppose the latest ObamaCare repeal bill, which narrows the chance that Republicans can get the legislation to President Trump's desk.  "John McCain shows the same courage in Congress that he showed when he was a naval aviator," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said an hour after McCain's statement.  "I have assured Senator McCain that as soon as repeal is off the table, we Democrats are intent on resuming the bipartisan process."

John McCain announces opposition to health care bill, Jeff Flake supports it.  Sen. John McCain says he won't vote for the Republican bill repealing the Obama health care law.  His statement likely deals a fatal blow to the last-gasp GOP measure in a Senate showdown expected next week.

Dan Bongino: 'John McCain Sold Us All Out'.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Friday [9/22/2017] announced his opposition the Republican ObamaCare overhaul bill, which could doom GOP leaders' attempts to pass the health care reform legislation.  President Donald Trump slammed McCain at a rally in Alabama on Friday night, saying the Arizona senator's opposition to the Cassidy-Graham bill is "terrible, honestly terrible."

John McCain, guarantor of the Obamacare poverty tax.  Does John McCain have any shame at all?  In his grandstanding declaration of opposition the Graham-Cassidy bill to scrap Obamacare, which must be passed by the end of the month, he's sticking more than 100,000 low income taxpayers with huge fines associated with being unable to afford Obamacare's larded up insurance policies.

John McCain Is Not Happy With His Republican Colleague Over FBI Letter.  Chuck Grassley, is trying to distract from the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election.  A spokeswoman for McCain issued a blistering statement on Thursday night [9/21/2017] in response to a letter that Grassley sent this week to FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding possible attempts by Russian operatives to infiltrate the Trump campaign.  "Facts are stubborn things, and the fact is no member of Congress has done more to push back on Russian aggression, human rights abuses, and corruption than Senator John McCain," McCain spokeswoman Julie Tarallo said in a statement Thursday night.

Disgusting, Fake Republican McCain Sponsors Bill to Block Trump's Transgender Ban.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has signed on to a new bill to be introduced Friday [9/15/2017] by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to block President Trump's order to ban transgender military service.  The stand-alone bill, which is also co-sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Armed Services Democrat, has the same language as an amendment proposed by Gillibrand and Collins this week for the National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit the military from barring service based on gender.

John McCain backs new bill blocking Trump's transgender troop ban.  John McCain is joining a bipartisan push to block President Donald Trump from banning transgender people from serving in the military. [...] "Any member of the military who meets the medical and readiness standards should be allowed to serve — including those who are transgender," Mr McCain said in a statement.

John McCain slams Trump in Italy, recommits to America's role in world.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that America is still committed to traditional alliances and values, despite doubts that have emerged due to the "actions and statements of our president."  McCain said in remarks Saturday [9/2/2017] at the Ambrosetti Forum, a major economic and policy conference, that he realizes that he comes to Italy "at a time when many are questioning whether America is still committed to remaining engaged in the world, to upholding our traditional alliances and standing up for the values we share."

RINOS Wrong on Arpaio.  Arizona Sen. John McCain's limited understanding of the law and the Constitution was on display when he falsely claimed that President Trump's pardon of former Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio undermined the rule of law.  McCain was joined by his Arizona colleague, Sen. Jeff Flake, who is up for reelection in 2018.

McCain blasts Trump over Arpaio pardon.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted President Trump over his pardon of former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday, arguing it "undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law." [...] Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt after he disobeyed a federal judge's order to stop racially profiling individuals suspected of illegally entering the U.S.

Paul Ryan, John McCain break with Trump on Arpaio pardon.  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan opposes President Trump's pardoning of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an aide said Saturday, joining Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain in criticizing the decision.  "The speaker does not agree with this decision," said Doug Andres, a spokesman for Ryan.  "Law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States.  We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon."

Arpaio Pardoned, RINOs melt down.  What on earth has happened to the moral and political sensibilities of Paul Ryan, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Jeb Bush, etc.?  All of those RINOs who are attacking President Trump for pardoning Joe Arpaio are simpering, whining traitors to the party they allegedly represent.  They should declare themselves Democrats and be done with the masquerade.

Open-borders shill John McCain resurrects Gang of 8 amnesty push.  President Trump's plan for a border wall will be sidelined and the Gang of Eight bill is coming back, if Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., has anything to say about it.  In an interview with The Arizona Republic Thursday, McCain said that he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. are in agreement about bringing back the bipartisan amnesty legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Mr. McCain Goes to Washington.  In 2015, McCain joined all but one other GOP senator in voting to repeal Obamacare.  The next year he ran an ad in his primary campaign against a Tea Party Republican claiming he was "leading the fight to stop Obamacare."  That ad helped him win 51 percent of the primary vote.  Just this year, McCain introduced a bill to "fully" repeal Obamacare and replace it with a "free-market approach that strengthens the quality and accessibility of care."  Then, last Friday, McCain faced a choice on the Senate floor.  He could vote with all but two of his GOP colleagues for "a skinny repeal" bill and get to a conference committee, where negotiators from the House and Senate could devise a bill that might pass both chambers.  Or he could effectively leave Obamacare in place, dooming any realistic effort at curbing it given the uniform Democratic opposition to any real reform.  McCain sided with the status quo, killing the "skinny repeal."

These Six Senators Lied About Obamacare Repeal.  The following Republican Senators demonstrated this afternoon [7/26/2017] that they are liars and frauds:  Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Dean Heller (Nev.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rob Portman (Ohio). [...] These mountebanks, all of whom voted for "clean repeal" when Obama's inevitable veto made it safe and politically expedient to do so, voted against a virtually identical bill today — knowing full well that President Trump would sign it.  In other words, they consciously betrayed their constituents, their party, and the nation as a whole.

John McCain is About John McCain.  He has always been a "maverick" and a "rebel."  I think it's his personality.  But ultimately, there is a self-indulgence to the man that puts himself before what's right for the country.  I think some of it, maybe a lot of it, stems from his involvement in the Keating Five scandal back in the 1980s.  He was cleared of charges, but something so precious to him, his honor, was tarnished.  And so, I think, making sure people understand how honorable he is has become part of his life's mission.  His vote against the Obamacare "repeal" bill last night, which sunk the measure, and his betrayal of the will of so many Republican voters, was not about the content of the bill.  It was about process.

McCain Shocks Senate by Shooting Down Obamacare Repeal.  The senator who was defeated by President Obama in his 2008 quest for the White House stepped in to cast the deciding vote to kill Senate Republicans' last-gasp effort to repeal Obama's signature healthcare legislation before the summer recess.  Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were expected to vote against the "skinny repeal" — a bare-bones repeal of only the individual and employer mandates as well as the medical device tax; the latter has drawn bipartisan criticism over the years.

Murkowski and McCain Saved ObamaCare Just Months After Promising Voters They'd Repeal It.  Whatever your views on ObamaCare, the simple fact is that the GOP Senate voted to repeal ObamaCare in December 2015, knowing full well that President Obama would veto the bill.  That vote was conveniently timed to give Republican lawmakers the ability to go back to their states and proclaim that they had tried to repeal ObamaCare, but were thwarted by a Democratic president.  "Elect me, and give us a Republican in the White House, and we can finally get rid of this law," was the basic message to voters.  Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, for example, wrote multiple op-eds for her hometown papers decrying what ObamaCare had done to her state, and vowing to repeal it, in the run-up to her 2016 re-election.

John McCain Voted Against Bipartisanship, Not for It.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said his vote Friday [7/28/2017] against "skinny repeal" of Obamacare was a vote for bipartisanship.  In fact, it was the opposite, rewarding Democrats for passing Obamacare without working with Republicans in the first place, allowing them to establish a beachhead for government-run health care, which they will now be able to protect.  Whatever happens going forward, they will regard their initial partisanship as having been worth the effort.

John McCain Casts Legacy Vote Against American People — Votes To Continue ObamaCare.  At 1:45am on July 28th 2017, Republican Senator John McCain together with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted against the ObamaCare repeal in the Senate; ensuring the failing ObamaCare health care takeover and economic drag continues.  This should not come as a surprise.  McCain has a legacy of voting against the American people to the benefit of his corrupt legislative corporate handlers.  Yet, the vote was still blood-boiling in ramification and consequence.  Additionally, it should be noted for an accurate record that Nevada Republican Senator Dean Heller delayed his own roll call vote, skipped his name when called, until he was able to see that McCain cast the vote against America.

Hypocrite John Mccain 2016 Campaign Video:  Repeal Obamacare.  Remember in 2010 he campaigned about "build the [...] fence" to keep illegal aliens out of the country?  Since then McCain has done everything he can to keep the borders open and allow illegal aliens to flood into this country.  McCain was up for re-election in 2016 too.  You know what he campaigned on?  Repealing ObamaCARE:  [Video clip]

Once a RINO, Always a RINO — McCain Sinks Obamacare Repeal.  John McCain has made a career out of cultivating an image of being a "maverick", or at least that's what the mainstream media likes to call him.  To anyone on the right, he's nothing more than an egotistical blowhard who loves being a thorn in the side of his own party.  Like his toady Lindsey Graham, McCain isn't a conservative, a nationalist, a constitutionalist, an America Firster or any other related ideology.  The fact is that John McCain is nothing more than a big spending, open borders liberal who has far more in common with the Democrats than he does the Republicans.

Schumer: McCain Ranks as Great as Ted Kennedy.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today [7/28/2017] declared Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to have joined the ranks of late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) when it comes to greatness in Congress.  The senator who was defeated by President Obama in his 2008 quest for the White House stepped in to cast the deciding vote to kill Senate Republicans' last-gasp effort to repeal Obama's signature healthcare legislation.  Audible gasps arose from the Dem side of the chamber in the wee hours this morning when McCain walked forward and cast a loud "no" vote — the 51st vote to kill a "skinny repeal" bill also opposed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

Dark Days.  It is tough to follow the news these days.  The biggest disaster is in the Senate, where John McCain, despite having campaigned in favor of repealing Obamacare twice, turned his coat inside out and joined the Democrats in voting down repeal.  Now perhaps Obamacare will be left to suffer a lingering death, as premiums continue to rise and insurers exit the exchanges.  Or perhaps President Trump will use his authority to reform the ACA administratively, which could result in significantly lower costs.  Either way, the perception that Republicans are unable to govern will gain currency, and rightly so.  Meanwhile, the White House looks like a fiasco.

McCain's Revenge.  I understand that revenge is a dish best served cold.  But by looking to hurt President Trump — which I have no doubt was one motivation of the "maverick" Senator — John McCain cemented his reputation as a politico who always talked a good game and who traded on his former heroism but who in the end was a harmful influence in American politics.  (I say cemented because McCain's reputation had already gone substantially in that direction with his involvement in the unconstitutional McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Act — which may not be its official name — his incessant efforts to get and keep America in wars, and his mindless desire to promote "bipartisanship" over principle, party, and, in this case, country.)

The Coming GOP Electoral 'Health Care' Disaster.  It is ironic, but somehow fitting, that the illness of one of the worst men in American political life should be the thing that might save the Republican Party from the ineptitude of its leadership and its own cowardly instincts.  I'm referring, of course, to John McCain, a man who's been in the public eye since his Vietnam captivity in the 1960s and has contributed exactly nothing since to the country he professes to serve.  So maybe inadvertently delaying the "health care plan" vote in the Senate, if that can enable its defeat, is the way McCain can finally make up for his years as a showboating, self-aggrandizing "maverick" who never met a political friend he didn't want to stab in the back, nor enemy he didn't wish to cozy up to.

Revealed: 'Ordinary 'citizen' John McCain dispatched a trusted aide across the Atlantic to get dirty dossier from ex-spy after former British diplomat told him about blackmail tapes.  Sen. John McCain said he did 'what any citizen would do' in turning over the dirty dossier, which contained unconfirmed secrets about the president-elect, over to the FBI.  The Guardian charted the path of how the dossier came to be and how it was that McCain got his hands on the controversial documents.  The story of the dossier began with an investigative firm in Washington, D.C., being tapped by one of Trump's primary allies to dig up some opposition research on the Republican hopeful.

REPORT: John McCain Was The Globalist Point Man In Efforts To Destroy Trump Campaign.  Evidence is now mounting that Senator John McCain was among the highest ranking members of a globalist effort to dismantle the then-insurgent Donald Trump presidential campaign.  This evidence points to Mr. McCain's direct involvement with foreign agents to do so — the very kind of election influencing he has repeatedly charged against POTUS Trump and the Russian government.

McCain Institute Refuses to Disclose Big Donations.  McCain Institute for International Leadership executives refuse to disclose how much money big donors have contributed to the nonprofit that's named after Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group has learned.  McCain was the architect of the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 — more popularly known as "McCain-Feingold" — that required public disclosure of all contributions of at least $250 in federal elections.  Former Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold co-sponsored the measure with McCain.  But the McCain Institute — created in 2012 with an $8.7 million donation of funds remaining from McCain's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign — refused Monday to disclose the amounts it received from its biggest donors who gave $100,000 or more.

Here's the Russia influence controversy that John McCain doesn't want you to know about.  The FBI has said that there is no evidence to date that Trump ever met with a Russian figure banned from the United States.  McCain actually met twice with [Oleg] Deripaska, a Russian businessman and Putin ally whose visa was blocked by the United States amidst intelligence community concerns about his ties to Moscow.  The meetings were arranged by Manafort and his lobbying firm partner Rick Davis, who later would become McCain's campaign manager, according to interviews and documents.  Deripaska, a metals magnet [sic - (magnate?)], is president of United Company RUSAL, and is considered to be one of the richest men in the world worth an estimated at $5.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Soros, Clinton-Linked Teneo Among Donors to McCain Institute.  Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in 2012 turned over nearly $9 million in unspent funds from his failed 2008 presidential campaign to a new foundation bearing his name, the McCain Institute for International Leadership.  The institute is intended to serve as a "legacy" for McCain and "is dedicated to advancing human rights, dignity, democracy and freedom."  It is a tax-exempt non-profit foundation with assets valued at $8.1 million and associated with Arizona State University.  Conservative and liberal critics, however, believe the institute constitutes a major conflict of interest for McCain, The Daily Caller News Foundation's Investigative Group has learned.

Senator John McCain Is A Front For Soros-Saudi Globalist Scheme — See Proof Here.  Kudos to The Daily Caller for connecting the dots on the "McCain Institute" — a shadowy hodgepodge of globalist interests very much modeled after the Clinton Machine.

London Terrorist Fought in Sen. McCain's Beloved Free Syrian Army.  One of the terrorists who carried out the deadly London Bridge attack in England this month fought in an affiliate of Senator John McCain's beloved Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Libya, supporting the U.S.-backed effort to topple Muammar Gaddafi.  His name is Rachid Redouane and, after fighting in the Libyan revolution with the Tripoli-based group Liwa al Ummah, he joined a militia that deployed jihadist fighters to Syria.

McCain says American leadership was better under Obama: report.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said American leadership was stronger under President Trump's predecessor, according to a Guardian report published Sunday [6/11/2017]. Asked if the country stood on sturdier ground under former President Obama's leadership, McCain said "yes," according to the report.  "As far as American leadership is concerned, yes," said McCain, though he vocally criticized many of the Obama administration's foreign policy decisions.

Update:
McCain: 'Never Said' U.S. Leadership Was Better Under Obama Than Trump.  Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain denied Monday [6/12/2017] that he said U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump is worse than when Barack Obama was in office.  "I never said such a thing.  A thousand times I said, 'Look at the world in 2009 and look at it today.'  Of course, I never said [that].  If I did I was joking," McCain told The Daily Caller.

Where were McCain's concerns when Obama was president?
McCain: Trump scandals have reached 'Watergate size and scale'.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Tuesday evening said allegations against President Trump's administration have reached a "Watergate size and scale."  McCain, who has not been an ardent supporter of Trump, made the comment at an International Republican Institute panel in Washington, D.C., according to reporters who attended.

John McCain Is Losing Touch With Voters And Reality.  Another day, another bizarre and unfounded accusation against a republican regarding their non-existent ties to Russia.  Even after an exhausting volley of Russia-induced hysteria swept through the democratic party in the wake of the 2016 election, some politicians just can't seem to get enough of slinging completely fabricated and accusatory conspiracy theories around.  The latest to do just that is John McCain, an avid anti-Trump Republican and overall thorn in the side of governmental progress.  The latest victim of his increasingly senile tirades is none other than Rand Paul, and McCain's theory is that Paul is Vladimir Putin's puppet.

Where was McCain when Obama attacked the free press?  [Scroll down] But more to the point, it was McCain up to his old tricks:  Ingratiating himself to the anti-Trump press by playing its champion, in a bid to be the media's darling.  What stands out here is the hypocrisy of his claims.  He's suddenly concerned about press freedoms and dictators?  Where was McCain when President Obama was systematically violating press freedoms every which way to Tuesday?  Seven examples of Obama's attacks on a free press spring to mind and not one of them drew any significant criticism from McCain.

