“Our political differences, no matter how sharply they are debated, are really quite narrow in comparison to the remarkably durable national consensus on our founding convictions”–John McCain
You have probably heard by now that Senator John McCain (R, AZ) was diagnosed recently with brain cancer. His specific prognosis is not available as I write this, but I’m told this is a very serious, often fatal form of cancer.
Don’t expect this to be a gushing elegy. I’m not the person to write that. First of all, I disagree with McCain on many issues. And, I’m not one for unvarnished praise of that sort anyway. Public figures must be examined honestly, even if it’s painful.
But premature as it may be, there is one aspect of McCain I would like to honor. His independence.
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But perhaps the biggest reason is that McCain is still with us. It’s way too early to count him out. As former President Obama tweeted the day his diagnosis became public “Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against. Give it hell, John.”
But premature as it may be, there is one aspect of McCain I would like to honor. His independence.
John McCain was sometimes mistaken for a moderate. This wasn’t the case. The details varied from year to year, depending on the issues, but in most terms, he rated among the more conservative members of the Senate.
But McCain did have a penchant, even if only occasionally, of taking positions that differed from that of his own party. It wasn’t often, but from time to time, he chose to make a stand on principle.
For this act of independence, he was often branded a RINO, Republican In Name Only. He faced a primary from his right in the 2016 election, an all too common occurrence in a world in which politicians of both major parties fear primaries more than their general election opponents.
McCain’s best known act of independence came in the 1990s as he pressed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. He went on television with Bill Moyers to describe the corruption inherent in the existing finance system. The bill was a modest reform and much of it has been gutted by an activist Supreme Court, but he was willing to take on special interests on both sides of the aisle to get something done.
In 2000, when he first ran for the Republican nomination for president, McCain faced some of the nastiest attacks in modern politics. In South Carolina, primary voters received push-poll calls telling them that McCain had an illegitimate black child. (In fact, he had an adopted daughter from Bangladesh).
No one ever knew with certainty who was behind those calls, but they seemed to have Karl Rove’s fingerprints on them. Yet, when George W. Bush won the nomination, and later, the presidency, McCain worked with him where he could.
As one who had experienced torture during his time as a prisoner of war, McCain could attest to its effects, its inhumanity, and its ineffectiveness.
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He also opposed him, particularly on the issue of torture. As one who had experienced torture during his time as a prisoner of war, McCain could attest to its effects, its inhumanity, and its ineffectiveness. Though the Bush administration would go on to implement torture as national policy, McCain confronted the president of his own party and attempted to work out a compromise.
When a voter during the 2008 election accused Barack Obama of being a Muslim, McCain corrected her, stating that his opponent was “a good man” with whom he had some differences. He didn’t go as far as he should have, but far too many candidates these days are unwilling at all to confront the prejudices of their own voters, particularly when it serves their interests.
After Donald Trump made light of McCain’s service, ridiculing him for having been captured, McCain took the high road. He has worked with the president where they could find agreement and kept his distance when he felt it necessary.
McCain is far from perfect. He is human and has often fallen victim to believing his own media narrative. As I mentioned at the outset, I disagree with him, probably more often than not. But in a period in which partisanship has taken hold to an unhealthy degree, he represents something we need to encourage in our politicians. Even if it has only been sporadic and occasional, we should honor that spirit of independence and willingness to stand on principle.
—A version of this piece will appear in the Porterville Recorder on July 26, 2017
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Photo: Getty Images