Power politics

In Thursday, The New York Times ran a story about John McCain’s close ties to a female lobbyist who did business before the Senator’s committee. Conservative pundits like Sean Hannity, who had been giving McCain a lot of flak, rushed to his defense. It seems that even conservatives who are critical of McCain are more than eager to rush to battle against a common foe, a newspaper they consider such a bastion of liberalism, The New York Times.\nIt’s almost odd that conventional wisdom says the Republican Party is largely unhappy with McCain. He swept the Potomac primaries and, more recently, won Wisconsin. His support among Republicans is below the historic average of front-runners, but it is about where Ronald Reagan’s was when he became the party’s clear nominee in 1980. Still, with more radical talking heads like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh denouncing McCain’s every move, you might think McCain was some kind of fundamentally-flawed Republican. In truth, conservative arguments against McCain are mostly a sham. \nOne of the biggest charges against McCain is that he is a moderate on immigration. I think realistic is a better way to describe his stance. McCain’s plan to provide a path to citizenship is what will eventually have to happen anyway. Critics certainly don’t seem to be able to come up with a better idea. \nMore criticism from the right is related to his stance on Bush’s tax cuts. Commentators point out that he voted against them twice. They apparently don’t care that he supports them now, nor do they care about his plan to abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax (a hefty tax paid by nearly 25 million middle-class families) or lower the corporate income tax. \nHe also gets bashed for his opposition to torture. Perhaps he simply understands that we should follow the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because those agreements protect our soldiers, too.\nAs a liberal, I can tell you that John McCain is pretty conservative. His stances on abortion and his idea of what makes a good Supreme Court justice both make me squirm. I would argue that he has been more consistent than most in his party when it comes to the issue of national security. He just actually understands how to run a war. On the issue of health care, McCain’s plan to increase competition by smoothing out different regulations between states is easily the best alternative to universal healthcare policies. \nConservative pundits don’t hate McCain for ideological reasons; they hate him for reasons of loyalty. Unlike President Bush, McCain has had a successful political career without them. They want to know he will come to them if he is swept into the highest office in the land.\nIt’s all about power, but unfortunately other so-called Republicans have started repeating their mantras. That’s a shame. If McCain bends over backwards to appease these critics he will surely lose the votes of many, like myself, who have plenty of respect for the real John McCain.