The McCain-Trump feud.  John McCain and Donald Trump have never been close, and they don't share agreement now on a variety of foreign policy and defense questions.  They have engaged in several testy exchanges in the past, but their mutual antipathy now goes beyond testiness.  Mr. McCain, a senior senator and former presidential nominee of the Republican Party — and with the eminence that those credentials accord — traveled across the Atlantic the other day to deliver what one analyst calls "a calculated, planned attack on Trump's entire system of beliefs."  This is without modern precedent, and it was out of bounds.

John McCain Should Retire and Come Out as a Democrat.  McCain said that in order to "preserve democracy" you must have a free press.  He says that without it he's "afraid we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time."  "That's how dictators get started," McCain added in a clip of the interview released on Saturday [2/18/2017].  "They get started by suppressing free press," the Senator responded asked if he was referring to Trump's tweet.

Where was McCain when Obama Attacked the Free Press?  Senator John McCain poured it on for the press at a Munich defense conference Saturday, warning in a veiled attack on President Trump that attacks on the press are a leading danger for democracy.  "That's how dictators are made!" he shrieked.  It was rich stuff, given that most of his European listeners do not have the same wide press freedoms found in the states.  But more to the point, it was McCain up to his old tricks:  Ingratiating himself to the anti-Trump press by playing its champion, in a bid to be the media's darling.  What stands out here is the hypocrisy of his claims.  He's suddenly concerned about press freedoms and dictators?  Where was McCain when President Obama was systematically violating press freedoms every which way to Tuesday?  Seven examples of Obama's attacks on a free press spring to mind and not one of them drew any significant criticism from McCain.

Paul rips McCain:  Take his press comments 'with a grain of salt'.  Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday warned against taking seriously comments his Senate colleague John McCain of Arizona made on Saturday, in which the Arizona lawmaker compared President Trump's actions toward the press to "how dictators get started."  "The thing is, I don't agree with his analysis and applying that to the president," Paul told Jon Karl, guest host of ABC's "This Week."  "Everything that [McCain] says about the president is colored by his own personal dispute he's got running with President Trump and it should be taken with a grain of salt, because John McCain's the guy that's advocated for war everywhere.  He would bankrupt the nation."

Rand Paul:  US is 'lucky John McCain's not in charge'.  John McCain isn't the only senator who can toss barbs at a fellow Republican.  After McCain on Sunday criticized President Trump's attitude toward the press, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul castigated the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, saying, "we're very lucky John McCain's not in charge."  "Everything that he says about the president is colored by his own personal dispute he's got running with President Trump, and it should be taken with a grain of salt, because John McCain's the guy who's advocated for war everywhere," Paul said on "This Week."  Paul added that if McCain were "in charge" the country would "be in perpetual war."

John McCain stands up for the press.  Arizona Sen. John McCain said President Trump is wrong to tweet the press is an "enemy of the American people" — a label a "dictator" might use.  "If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and at many times adversarial press," McCain told Meet The Press's Chuck Todd in an interview airing Sunday.  NBC released excerpts Saturday [2/18/2017].  "Without it I'm afraid we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time.  That's how dictators get started."

Trump's team in disarray, U.S. Senator McCain tells Europe.  Republican Senator John McCain broke with the reassuring message that U.S. officials visiting Germany have sought to convey on their debut trip to Europe, saying on Friday that the administration of President Donald Trump was in "disarray".  McCain, a known Trump critic, told the Munich Security Conference that the resignation of the new president's security adviser Michael Flynn over his contacts with Russia reflected deep problems in Washington.

McCain Criticizes Trump's Administration While Abroad.  Anti-Trump Republican Senator John McCain publicly painted the Trump administration as chaotic in a speech to the Munich Security Conference.  "I think that the Flynn issue obviously is something that shows that in many respects this administration is in disarray and they've got a lot of work to do," said McCain.  "The president, I think, makes statements (and) on other occasions contradicts himself.  So we've learned to watch what the president does as opposed to what he says," he said.  McCain is supporting a narrative pushed by Breitbart and echoed by several media outlets that Trump's administration is a mess.

McCain defends the media in NBC interview.  In an interview on NBC airing on Sunday [2/19/2017], Senator John McCain defended the media, saying "we need a free press, we must have it."  In an interview with NBC News' Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" the Republican senator was asked to respond to President Trump's tweet on Friday where he called many media outlets "the enemy of the American people."  McCain said that in order to "preserve democracy" you must have a free press.

The Editor says...
Freedom of the press is not the issue.  The news media are not the nation's enemy because they are free.  They're the enemy because they're dishonest.

Swamp Guardian McCain Announces Opposition to Mulvaney as OMB Director.  Having confronted these Decepticons within the GOPe wing of the UniParty for a decade, ultimately their actions become predictable.  It is the same cloistered crew, in the same Corinthian Chairs, around the same table of deceit, behind the same mahogany doors that holds the key to the coin, every time.

McCain regains his maverick reputation by bucking Trump.  Sen. John McCain once again is basking in the media spotlight as the go-to Republican on Capitol Hill for voicing opposition to the Republican in the White House.  This time, he's bucking President Trump and doing it with newfound vim.  In Mr. Trump's first two weeks in office, 'Mr. McCain broke with him over the decision to scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, said his proposed import tax on U.S. businesses relocated to Mexico was "insane" and took the lead in raising alarm about the reorganization of the National Security Council.

John McCain, Meddling Busybody.  Arizona's gift to the rest of the United States — a man who apparently never met a comrade he didn't want to double-cross — keeps on giving.

John McCain says President Trump's travel ban will "give ISIS some more propaganda".  Sen. John McCain on Sunday [1/29/2017] criticized President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it has been a "confused process" that will only give the terror group ISIS "more propaganda."  "The good news is that it's only got to do with a pause," he told CBS' "Face the Nation.  "The bad news is that obviously this process and these conclusions were not vetted."

It was me:  Sworn Trump enemy John McCain admits HE handed smear dossier to FBI.  Sworn Donald Trump enemy John McCain admitted Wednesday that he passed the dossier of claims of a Russian blackmail plot against the president-elect — calling it 'what any citizen should do'.  McCain — a longstanding anti-Trump Republican who had disassociated himself from the candidate's campaign weeks before the election — cast himself as an innocent and concerned member of the public as he justified his move.  He claimed he had no idea whether it was accurate or not — but that he believed the FBI should have it because it was 'sensitive'.

7 top RINO moments of the week.  GOP leaders negotiated a conference report for the final version of the FY 2017 defense bill (NDAA).  The transgender lobby pushed hard to remove a provision protecting defense contractors from Obama's mandate forcing them to comply with his transgender policies and views on gay marriage or risk losing contracts.  John McCain, as the lead Republican negotiator, agreed to take out this provision (the Russell Amendment). [...] Remember, this is an authorization bill — not an appropriations bill — and can wait until February.  Then again, the sexual identity movement tells Republicans to jump and they ask, "How high?"  Unfortunately, with leadership presenting members with a false choice of passing a defense bill with bad provisions instead of waiting, conservatives felt compelled to vote for it and so as not to appear they oppose the military.  This is what leadership does to conservatives on a daily basis.

John McCain vs.  Ann Kirkpatrick:  Here is the state of the Senate race.  McCain, R-Ariz., made it through his Tuesday [8/30/2016] primary relatively unscathed, though only about 51 percent of Republican voters backed his nomination for a sixth Senate term.

McCain now promising to be 'a check' on Clinton, as Republicans run scared.  Senate Republicans have privately polled for months to figure out the best way to survive if Donald Trump continued to be a drag on their down-ballot candidates.  They've closely studied the lessons of 1996, when the GOP gained Senate seats even as Bob Dole lost the presidency.  They've weighed the risks of turning off portions of their base against the rewards of winning over voters who are repulsed by their nominee.

John McCain is in the fight of his political life in the age of Donald Trump.  After 30 years in the Senate, during which he transformed himself from war hero into political icon, John McCain now finds himself in more jeopardy than at any time during his political career.  And for much of that, he can blame Donald Trump.  This reelection campaign, his fifth, is forcing the Arizona Republican to do battle on multiple fronts, testing his political dexterity in ways unlike any of his previous races, including two unsuccessful bids for the presidency.

John McCain, nobody's hero.  Has anyone in our public life cultivated an image of personal heroism more meticulously than Arizona Sen. John McCain? [...] Again and again, McCain has placed his ravenous personal ambition ahead of the good of the country.  In the process, he's done as much as anyone in his party, and far more than most, to advance the cause of the venomous populism that's now taken hold of the GOP.

Kasich: Give McCain a lifetime Senate appointment.  Donald Trump might be unwilling to support Arizona Sen. John McCain's re-election bid, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich thinks McCain deserves a lifetime appointment to the Senate.  "Honestly, I don't even think they ought to have an election.  They ought to tell McCain, as long as you want to be in the Senate, you can have it," Kasich told WGN radio.  "He's just the greatest guy."

The Audacity of Dopes.  John McCain labeled the president "directly responsible" for the massacre in Florida because he did not sufficiently intervene in the civil war in Syria.  But three years ago, McCain, and Obama more softly, sought to intervene — on the side of ISIS.  Back then Arizona's senior senator euphemistically labeled Bashar al-Assad's opponents as "rebels."  His 2008 presidential election opponent at least conceded that "some of Assad's opponents are extremists."  The Orlando killer's stated motivation of "vengeance" for "bombing the Islamic State" makes McCain's issuance of culpability for a lack of military action especially peculiar.

Challenger Kelli Ward:  John McCain Is Directly Responsible for the Rise of ISIS.  Primary challenger Dr. Kelli Ward called out incumbent Republican Sen. John McCain following his fumbled criticism of President Barack Obama's role in the rise of Islamic terror group ISIS.  It is McCain's foreign policy that is "directly responsible," Ward said, for facilitating the rise of "ruthless" Islamic terrorism.

Kelli Ward to Second Amendment Supporters:  Retire McCain.  Dr. Kelli Ward is a former Arizona state senator who is running in the primary against John McCain.  She is a strong Second Amendment supporter, and a political outsider to Washington, D.C.  Her campaign is focusing on a number of issues, among them that it is time for John McCain to leave office, and her contrast with the Senator on the Second Amendment.  John McCain has been a reliable "I support the Second Amendment, but" Senator.  He has supported bans on "assault weapons".  He supported severe restrictions on gun shows, which would have effectively destroyed the popular gun culture political and networking tool.  He supported "universal background checks" (UBC), designed as a step to universal gun registration.  He has recently backed off of the UBC issue, as the primary is getting closer.  It is a common tactic for politicians to move toward their base for the primary, then away from it for the general election.

Chris McDaniel Endorses Kelli Ward In Arizona Race Against John McCain.  Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel has endorsed Kelli Ward, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona who is running against five-term incumbent Sen. John McCain, The Daily Caller has learned.  "Kelli will be a 'Bold, Fresh, Fearless' conservative champion in the U.S. Senate," McDaniel, a 2014 U.S. Senate candidate, said in a statement.  "She will stand with Cruz, Lee, and Paul for the right to life, for the 10th Amendment, for killing Common Core, replacing Obamacare with free-market medicine, keeping our promises to our veterans, and finally securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration once and for all."

Arizona Poll — John McCain Has Serious Primary Fight.  A new PPP poll from Arizona shows Senator John McCain is in a serious battle for the GOP primary.  Challenger Kelli Ward is currently tied with McCain at 41% and the majority of republican electorate have a negative view of McCain.

McCain Faces Unexpectedly Tough Reelection Fight in Arizona.  [John McCain] is seeking reelection to his sixth term in the Senate and by rights he shouldn't be worried:  Since he first won the seat with a 21-point victory in 1986, no primary or general-election opponent has come even that close to knocking him off.  He has all the advantages of incumbency — the deep political network, the massive war chest, the sky-high name ID — in a state that has gone Republican in every presidential election since 2000.  And yet he finds himself facing perhaps the strongest challenger of his career in a year when Donald Trump has complicated the task facing down-ballot Republican candidates everywhere.

John McCain Slips in Provision to Draft Women in Defense Bill.  Pregnant, female, Navy SEALs was something many of us used to joke about as a way of exaggerating the absurd social engineering in the military.  Yet, placing women in special operations and direct combat units has now become a reality under the Obama-led Pentagon.  Sadly, not only have Republicans like John McCain refused to use their perches on the Armed Services Committees in the House and Senate to block this social engineering, they are now codifying it with a provision that could lead to a mandatory draft of all women.

This Is For Those Who Wonder What Side John McCain is On.  It appears that John McCain, who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hillary was a Benghazi-disaster, invited her to his desert retreat for a highfaluting conversation about leadership values.  How timely for the Democratic presidential hopeful to be applauded on leadership by a so-called Republican.  He likes to call his fellow Republicans 'wacko birds' and 'clowns'.  Hillary, who destroyed Libya, will appear on stage Saturday with McCain at the Sedona Forum, an annual festival hosted by the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University.  She will appear with national and international leaders of renown from all walks of life and talk about ideas.  In a statement released Thursday [4/28/2016], McCain called Clinton "my friend" and praised her public service career.

On the ropes:
McCain to skip GOP convention.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is facing perhaps the toughest reelection race of his career, will skip the Republican presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in July.  McCain says he will be focusing instead on his own race against Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.  He also has to worry about a late primary, which is scheduled for Aug. 30.

McCain challenger criticizes non-profit donation from Saudi embassy.  The Democrat challenging Sen. John McCain is hitting the Arizona Republican with a new ad that raises questions about a $1 million donation from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia to the McCain Institue for International Leadership.  "Thirty-three years in Washington have changed John McCain," Kirkpatrick's Instagram ad says.  "After blasting foreign money as a likely source of political scandals, he now refuses to answer questions about the McCain Institute's $1 million donation from Saudi Arabia.  Arizonans deserve answers."

Huma Abedin: Call Your Girlfriend.  Everyone knows that Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin are joined at the hip.  The presidential candidate and a daughter of the Muslim Brotherhood are together all the time.  One notes with chagrin that when Republicans suggested that Abedin had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood — which she most assuredly does — Sen. John McCain rose up to defend her.  No wonder people are fed up with the Republican establishment.

Did someone mention Huma Abedin?

McCain faces toughest reelection of his career.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is facing what may be the toughest reelection of his Senate career in an unpredictable presidential year, when many voters are angry with Washington.  Early polls show McCain tied with his Democratic challenger, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), at around 40 percent despite having nearly 100-percent name recognition in the state he has represented in either the Senate or House since 1983.

Why We Lose: John McCain Blasts Trump For 'Destruction of the Press'.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the man who in 2008 put losing like a gentleman above doing what was necessary to keep then-Senator [Obama] out of the White House, appeared on CNN Wednesday [1/27/2016] with a fistful of red herrings designed to seek favor with his friends in the media by "othering" Donald Trump as a threat to all that [is] holy and virtuous in America.  Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, McCain once again proved that he had what it took to defeat Barack Obama but that he'd prefer to save his blistering rhetoric for his fellow Republicans.  McCain also proved that he knows absolutely nothing about the American Constitution.  In his establishment-addled mind, only the DC Media has rights.  The rest of us are required to dance to their tune.

Retire John McCain.  There are few Republicans who have betrayed our conservative principles more than John McCain.  He wrote the McCain-Kennedy and "Gang of Eight" immigration bills that offered amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.  He voted for the Wall Street bailout, to fund the implementation of Obamacare, for the $600 billion "fiscal cliff" tax hike, and to raise the debt limit 14 different times!  John McCain lost his way a long time ago and it's time to replace him with a strong conservative leader who will support and defend the Constitution.

Cruz: McCain Questions Citizenship Because He Secretly Backs Rubio.  Ted Cruz responded to John McCain questioning his eligibility for the presidency, saying the Arizona senator is secretly trying to boost Marco Rubio's chances at the Republican nomination.  "I think it is no surprise to anybody that John McCain is going to be supporting Marco Rubio in this election," Cruz told Mark Halperin of Bloomberg's "With All Due Respect."  "It's no surprise at all that he's trying to do what he can to help the candidate that he's favoring who he thinks shares policy positions with him."  The Texas senator's rebuttal comes hours after McCain said during a Phoenix radio interview that Cruz's birth abroad and his eligibility to become president is "worth looking into." "I think there is a question," McCain said.

The Editor says...
By bringing up a specious argument about Senator Cruz's citizenship, Senator McCain rather conclusively proves that Senator Rubio is the Republican Establishment's pre-ordained candidate for this election cycle.  Where was Senator McCain's concern about genuine citizenship when he was running against the Indonesian Barry Soetoro, a/k/a Barack H. Obama?

