McCain Mauls Massachusetts Mountebank

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


john_mccain_0522.jpg

You might think that because the Democratic side of the primary fight is the one with a solid frontrunner and a set of increasingly desperate also-rans, it would be the one with the more vicious and vitriolic attacks.

You would be wrong.

The Democratic side has been relatively civil (though that might change) while the Republican side has been brutal. And it just got worse. Michael Scherer of Salon has the deets:

“…conservatives that have heard me time and again recognize that I do speak for the Republican wing of the Republican Party,” Romney told the Nevada gathering, according to the Associated Press.

Less than 24-hours later, McCain responded with a blistering and detailed assault on Romney that read like an opposition research paper. “I don’t usually do this but I’m going to depart for a moment from the issues I want to talk to you about today,” McCain said at the beginning of his address to the party meeting. “One of the other Republican candidates made an extraordinary statement yesterday. Former Gov. Romney yesterday proclaimed himself the only real Republican in this race. As we all know, when he ran for office in Massachusetts being a Republican wasn’t much of a priority for him. In fact, when he ran against Ted Kennedy, he said he didn’t want to return to the days of Reagan-Bush. I always thought Ronald Reagan was a real Republican. When Gov. Romney donated money to a Democratic candidate in New Hampshire, I don’t think he was speaking for Republicans. When he voted for a Democratic candidate for President, Paul Tsongas, I don’t think he was speaking for Republicans. When he refused to endorse the Contract with America, I don’t think he was speaking for Republicans. And when he was embracing the Democratic position on many major issues of the day, I don’t think he was speaking for Republicans.”

“So you’ll understand why I’m a little perplexed,” McCain continued, “when Mitt Romney now suggests that he’s a better Republican than me, or that he speaks for the Republican wing of the Republican Party.”

The problem, though, is that this attack is only really credible coming from Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, or Duncan Hunter—true conservatives all but denizens of the second tier. McCain has his own very serious apostasies: campaign finance reform, immigration, opposition to the Bush tax cuts (a position since reversed), and so on. That’s why McCain followed his criticism of Romney with this:

“I think I’ve gotten to know the people of New Hampshire pretty well. I know that before I can win your vote, I have to win your respect. And to do that, you expect me to be honest with you about what I believe. You might not always agree with me on every issue, but I hope you know I’m not going to con you. The most important thing we have in this life is our self-respect. And I’m not going to trade mine for anyone’s vote or for any office. I’m going to tell you what I believe and let the chips fall where they will.”

Mitt as a flip-flopping con man is a meme the Romney campaign has largely seen come and go. They endured roughly a million press reports painting Romney as a guy willing to say anything and take any position to become president, and they’re still on top in Iowa and New Hampshire. McCain has to be wondering what he can do, other than raise the volume.

Oh, and by the way, John McCain isn’t immune to the flip-flop bug.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate