I was reminded today, back when I used to vote Republican, why I
was pulling for Senator John McCain in his 2000 campaign for the Republican nominee for president against George W. Bush. His message back them focused on political
reform and "straight talk" and it appealed to moderate Republican and independent voters alike,
including me. Unfortunately, his
campaign effectively came to an end when Bush won the South Carolina primary in large part due to the underground smear campaign run
against McCain. My disappointment
with his loss, was the start of my shift to the left.
And so John McCain’s return to the Senate today,
after being diagnosed with a form of brain cancer which offered little hope,
was a joy to see in large part, just because he showed up.
But Senator McCain intended
to do more today than just wave to his fans, and he showed why he is one of the
few remaining lions in the Senate, when he called out both parties, pointing
out the error of their ways.
"We're
getting nothing done, my friends. We're getting nothing done," he said,
arguing that both sides were to blame for polarizing the process of making laws
and funding the government.
"Our deliberations today ... are more
partisan, more tribal ... (than) at any time than I can remember. They haven't
been overburdened by greatness lately," he said, offering a lesson of
civics and civility as his fellow senators on both sides of aisle listened with
the utmost respect.
He said both sides had erred by
trying to remake health care on a purely partisan basis, and without open
debate. "I don't think that is
going to work in the end, and it probably shouldn't," he said in in remarks
that had to be especially tough for Mitch McConnell.
It’s been 17 years since the Straight Talk Tour campaigned
around the country, and despite the presence of brain cancer in one of the few
real American heroes, it remains alive and well in Arizona.
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