John McCain: "I Don't Know" If Cruz Is Eligible For Presidency With Canadian Birth.  Arizona Sen. John McCain said he doesn't know if the Canadian-born Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is eligible to be president, saying the Supreme Court might have to decide if Cruz is eligible to be president.  "I don't know the answer to that," said McCain on the Chris Merrill Show on KFYI550 on Wednesday [1/6/2016] of Cruz's eligibility.  "I know it came up in my race because I was born in Panama, but I was born in the Canal Zone, which is a territory.  Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was a territory when he ran in 1964."  Cruz was a U.S. citizen at birth; his mother was a U.S. citizen living in Canada at the time.

McCain on Planned Parenthood funding: No way am I voting for a shutdown.  The House passed a bill today that would freeze funding for PP, but that's really just a consolation prize.  Democrats will filibuster that if McConnell brings it to the floor in the Senate and then they'll filibuster the spending bill if McConnell attaches an amendment defunding PP to that.

The Media Love Affair with McCain.  [S]ince when did the media get concerned about the noble cause of fighting communism in Vietnam?  Our media, led by CBS Evening News anchorman Walter Cronkite, who was then an influential media figure, protested the Vietnam War and prompted the U.S. withdrawal and communist takeover.  His FBI file demonstrated Cronkite's contacts with Soviet officials and how he was used as a dupe by the communists.  More than 58,000 Americans sacrificed and died to save that country from communism.  The liberal media never supported the war against communism in Vietnam.  Yet they are now browbeating Trump over avoiding the war through deferments.  Our media are full of hypocrites.  They don't admire McCain for fighting in Vietnam.  They admire him because he is a "maverick" who frequently takes the liberal line, such as on "comprehensive immigration reform."

McCain doles out favors, makes play for freshmen on his panel.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is doling out favors to freshmen on the Senate Armed Services Committee and casting himself as a mentor to a new crop of senators.  GOP aides say McCain's push reflects his desire to get as much done as he can over the next two years — in case Democrats take back the Senate majority in 2016.  McCain needs a united Republican side, the aides say.

John McCain: wartime hero, peacetime coward.  Donald Trump made a stupid comment about John McCain, blah blah blah.  That doesn't interest me.  What does interest me is that every time we want to say something critical of John McCain, we always have to preface it with "John McCain, who was a war hero" (which he was).  But that's only half his record.  In peacetime he has done such incredible economic, social, and national security damage to this country that I think he should be addressed as "John McCain, wartime hero and peacetime coward."

McCain Started All Of This Mess.  Senator McCain started all of this mess when he called Donald Trump's supporters a bunch of "crazies."  I don't seem to recall the Republican National Committee telling Senator McCain to apologize.  What about the time McCain called Senator Ted Cruz a "whacko bird." Or the time he called Tea Party members "hobbits."  Anybody remember when Senator McCain called Evangelical Christians "agents of intolerance"?

Sen. John McCain sacrificed and served — while Donald Trump hid behind draft deferments.  While Donald Trump was safely home, armed with a series of draft deferments, John McCain was flying combat missions over Vietnam — until his plane was shot down.  The U.S. Navy pilot, after breaking both arms and a leg in the 1967 crash, spent the next 5½ years as a prisoner of war.  He was beaten, tortured and held in solitary confinement after his refusal to cooperate with his captors.  McCain rejected offers of an early release by the North Vietnamese, knowing his freedom would aid the enemy's propaganda effort.

The Editor says...
If being a fighter pilot in Vietnam was the only worthwhile thing John McCain ever did, I think his life would have been well spent.  I don't want to take away from his status as a military hero.  My problem with Mr. McCain is all the stuff he has done in the last 20 years, pretending to be a conservative Republican.

John McCain was a War Hero, but he's also a Loser and an attacker of fellow Republicans.  John McCain listened to GOP consultants and refused to make Barack Obama's personal history part of his 2008 presidential campaign.  A wealth of information was there for the taking, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Obama's upbringing, his drug usage and other factors that pointed to Obama's radical nature were left on the table by John McCain.  He predictably went on to lose the election with plenty of bullets left in his gun.  [But] McCain never seems to have a problem going after fellow Republicans or more specifically conservatives.

White House mum on working with McCain to close Gitmo.  The White House on Monday declined to say if it's working with Sens. John McCain and Joe Manchin to permanently close the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, just days after it released another six detainees.  McCain, R-Ariz., said last week that the administration — specifically Lisa Monaco, the White House's counter-terrorism adviser, and Pentagon officials — have told him they are working on a plan to send to Congress to close the facility.

AZ Poll: Sen. McCain Under 50 Percent, Extraordinarily Vulnerable.  Newly released data from liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling shows half of Arizona's Republican primary voters disapprove of McCain's job performance, and more than half would prefer a more conservative Senate candidate in 2016.  After more than three decades in Washington, McCain earns merely 41 percent approval from Arizona Republicans and 36 percent from general Arizona voters, PPP finds.  Just 37 percent reported a willingness to support the Senator in his 2016 re-election bid.

State Sen. Kelli Ward Announcement: Exploring Challenging McCain for US Senate.  Much-anticipated challenger to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), state Senator Kelli Ward (R-Lake Havasu City) announced early Thursday [4/9/2015] that she is officially exploring a 2016 run for the U.S. Senate.  Ward supporters have been strongly encouraging state Senator and military wife Ward to run.  In a message to supporters, Ward relayed, "I am receiving huge support from the grassroots."

Sen. John McCain announces he's running for 6th term.  The Arizona Republican made the announcement to run for a sixth term on Monday [4/6/2015] in an interview with NBC News.

Paper: Mccain's Political 'Machine' May Be 'Broken Down', Door Open For Kelli Ward.  Republican critics of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) may get their wish of ousting the five-term incumbent in 2016. Reports indicate that his popularity has waned and potential challengers such as State Senator Kelli Ward (R-Lake Havasu City) have attracted many supporters. [...] Described as having a potentially "fresh approach" to representation in D.C., Senator Ward currently sits as a top contender to primary McCain.

McCain Comes Out Against Loretta Lynch As Primary Challengers Loom.  As two hefty primary challengers loom back home in Arizona ahead of his expected run for re-election to the U.S. Senate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has come out publicly against the nomination of U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General because of her support for President Barack Obama's executive amnesty.

Barack Hussein Obama.  What's in a Name?  During the 2008 campaign, Democrats were indignant when a talk show host referred to the Senator from Illinois by his full name.  In the parlance of the left, this was "demagoging" their candidate.  We should celebrate diversity, but not too much.  John McCain promptly requested supporters not to mention his opponent's middle name.

The Editor says...
When I heard Senator McCain refused to mention Obama's middle name, I knew he had lost the election.  In my opinion, John McCain is a wishy-washy centrist who didn't really want to win the election.  If he had any desire to be the president — or at least keep the lying left-wing baby-killing Muslim with a forged birth certificate out of the White House — he would have blurted out Obama's full name whenever he spotted a microphone.

Arizona state senator might take on McCain.  A conservative state senator from western Arizona might take on Republican Sen. John McCain in next year's GOP primary for the U.S. Senate.  State Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City, a physician entering her second term in the Legislature, confirmed late Sunday [2/8/2015] she is considering a run against McCain.  Ward would bring with her a fervent "tea party" base that has rebelled against McCain, pushing through a censure of the senator last year by the Arizona Republican Party. McCain allies recently failed in their attempt to install a new chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party, the source of much of the senator's political heartburn.

Recall Senators McCain and Flake.  Republican Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake are liberals representing a conservative state.  By their statements and actions, they have proven that they are no longer worthy to be the U.S. Senators from Arizona.  Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who once described the mainstream media as his political base, has declared war on conservatives and the people of Arizona; reportedly leading a purge of the state's GOP apparatus to pave the way for an easier reelection bid should he decide to run again in 2016.

McCain greeted by boos at GOP meeting.  U.S. Sen. John McCain on Saturday [1/24/2015] delivered a fiery speech on foreign policy in the face of many of his conservative critics at the Arizona Republican Party's state meeting, earning a noisy mix of boos and cheers at the same annual gathering where in 2014 he was censured in absentia for being too liberal on issues such as immigration reform.

John McCain Leading Purge of AZ Conservatives.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his allies are reportedly leading a purge of conservatives in Arizona to pave the way for an easier reelection bid should McCain decide to run for reelection in 2016.  McCain's political team is reportedly "engaging in an aggressive and systematic campaign to reshape the state GOP apparatus by ridding it of conservative firebrands and replacing them with steadfast allies."

