McCain has diverged from his party on campaign finance reform, tobacco, Bush's tax cut, drilling in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska), patients' bill of rights, prescription drugs, airport security, the Kyoto Treaty, emission standards, gun control and the list continues. He is against his party more than he is with it.
McCain calls himself a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. He is unabashed and unbought. Roosevelt was a conservationist who believed in the greatness of America, and he believed in a very strong role for the federal government in some areas.
Democrats have courted McCain and members of his own party question his loyalties. But John McCain is no Jim Jeffords. Jeffords, a moderate Vermont Republican, became an independent after stark differences with Republican leadership led to his basically being ignored by the party. McCain is much more loyal to his party. Actually he is more loyal to his party than his party is to him.
McCain gave his party fits when he ran for president in 2000, challenging the GOP anointed George W. Bush. He took his “straight talk express” through the primary states, racking up some wins and delivering punches to Prince George, until he was molested by his party in South Carolina.
Bush’s campaign strategists, including Karl Rove, devised a push poll designed to degrade the character of the senator in the minds of the voters. Voters all across South Carolina were called and asked the question, “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” A push poll by its nature is designed to plant a seed in the minds of those participating and its end result percentages are really just beside the point.
The seed was planted and then there was John McCain campaigning all over South Carolina with his beautiful wife and their little adopted Bangladeshi daughter. The site of the little dark skinned girl made the seed planted earlier grow and John McCain lost South Carolina to Bush which basically ended his bid for the White House.
Not only was the push poll against McCain dirty, it was also racist. Questioning whether or not McCain had fathered an illegitimate child was bad enough, but to say a black child is asserting that is somehow worse.
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