Concerns mount over McCain’s defection on tax cuts

Conservatives in the Grand Canyon state, exposed to Arizona’s senior senator (ASS) John McCain for three-and-a-half decades, know he  loves nothing more than the face he sees reflected in the mirror each morning. A marginal man who attained stature via his family connections — both his father and grandfather were Navy Admirals, ASS was able to gain admittance to the U.S. Naval Academy though graduating at the bottom of his class. It didn’t hurt that he ultimately married a well-connected Phoenix heiress, whose father opened what would have been unattainable doors for him. His image as a returned Vietnam POW aided the reluctant Republican when he was the ringleader of a pack of Democrats in the Keating Five scandal that rocked the U.S. financial world and  ended other’s senate careers. He’s made his mark as a political contrarian, which he refers to as being a “maverick.”  In essence, his pretense amounts to sticking his finger in the eye of the very Republicans he claims to represent.

Surprisingly, the liberal Washington Post tentatively appears to be on to him. In an analysis headlined, “The Finance 202 McCain could give the same thumbs-down to a tax overhaul as he did to health care,” reporter Tory Newmyer is on the right track, but veers into giving McCain credit for values he doesn’t possess.

McCain’s vacillation is a worthy concern, since he delights in sucker punching Republican colleagues and has repeatedly-duped Arizona voters, many newcomers and residents of retirement communities, with his massive pre-election TV ad buys and campaign mailers dishonestly touting himself as a conservative as he blatantly lies about his challengers. Truth is not on ASS’s agenda on any topic, tax reform being no exception. But the report wholly misjudges the ailing and elderly McCain‘s motives with these words:

“Yet over his decades in public life, McCain has traced a zigzagging line on the subject, leaving little clear indication of how he’ll approach a potentially decisive vote. A look at the senator’s record on taxes shows that three things seem most important to him: public debate, some help for the middle class, and not exploding the deficit.”  

Let’s be clear. McCain is a lot of things. Altruistic is not one of them. The three things that are actually most important to him are the ability to relentlessly jab President Donald Trump, who attained the job McCain spent a career in D.C. coveting. McCain has problems articulating rationally about the economy, (brief, but great, video). He has a vacillating record on tax cuts. Public debate? The McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill was filled with free speech restrictions. Nice try, but the man who doesn’t even know how many homes he owns is not a bleeding heart for the middle class.

Trusting ASS is akin to trusting a snake.