John McCain Worries He's Tea Party's 'Number One Target' in 2016.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) implied that he would run for another Senate term in 2016 and is worried that he is the top target of conservatives and Tea partiers who have never trusted him.

Three Reasons why the GOP Establishment is as Dangerous as the Democrats.  John McCain came out last week during an interview with the left-wing web magazine Salon and promised that the incoming GOP senators wouldn't be "Ted Cruz types." [...] Yet, this is so typically, typically John McCain.  Clueless.  Tone deaf.  Out of touch.  Living in a self-reinforcing bubble of media and lobbyist-fed backpatting that insulates him from the real world.  This is pretty much the only way to explain his comment.  The voters went to the polls because they were tired of business as usual, because they were tired of the antics of the permanent Washington class that continues to ignore the will of the people.

McCain Assures Incoming GOP Senators Won't Be More Ted Cruz Types.  Senators John McCain and Ted Cruz don't exactly have the best relationship.  Cruz has said Republicans like McCain are why their party doesn't do better, and McCain has not been shy about publicly dumping on Cruz, especially during last year's government shutdown.  And in a new interview with Salon today [11/11/2014], McCain wanted to make it clear that the incoming crop of Republicans that will give their party control of the Senate will not be Cruzes.  McCain even claimed that a lot of the GOP Senate candidates who won are in the same mold as himself and Lindsey Graham.

For Reasons Unknown To Sane People, McCain Is In Demand On GOP Campaign Trail.  Nothing says, "We've learned our lessons!" like trotting out the fossil who is loathed more by the conservative Republican base than he is by Democrats these days.

8 Insane Things Put in Place by John McCain's $100 Million Pro-Invasion Spending Bill.  So just when you thought McCain couldn't get any dumber or more malicious, we get word of his $100,000,000 bill that promote illegal immigration.  Consider the eight key facets of this epic treason:
[#1] Spends $100,000,000.
[#2] Asserts acts that are already illegal are now illegal.
[#3] Makes it a federal crime to tell someone where a DHS, HHS or Border Patrol bus carrying illegal aliens is spotted, coming from or headed.
[#4] Makes it a federal crime to prohibit a DHS, HHS or Border Patrol bus from moving from point A to point B. [...]

John McCain: It'll Take An Open Borders GOP to Defeat Hillary.  Calling Hillary Clinton the "odds-on favorite right now" to win the White House in 2016, McCain added, "I expect it to be very competitive, except if we don't enact some kind of comprehensive immigration reform, I do not see a way for us to really win a general election."

The Editor says...
Senator McCain sounds like he's auditioning for the role of Hillary's running mate.

Obama AWOL as border crisis worsens.  John McCain, an immigration hawk.  Who knew?  Mr. McCain, the highest-profile Republican of the U.S. Senate's "Gang of Eight" that came up with amnesty as the solution to the immigration crisis — and it truly is a crisis — is finally taking a hard line against President Obama for his encouraging the tidal wave of illegal aliens swamping the southwestern border.  "There has to be a halt to this," Mr. McCain thundered Sunday on CNN.  "That's what we want, and the best way to do that is for planeloads of these young people to be returning to their country of origin and their families."  Of more than 57,000 children who have arrived at the border since October, only 1,254 had been sent home, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

This is what's known as "talking out of both sides of one's mouth."
Hillary Clinton: John McCain's favorite Democrat?  Sen. John McCain would be "proud" to work with a President Hillary Clinton, the Arizona Republican said Sunday [7/6/2014] on "Face the Nation" — that is, he added, if she "regrettably" makes it into the White House.

John McCain: Cochran's Tactics Against Tea Party In MS Worth Emulating.  One week after traveling to Mississippi to do his utmost to help Senator Thad Cochran (R) beat Tea Party rival Chris McDaniel, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) talked about the strengths he saw in Cochran's approach to campaigning.

John McCain: Not Granting Amnesty 'A Stain on America's Honor'.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who co-wrote the Senate's amnesty legislation and has been trying for more than a decade to pass comprehensive immigration reform, believes not granting amnesty to all of the country's illegal immigrants is a "stain on America's honor."  Speaking at Harvard University's Institute of Politics on Wednesday [4/23/2014], McCain said the country currently has "de facto amnesty" because there are "not enough buses" to deport all of the country's illegal immigrants.

McCain says illegal immigrants are 'not going home'.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday [4/23/2014] that immigrants living in the United States illegally are not going home, and that the U.S. has no practical way of forcing them to leave.  "They're not going home.  And so why don't we give them a path to citizenship," McCain asked at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy Jr. forum.  "There are not enough buses to deport them," he added.  "It's de facto amnesty."

Poll: 64 Percent Of GOP Arizona Voters Want McCain Gone In 2016.  A new Citizens United Political Victory Fund poll shows that Republican Arizona voters have had it with Sen. John McCain, even though the senator has signaled his intentions to run for a sixth term in 2016.  According to the poll, 64.2 percent of likely GOP primary voters said that they are ready for someone new to take the job and only 29.3 percent signaled a willingness to re-elect McCain.  The poll also shows that McCain loses to other potential Arizona Repubican candidates in a primary.

Twice Censured McCain Denounces Low Job Approval Poll as 'Bogus'.  Arizona Senator John McCain was recently censured not once, but twice in recent months.  In January, TPNN reported McCain's first formal censure came from the Maricopa County GOP, the largest Republican group in the state.  The group formally censured Senator John McCain for "long and terrible record of drafting, co-sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with liberal Democrats."

New Poll Finds John McCain is the Least Popular U.S. Senator.  According to a new poll out of Arizona, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is the least popular incumbent in the United States.  Put simply, PPP surveyed incumbent senators in various states, and as they put it, "McCain [had the] worst poll numbers in the country."

Arizona GOP group censures McCain over 'liberal' voting record.  The Arizona Republican Party formally censured Sen. John McCain on Saturday, citing a voting record they say is insufficiently conservative.

Hasn't McCain Worn Out His Welcome?  There was a time when I liked and admired John McCain.  True, I still had hair on my head, and the calendar year began with a "1" rather than a "2." [...] There's a reason he's the media's favorite Republican to put on the Sunday talk shows:  he can be relied upon to go rogue.

McCain praises Biden for support of foreign aid.  Some high-profile bipartisanship in Washington on Thursday night, as former Republican presidential candidate John McCain praised Democratic Vice President Biden for his long-time support of foreign aid.  McCain, a senator from Arizona, said Biden — a former Senate colleague from Delaware — "deserves our gratitude and respect for his many years of effective leadership in ensuring that all the resources America has to influence the course of world events are funded adequately and used effectively."

He sounds like a man who is about to leave the Republican party.
John McCain says he would 'think about' registering as an independent if a young man.  If John McCain was young and registering to vote for the first time, he would "think about" registering as an independent instead of as a Republican.  At least, that's what the Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee told the New York Times Magazine's Mark Leibovich during an extensive profile.

McCain: People are begging me to run for president again.  It's sad that Maverick's taking this idea just seriously enough that he'd think to mention it to another human being.  He's 77 years old, ran a famously chaotic campaign in 2008 before getting crushed on election day, and would face a much stronger, younger field in the primaries than he did last time.

Obama, McCain to huddle on immigration.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will meet with President Obama at the White House Thursday afternoon [11/7/2013] to plot strategy for passing comprehensive immigration reform.  McCain said Obama requested the meeting, which comes at a time political momentum for immigration reform is flagging.  "I'm going over to the White House this afternoon to meet with him [on] immigration reform and others," he said.  "I actually have a respectful and cordial relationship with him."

McCain: We'll Try to Pass Immigration Changes After GOP Primaries.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gave the clearest indication that proponents of comprehensive immigration reform may make their final — and strongest — push to get legislation passed next year after House Republicans make it through their primaries.

McCain leaning yes on ENDA.  Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed cautious support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) currently nearing passage in the Senate. [...] McCain said he was leaning towards a vote in favor of ENDA, which would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  The law has the backing of every Senate Democrat but Republicans are much more wary.  McCain himself emphasized that he still has outstanding concerns regarding the law's possible effect on religious organizations.  He likened ENDA to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and its sometimes-controversial after-effects.

