John McCain

Jonathan Sidney "John" McCain III was a Vietnam War veteran, former Navy lobbyistWhen John McCain turned to politics, he went all-out, Los Angeles Times, the senior senator from Arizona from 1987–2018, and the Republican Party's candidate for the Presidency of the USA in 2008.The McCain Math, The New York Times He lost decisively to Barack Obama. McCain's running mate was Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.McCain picks female running mate, BBC News
After his defeat, McCain and his sidekick Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina devoted themselves to complaining about President Obama's "soft" foreign policy. However, when Obama was replaced by Donald Trump, McCain became Trump's most outspoken critic within his own party.McCain, Graham torment Trump And despite all his flaws, he was still nonetheless a respectable and honorable politician, and a Republican no less (a dying breed in today’s Republican Party).
In 2018, McCain succumbed to a brain tumor a day after ending treatment. He was 81 years old.John McCain: Vietnam Veteran And Six-term Senator Dies At 81. BBC News. August 26, 2018. 
==Domestic policy positions==
John McCain (b. 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone) was a strong force for ostensible moderation in the GOP, at least at a particular point in his life as his complete track record is mixed and often disappointing. 
===The Good Stuff===
Over the years, he was vital in crafting bipartisan support for generally supported initiatives, including the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCFRA).Later ruled unconstitutional in the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision. See Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC S. Ct. 2007. McCain also once stood up against the American Religious Right, referring to them as agents of intolerance.Republican Says Bush Panders To the 'Agents of Intolerance': McCain Takes Aim At Religious Right, The New York Times These sensible, moderate policies made him persona non grata among extremists, earning hate and scorn from Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity.Nonetheless, Hannity took the "pragmatic" approach and jumped behind (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) McCain wholeheartedly. When running for President in 2008, he stood up to some of his constituents making unsubstantiated allegations against Barack Obama, saying he was a decent man.Flashback: McCain tells supporter Obama is 'a decent... CNN. February 19, 2015. He was the de facto leader of right-wing opposition to the Trump administration, and he was the deciding 51st vote to not repeal Obamacare.Obamacare Repeal Fails: Three GOP Senators Rebel in 49-51 Vote, NBC NewsGOP Obamacare repeal bill fails in dramatic late-night vote, CNN PoliticsSenate rejects Obamacare repeal, Politico The moment McCain gave a thumb down was quite dramatic.McCain votes 'no' on Obamacare repeal. CNN. July 28, 2017. 
McCain knew about Paul Manafort's connection to Russia and prevented him from running the 2008 RNC.John McCain Reportedly Knew About Paul Manafort’s Russia Ties In 2008, Refused To Let Him Manage RNC. Inquisitr. August 26, 2018. This is worth pointing out because Manafort served as chairman for the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald Trump, who was investigated for his ties with Russia.
McCain also condemned Trump for pardoning Joe Arpaio, who was/is known for discrimination toward Latinos, staging an assassination plot during his re-election bid, causing one man to spend four years in jail awaiting trial because of it, and let one teenager be repeatedly raped by her uncle for four years.https://www.yahoo.com/news/john-mccain-rips-donald-trump-133022111.htmlhttps://static.currentaffairs.org/2017/08/wait-do-people-actually-know-just-how-evil-this-man-is
With Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), John McCain introduced legislation giving military veterans the option of private healthcare at public expense if they have to wait for too long at Veterans Affairs. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law. McCain expanded the law in his last months. President Donald Trump signed the new bill.AP FACT CHECK: McCain can’t respond but his record speaks. Associated Press. March 23, 2019. Accessed March 23, 2019. 
===On the other hand...===
Despite his record for opposing the more blatantly maniacal portions of the Republican Party, he had quite a few sleazy actions under his belt. His unofficial economic advisor, for instance, was Phil Gramm,https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/chief-economic-advisor-to-mccain-dr-phil-gramm/ chief architect of the Enron collapsehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/01/25/for-gramms-enron-is-hard-to-escape/45d9a593-5c0c-436c-a1a7-1d7f7c38ed0f/ and sub-prime mortgage crisis.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/business/economy/17gramm.html There was also the severe and infamous blunder of choosing Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate,Although some theorized that she was forced on him by the fundamentalist base in his party. who would have become president in the possible event that McCain died of old age while in office. 
Despite being painted as a maverick, John McCain had several instances where he stuck firmly in party lines. He voted for the thoroughly awful trickle-down 2017 Republican tax bill, citing his care about "honor",Schwarz, Jon, John McCain Claimed He Cares About "Honor" in the Senate. His Tax Vote Shows He Lied., The Intercept, 2 December 2017 and was opposed to net neutrality.McCain, John, Statement By Senator John McCain on FCC Vote Approving "Net Neutrality" Internet Regulations, United States Senator John McCain, 26 February 2015
Despite opposing the Affordable Care Act's repeal, John McCain thought emergency rooms are a good way to get health care and that no one in America is technically uninsured.McCain adviser: Everyone in U.S. has some health coverage. CNN. Blogs. August 28, 2008. Neither is true.
