John McCain, Filibuster-Buster
Reed Galen makes a very good case that Barack Obama has done some industrial-strength sucking up to John McCain in the hopes that McCain will return the favor and help bust any potential Republican filibuster.
I find the theory very credible. McCain is a sucker for ego-stroking moves, especially ones that play to his power in the Senate. As we saw from his Gang of 14 ploy that took the filibuster out of the hands of Republicans a couple of years ago, he’s not beyond creating his own center of power outside of his party’s caucus. It’s not going to shock anyone if McCain builds a small coalition of the usual suspects and held up close votes until the party leaders paid him Don Corleone-level respect.
Galen attributes the potential alliance to Obama’s keen political skills. I disagree only because it doesn’t take keen observation skills to see that though you can’t buy McCain with campaign cash, you certainly can with political power.
Johnny Mac is up for re-election in 2010. It would be a very good thing if he found himself having to defend his seat from a well-supported, credible candidate. It would be even better if he found himself unemployed in 2011. There is no place in the Republican Party for a selfish powermonger, especially one who goes out of his way to kick dirt on conservative values.
Other Posts of Interest:
- It’s Time for John McCain to Put Up or Shut Up on Earmarks
- NC Repubs to John McCain: You’re Not the Boss of Me!
- Another Sweet Takedown of John McCain
Category: Johnny Mac, President Barack Obama
I may drive out to Arizona & campaign for whoever runs against him.
I've been an Arizona resident almost all my life. I really wanted to support McCain in his bid for prez, but it was one of those situations where you just knew you'd be holding your nose on Election Day as you voted. Enter Sarah Palin, WOW! So, without remorse or regret, I voted the McCain/Palin ticket. Bought campaign buttons, made donations. But then, the REAL McCain started to emerge. I admit I was pretty ignorant of most politics until this past year. But I was stunned at his sudden about-face from the "patriotic maverick" he painted of himself (and whose horn was tooted loudest by Palin) during the campaign. How he symbolically stabbed Palin in the back in the media not too long ago, how he's started to reveal his true "power grubbing" self. Yep, the wool was pulled over my eyes. Sorry, Johnny… no vote from me in the upcoming. You disappointed me beyond words.
He's not a Maverick, he's a rebel. They're different. A maverick is an unbranded, slick-eared (meaning no notches cut into his ear) calf that can't be determined to belong to anyone in particular. In the old west, legally anybody could slap a brand on it and claim ownership. If McCain were a maverick, he'd run as an Independent. Instead, he's a rebel. He's remarkably resistant – Vietnam showed us that – but in a rebel, that isn't exactly a desirable characteristic. He likes to run against the tide. He prefers swimming upstream. These are great if he's on your side, but not so great if he's your leader – what is he resisting? Himself? You know what happens if someone is pushing pushing pushing against you and you suddenly stop resisting and step away? The other person falls flat on his/her face. His strength is resistence – not leadership. McCain's strength was resisting his own party. Put him in a leadership position and he no longer had anything but himself to resist, and fell flat on his face.
Have you ever met someone like this? Personally? They're very susceptible to manipulation. All you have to do is tell them they _have_ to do something such and such a way, and they'll pretty much automatically go the other way. The more you try to convince them that your way is the right way, the more they'll back up and resist.
Don't feel bad ClassicFilm….the "wool" being pulled over your eyes came from many directions. One thing I kept saying over & over leading up to the election was how Obama gargantuan ego had achieved something I would not have thought possible. It made a selfish-self-absorbed ego maniac look downright humble by comparison. But make no mistake about it….just because Obamas is bigger doesn't mean McCain's went away.