The Editor says...
The comparison to the 1964 civil rights act is an obvious canard:  People do not choose to be born black; but people choose to become homosexuals, and some choose to leave homosexuality behind and return to normal life.  If discrimination results when you elect to become a homosexual, then you have brought your troubles upon yourself.  The same is true if you sense rejection or aversion after you put an earring in you lip, or your tongue, or any of several other places where earrings don't belong.  You will be looked upon with disdain if you choose to display agressively bad taste.  This has been the case for thousands of years, and yet some of our elected representatives will ignore centuries of traditional values in order to retain their power.

Meghan McCain: Dad 'Frustrated,' 'Depressed' by Tea Party.  In sad news from the land of McCain, "Raising McCain" host and McCain family scion Meghan McCain said in an interview with ABC and Yahoo News that her father, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), was "frustrated" and "depressed" by the Tea Party.  Meghan termed the Tea Party the "hyper-conservative wing."

Thank these Republicans for Obamacare.  [Scroll down]  Then in 2008, Republicans had the bright idea to run crazy-eyed crypt-keeper John McCain for president.  McCain supported:  amnesty (until he needed our votes), retroactive Social Security benefits for illegal aliens, free speech-crushing campaign-finance laws, crackpot global warming legislation, criminal trials for terrorists and stem-cell research on human embryos.  He opposed:  the Bush tax cuts, a marriage amendment to the Constitution, waterboarding terrorists and drilling in Alaska.  Oh, also, he called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "dishonest and dishonorable."

McCain: Cruz 'Not Representing Us'.  On Friday, after blaming conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for the Obama administration's mishandling of military death benefits, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Cruz simply did not represent the GOP.

The Editor says...
Unfortunately Senator Cruz does not represent the GOP.  The GOP is represented by RINOs.  The Democrats resemble the GOP more than the Tea Party does.

McCain: The people behind the "defund ObamaCare" strategy must be held "accountable".  I'm not sure a guy who's positioned himself as the lead Republican opponent of the "wacko birds" should be ruminating on holding people accountable, but if he's leaning towards not running again in 2016, he's got nothing to lose.  No doubt he's enjoying sticking it to tea partiers immensely.

Enemies of the Constitution.  Apparently quite a few GOP Senators railed against Mike Lee and Ted Cruz the other day behind closed doors in what Mike Lee calls an 'all out attack' on the two of them.  And nobody came to their aid among their colleagues.  Now Lee won't name names but you can just imagine who likely took part in attacking them, [...]

Syria expert admits she lied about her qualifications.  A expert on Syria whose work was quoted by senior politicians as they debated military action has finally admitted she that she lied over her degree and said sorry.  A week after she was sacked from her job as an analyst with the Institute of War, Elizabeth O'Bagy has said that not only did she not earn a doctorate from Georgetown University, but she never even attended the PhD program there.

The Editor says...
Wow, that woman's career is toast!  After she admitted that her credentials were fraudulent, where could she possibly find a job as a consultant?  Oh, wait... Here's the answer:

McCain Hires Scandal-Plagued Syria Analyst, Former Rebel Lobbyist.  Senator John McCain has hired Elizabeth O'Bagy, a former analyst at the Institute for the Study of War who's been accused of fabricating qualifications and being in the employ of Syrian rebel advocates, as a legislative assistant, Foreign Policy reports.

McCain hires Syria rebel advocate Elizabeth O'Bagy.  Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain hired the Syria analyst in favor of U.S. intervention who was fired for fabricating her Ph.D., Foreign Policy reported.  Elizabeth O'Bagy, formerly of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), will start Monday [9/30/2013] as a legislative assistant in Sen. McCain's office.  McCain told Foreign Policy that "Elizabeth is a talented researcher, and I have been very impressed by her knowledge and analysis in multiple briefings over the last year."  The senator's office said they would not make any further comment on O'Bagy's employment.

Official Arizona GOP Body Passes Formal Rebuke of John McCain.  The Legislative District 26 Republican Party in Arizona has passed a formal rebuke of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for abdicating GOP principles in helping Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) secure votes to approve several of President Barack Obama's controversial nominees.

McCain hints at retirement in 2016.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hinted that he might be serving his last term in office, admitting that he does not want to become "one of these old guys that should've shoved off."  McCain, a 27-year veteran of the Senate and former presidential candidate, made the admission while speaking about his relationship with President Obama.

McCain's ADD is rampant.  As America debates the legality and morality of intervention in the Syrian civil war, one of our "greatest" (yeah Right!) war heroes is dedicating his full attention and gravitas to our possible military action.  He plays video-poker on an iPhone while testimony is given in Congress.  This was witnessed and recorded by a Washington Post photographer and published in their on-line edition.

John McCain: 'Maybe we should legalize' pot.  Drug war hawk John McCain is turning pot dove.  McCain appears open to making a dramatic shift on marijuana policy, saying during a town-hall meeting in Arizona that he's open to potentially legalizing weed.

The Editor says...
It sounds like John McCain is about to switch parties any minute now.

McCain equates Muslims with Christians on Fox News.  Sen. John McCain appeared on Fox News this morning [9/3/2013], and apparently decided it was a good idea to compare Syrian rebels crying out "Allahu Akbar" after hitting a Syrian jet with an anti-aircraft missile to Christians calling out "Thank God" after doing the same.

McCain again faces skeptical constituents at Syria-focused town hall.  Sen. John McCain, one of the leading GOP proponents of military strikes in Syria, faced skepticism and some anger from constituents for a second consecutive day on Friday during a town hall focused on intervention in the war-torn country.

Critics of Syria intervention blast McCain during Phoenix town hall.  Sen. John McCain felt the heat of opposition to U.S. military intervention in Syria on Thursday [9/5/2013] during a town-hall meeting in Phoenix that exposed the emotions and ethic and religious tensions connected to crisis in the Middle East. [...] The crowd waved signs with messages such as "Don't Bomb Syria!!!" and "Shame on McCain!"

'Catastrophic' John McCain: GOP's Worst Nightmare.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Monday, according to Bloomberg News, that "the U.S. must follow up with more assistance to Assad's opponents to shift the balance of power in the conflict ... dismissing concerns that some rebels have militant ties.  'Those who say we don't know who the opposition are, they are either not telling the truth and they know the truth or they are badly mistaken.'"  This is rich coming from a man who posed with known jihad kidnappers in Syria. [...] This is what happens when clueless politicians inject themselves into situations in which they clearly do not belong.  What was McCain thinking, sneaking into Syria to meet with jihadists?

Meet the Syrian Islamist Organization Controlling Senator McCain's Agenda.  A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a high profile article from one Elizabeth O'Bagy arguing that the majority of the Syrian rebels were actually moderates.  Senator McCain mentioned Elizabeth O'Bagy's op-ed during the Senate hearings, when he wasn't playing poker, and tweeted it.  That should come as no surprise, considering that O'Bagy is credited with arranging McCain's infamous photo op with the Syrian rebel leadership.

Gold Star Mom To Poker Player Mccain: 'I'm Sorry The Lives Of Our Brave Warriors Bore You'.  Responding to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) playing online poker on his iPhone during yesterday's Senate hearing with Secretary of State John Kerry over war with Syria, Gold Star mother Debbie Lee fired back in an exclusive comment to Breitbart News.  "It infuriates me," she said.  "We are facing the possibility of sending our sons and daughters to a war, conflict, military action or whatever politically correct term you use — an action that could change the world as we know it — and McCain couldn't care less."

John McCain and 'Allahu Akbar'.  Tuesday morning, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) got a bit hot under the collar when Brian Kilmeade of Fox News noted that the Syrian rebels whom Barack Obama and McCain want to aid militarily were shouting "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" as rockets hit Syrian government offices.  McCain's response to Kilmeade demonstrated not only his ignorance of Islam, but his abysmal misjudgment of what is happening in Syria.  And on the basis of that ignorance, he is aiding Obama's rush to yet another war.

Educating John McCain on the Meaning of 'Allahu-Akbar'.  The willful intellectual and moral blindness of U.S. political and military leaders to the doctrine of jihad — epitomized by John McCain — continues to engender self-destructive "solutions" to global jihad depredations, in Syria, and across the globe.

No John, "Allah Akbar" Does Not Mean "Thank God" and It Matters.  Allah Akbar is a proclamation of Islamic superiority in line with its Koranic mission of making Islam superior over all religions. [...] It's not merely a praise of their deity, Allah.  It's a mission statement. [...] Allahu Akbar has clear hostile religious overtones.  It's used to denote the religious supremacism that is the fundamental mission of Islam.