Also, McCain aligned himself with some real nutjobs, including John Hagee, who blamed the gays for Hurricane Katrina,Will MSNBC devote as much coverage to McCain's embrace of Hagee's support as it did to Obama's rejection of Farrakhan?, Media Matters and Rod Parsley, who believes the United States was founded in part to destroy Islam.https://prospect.org/features/god-side-d2/ In addition to aligning to socially conservative nutjobs, he was devoutly anti-abortion and wanted to defund Planned Parenthood. A President McCain would have nominated Justices who would be all too eager to torpedo the right to choose and other important precedents.President John McCain and the Supreme Court, The Wall Street Journal 
==Military and foreign policy positions==
He modified many of his positions rightward when he became a presidential candidate. While he was no George W. Bush, Americans did not want four more years of the policies of Bush's policies, from failed tax cuts to continuing the war in Iraq, and (at least attempting to) privatize Social Security.
He wanted the U.S. military to police the entire Middle East to make it safe for Saudi Arabia, the other authoritarian Arab monarchies and Israel. Ergo, he wanted to bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb bomb Iran.McCain Sings "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"TPMtv: Sunday Show Roundup: Talking About Spreading War (Around the 1:15 mark)McCain: War with Iran is more reality than hypothetical
He supported Don't Ask, Don't Tell,On The Issues attacking President Obama by insisting that he believes in honoring all of the US troops — and because of that the US needed to keep DADT in place.
He was a strong opponent of torture, having suffered a similar fate in North Vietnamese internment, which has earned him the title of "war hero."McCain: Close Guantanamo Bay, AOL News
==Changing his mind for the worse==
John McCain changed his mind on multiple issues. From the results, it's telling that he usually did this to maintain conservative support, and he was bankrupt in principles.
*McCain used to criticize TV preacher Jerry Falwell, but later decided to cozy up to the man, agreeing to be the graduation speaker at Falwell's Liberty University on May 13, 2006.McCain Woos the Right, Makes Peace With Falwell, ABC News
*McCain opposed Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy, but reversed course in February 2006.McCain, 2.0
*In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April of 2006, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.Gearing Up for '08? McCain Befriends Old Enemies, ABC News
*McCain took a firm line in opposition to torture, and then caved to White House demands.Kafka's Legacy, Washington Monthly 
*McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.The Old McCain condemned Bob Jones; the New McCain...
*McCain was anti-ethanol before becoming pro-ethanol.Meet the Press Transcript for November 12, 2006
*McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.Despite McCain's many hedges, Borger asserted that "no one would accuse McCain of equivocating on anything", Media Matters
*He was both for and against overturning Roe v. Wade.https://archive.thinkprogress.org/mccain-flip-flops-supports-immediate-reversal-of-roe-v-wade-62bce7f2ff9f/
*Due to being a product of a POW swap at the end of the Vietnam War,Operation Homecoming, if you were wondering. it's not a surprise that McCain pressed to exchange Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo in exchange for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Try guessing how he reacted when the move would result in a diplomatic win for Obama.Did John McCain flip-flop on the Bergdahl deal?, Washington Post
==Eligibility for the Presidency==
To the chagrin of Birthers, John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which is now part of the Republic of Panama and was once a U.S. protectorate but never really part of the U.S. At best, its status was similar to that of the Swan Islands (now part of Honduras) or Palau (now an independent nation). However, the Supreme Court decided that nobody cared and said that it didn't matter, because his parents were off playing Navy in Panama during the whole thing.
As a Panamanian-American, it was questionable whether McCain was eligible to assume office if he was elected. This question came up previously concerning Barry Goldwater (born in the Arizona Territory before it was admitted as a state), and George Romney (born in Mexico to U.S. Mormon expat parents). Still, since both were failed candidacies, the courts have never had the opportunity to decide whether a natural born citizen is limited to those born within any of the states.What about somebody born in Washington, D.C.? However, constitutional and legal experts are generally of the opinion that if someone was born a citizen, that would qualify for the "natural-born" requirement, whether it was within the US or not; in others words, "you can be a natural born citizen without actually being born in one of the 50 United States."https://www.thoughtco.com/presidents-not-born-in-the-us-3368103 In fact, a lawsuit seeking to remove McCain from the California ballot in 2008 due to his place of birth was issued by the chairman of the American Independent Party, although it was quickly thrown out by a federal judge, who agreed that McCain was a "natural born citizen".https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26765398
==Quotes==
===On missions and their accomplishment===
===On modern peace and war===
===On America's allies===
===On America's enemies===
===On US healthcare===
===On Asians, although he meant North Vietnamese prison guards===
===On Iraq and sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia muslims===
===Calling Achmadina a monkey===
==McCain Institute==
The McCain Institute for International Leadership is a think tank founded in 2012 devoted to "character-driven global leadership".About, McCain Institute Website Its trustees include failed VP candidate Joe Lieberman and disgraced General David PetraeusGiven 2 years' probation for mishandling state secrets., while its fellows include former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. It hosts an annual event at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, at which the likes of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and ex-Batman Ben Affleck have gathered for sex parties some kind of chat about making the world a better place for millionaires and their chums. There have also been claims of conflicts of interest, with donors to the institute being affected by laws that McCain was totally coincidentally voting on.
==See also==
*2008 U.S. Presidential Election
*George W. Bush — Who screwed him out of the presidency twice!
*Meghan McCain — his daughter
*Mission accomplished
*Mitt Romney — His "spiritual successor" in terms of being a ringleading anti-Trump GOP senator.
==Notes==
==References==
Category:2008 US Presidential candidates
Category:Authors
Category:Christians
Category:Former United States Representatives
Category:Former United States Senators
Category:Homophobes
Category:Imperialists
Category:Islamophobes
Category:Military
Category:Moderate Republicans
Category:Neoconservatives
Category:Panama
Category:Shysters
Category:United States politicians