Here is an article that attempts to challenge the notion that John McCain is a political moderate. Evidence? His positions on abortion, same-sex marriage, and guns. Apparently McCain is pretty bitter and clinging. While many commentators have opined that McCain's problem is tying down his party's conservative base, this article claims that it is McCain's conservatism that may be his downfall.
I have defended McCain's conservative credentials here. My conclusion: McCain adopts many conservative positions while he himself is not conservative by disposition. For conservatives, I suggest, that should be enough. This is especially true when the conservative party, the Republican party, is not politically popular.
Yet McCain's voting record suggests a degree of moderation, as moderation is commonly defined. Based on his lifetime ACU rating, McCain was the 39th most conservative Senator serving in 2006. That is approaching the middle. Look at this Wikipedia entry. McCain has a moderate record based on various ratings.
- National Journal's studies of roll-call votes through 2006 assigned McCain a lifetime rating of 72 in the political spectrum, relative to the then-current Senate, with a rating of 1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative.[129] (McCain did not receive a National Journal ranking in 2007 due to missing too many votes because of campaigning.[130])
- A 2004 analysis by political scientists Joshua D. Clinton of Princeton University, Doug Rivers of Stanford University, and Simon Jackman found McCain to be likely the 51st-most liberal Senator.[131]
- The Almanac of American Politics, edited by Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen, rates votes as liberal or conservative, with 100 as the highest rating, in three policy areas: Economic, Social, and Foreign. For 2006, McCain's ratings are: Economic = 64 percent conservative, 35 percent liberal (2005: 52 percent conservative, 47 percent liberal);[132] Social = 46 percent conservative, 53 percent liberal (2005: 64 percent conservative, 23 percent liberal);[132] Foreign = 58 percent conservative, 40 percent liberal (2005: 54 percent conservative, 45 percent liberal)[132]
By most measures, McCain is a moderate with definite conservative leanings. By contrast, Barack Obama has famously been ranked by National Journal as the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate.
Here is a question. Tim Johnson and Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin pride themselves on their bi-partisan and moderate credentials. So why are they endorsing the most liberal man in the U.S. Senate over someone whose moderate credentials are quite solid? The only explanation is partisanship. Now, party loyalty is an important value. But is this how they will act if Obama becomes president? Will they value partisanship over the moderation they are so proud of?
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