(The truth of) John McCain’s voting record and a bit of the bigger picture political perspective
Bottom Line: The passing of John McCain brought about tributes and well wishes from pretty much the entire political spectrum. Even ardent politicos on the left sent their well wishes and voiced political respect. And one of McCain’s biggest critics on the right – President Trump – did as well. Whatever your thoughts are of John McCain’s record in the senate there’s no doubt he was a man of conviction and a true American hero. That being said you’ve likely heard and read about the “Maverick” once again. The notion that John McCain was the unpredictable sort who often went his own direction. While there’s some truth to the idea, as is often the case with politics, it was highly exaggerated.
Once Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, I researched his history and voting record resulting in a story that dispelled the myth that he was a “swing” justice on the court. While Kennedy was the “least” conservative of the right leaning judges on the Supreme Court, he was only 9% less conservative than Clarence Thomas while being 50% more conservative than Justice Breyer – the least liberal on the left leaning justices. In evaluating John McCain’s record there appears to be a different version of a similar thing.
Since President Trump took office what percentage of the time do you think he supported President Trump’s positions and nominees that have come up for a vote in the senate? The answer...83%. In fact, I doubt few would consider Senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul to be liberal or moderate Republicans but guess what? Both have supported President Trump less than John McCain (82% and 74%). Like justice Kennedy, a couple of notable votes color the overall perspective for many voters – like McCain’s thumbs down vote on healthcare reform last year. Truth is though, McCain was true to himself while mostly being a fairly solid conservative by virtue of his voting record. May God bless him and his family. Politics aside, our country is a better once because John McCain was part of it.