In the Democrat-held Senate McCain is the "model prisoner".  It is not just that McCain is a snitch, running to the press or the Senate floor, whenever a rebellious conservative disturbs the good order and discipline of upper chamber.  The son and grandson of Navy admirals now meets in secret with the warden, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), to cook up new ways to undermine and thwart conservatives.

John McCain: Hillary's a 'rock star,' Fox is 'schizophrenic'.  Arizona Sen. John McCain was the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee and he still wants the keys to the Oval Office.  But he is beginning to sound more like a fan of likely 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  "She's a rock star," he said in a newly released interview.  "She has, maybe not glamour, but certainly the aura of someone widely regarded throughout the world," he added in a reference to her work as secretary of State.

John McCain, Undecided 2016 Voter.  It has been difficult to follow politics over the past several months without sensing the presence of a new John McCain.  (Again.)  He was a crucial player in the passage of immigration reform through the Senate, he has helped Democrats carve out a deal allowing several of President Obama's appointments to win confirmation, and he has even teamed up with Elizabeth Warren on a bill to regulate the banking industry.  The politician who could once barely hide his disdain for the president has suddenly become one of his most valuable partners in Congress.

McCain strolls into Dem caucus meeting.  There was confusion Wednesday after the Arizona Republican mistakenly strolled into President Obama's meeting with Senate Democrats at the Capitol.  The room full of Democrats — who happened to be meeting in the same room where the Senate GOP usually holds their weekly policy luncheons — erupted in applause and laughter as the former Republican presidential candidate made his entrance.

Obama and McCain: Washington's newest odd couple.  There was no conciliatory phone call, no heart-to-heart talk to soothe the tensions.  No one knows exactly when President Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain went from bitter rivals in the 2008 presidential campaign and foes over health care and national security to bipartisan partners.

McCain joins Obama in calling for review of 'Stand Your Ground' laws.  A top Republican joined President Barack Obama's call to review so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws in the aftermath of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting of black teen Trayvon Martin.  Sen. John McCain, Ariz., a prominent Republican who's been known to break ranks with fellow members of the GOP at times, urged state legislatures to review Stand Your Ground laws in the wake of the Zimmerman trial, which became a national flashpoint for race relations in America.

McCain Orchestrates Another GOP Surrender.  Sen. John McCain spent the weekend negotiating with Majority Leader Harry Reid on a deal to avert Reid's threatened use of the "nuclear option" to change Senate rules to eliminate filibusters on Presidential nominations.  Through his efforts, McCain was able to secure a complete GOP capitulation on 7 pending nominations.  Reid secured all the benefits of exercising the "nuclear option" without the political cost of actually using it.

Getting To Maybe.  Six years ago, when John McCain, the Arizona senator, last worked on an immigration bill, his partner was Ted Kennedy, of Massachusetts.  Kennedy, especially in his final decade in the Senate, was known for working closely with ideological opponents to pass major pieces of legislation.  On a recent morning, McCain sat in his dimly lit office, across the street from the Senate, and said how much he missed Kennedy.

Trust Your Government, Lose Your Liberties.  In fact, many prominent Republicans defend the NSA's collection of your phone records and emails.  "We passed specific provisions of the [Patriot] act that allowed for this program to take place, to be enacted in operation," Arizona Sen. John McCain told CNN, "Now, if members of Congress did not know what they were voting on, then I think that that's their responsibility a lot more than it is the governments."  In other words, lazy, uninformed members of Congress provided big government a license to trample on your unalienable rights, according to President Obama's 2008 Republican challenger John McCain.  McCain likes to wax eloquent on his ability to "reach across the aisle" to members of the opposition party.

McCain Finds Paul's Defense of Apple 'Offensive'.  On Tuesday, KY Sen. Rand Paul launched a spirited defense of Apple, whose tax strategies were subject to a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.  "I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple," Paul said.  Paul went on to accuse the committee of "bullying" one of America's greatest companies, prompting Sen. John McCain to quickly defend the inquiry and say that Paul's remarks were "frankly, offensive."

The Editor says...
In an argument between Rand Paul and John McCain, I'll take Rand Paul's side every time.  On the other hand...

Rand Paul: GOP Must Get the 'Door Ajar' for Minorities, Not be 'Party of Deportation'.  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the future of the Republican Party depends on what the Republicans do to expand its appeal among Hispanic voters and show them that the GOP is not "just the party of deportation."  "I've been saying over and over that the Republican Party cannot win until it's more diverse, until it looks like the rest of America," he said.

The Editor says...
I'm not opposed to legal and orderly immigration by people who have marketable skills and who are coming to America to find a job and pay taxes.  What I do oppose is the invasion of the U.S. by those who intend to ride the Big Government gravy train and live in subsidized housing, pay for their groceries with food stamps, and send their ill-behaved kids to public schools mainly for the free meals.

President Obama's newest ally: John McCain.  Last month, McCain was one of just four Republicans to vote for the failed bill to expand gun background checks, a centerpiece of Obama's agenda.  McCain is a chief architect of the Senate immigration bill supported strongly by the White House.  He's expressed deep reservations about GOP threats to filibuster Obama's Cabinet-level nominees.  He's slammed his fellow Republican senators for blocking Senate Democratic efforts to begin bicameral budget negotiations with the House.  And he's even suggested new tax revenues could be part of a grand bargain.

No guts, no glory.
McCain Defends Obama Against Impeachment For Benghazi, Will 'Give President Benefit Of The Doubt'.  Senator John McCain, who famously defended his then presidential opponent Barack Obama against an islamaphobic supporter during a 2008 campaign rally, defended President Obama once again on ABC's This Week Sunday, cautioning his Republicans colleagues to cool it with talk of impeaching the President over the Benghazi attacks and its aftermath.

Obama the sore loser; McCain the traitor.  President Barack Obama says "the gun lobby and its allies" used lies and distortion to thwart legislation in the US Senate that would have expanded background checks for firearms purchases.  Senators voted 54-46, with 60 needed to adopt the measure, as a handful of Democrats joined most Republicans in opposition. [...] Five Democrats voted against the background-check measure; four Republicans supported it, including Senator John McCain.

Clueless McCain doesn't understand filibustering gun control.  "I don't understand it," McCain said.  "The purpose of the United States Senate is to debate and to vote and to let the people know where we stand."  With all due respect to Sen. McCain, that is almost completely backward. [...] The Senate's first, and only, task is to uphold the Constitution.

Rick Perry Slams McCain, Romney At CPAC, Says They Aren't Conservative.  "The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections.  That's what they think.  That's what say.  That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012," Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) said in his address at CPAC this afternoon [3/14/2013].

Gingrich: 'I'm Really Disappointed in John McCain'.  Newt Gingrich had stern words for John McCain about the senator's criticism of Rand Paul's filibuster over drone policy this week.  "I'm really disappointed in John McCain, and I'm very saddened by it," the former House speaker told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday [3/8/2013].  Gingrich found it surprising that McCain, who has taken on the GOP in the past, "was now lecturing the next generation because they have the guts to stand up" to the party.

John McCain, American 'Hero'.  John S. McCain III, the disastrous Republican 2008 candidate who suspended his presidential campaign and refused to take the fight to Barack Obama when he had the chance to actually do something for his country, has beclowned himself yet again.

Republican "Old Bulls" chastize Rand Paul, unconvincingly.  John McCain and Lindsey Graham have blasted Rand Paul over his filibuster of the Brennan nomination.  Quoting a Wall Street Journal editorial, McCain said:  "If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in college dorms."  Graham wondered why Republican Senators had not been riled up over President Bush's use of drones.  He also said that Paul's filibuster caused him to change from a "no" to a "yes" on confirming Brennan.

Why Did McCain Rescue Hagel?  Why on earth did John McCain just rescue Chuck Hagel's nomination?  Why did he go on Meet the Press this morning [2/17/2013] to say that Chuck Hagel was going to get confirmed as Secretary of Defense?  McCain argued that Hagel had the votes to be confirmed and that he didn't want the process to be delayed further.

Apparently, John McCain Doesn't Think He's Done Enough Yet to Destroy the GOP.  During Saturday's [1/26/2013] panel on immigration at the National Review Summit, Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies made the point that a Republican-backed "comprehensiive" bill would not only fail to win Hispanic support for the GOP, but would actually hurt the party.  If any such bill becomes law, Obama and the Democrats would take credit for its passage, while the people who oppose amnesty — especially blue-collar white voters — would blame Republicans.

This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2024 by Andrew K. Dart

Criticism of the Republican Party in general