It amazes me, in hindsight, that I actually voted for John McCain in the Virginia Republican Presidential primary in 2000, and even sent him money. At the time, I loved his "straight talk express," his maverick positions on a variety of issues, and his social moderation. Unfortunately, McCain was demolished by George W. Bush and his "push polling" minions in the fever swamps of South Carolina, where McCain was attacked for having an "illegitimate black child" (actually, he and his wife have an adopted Bangladeshi girl), that he himself was gay (hilarious, when you consider what a womanizer McCain has been over the years), that his wife Cindy was a drug addict, that he was emotionally unstable and/or insane, etc., etc. All this, because McCain was perceived as a threat by the far-right-wing, particularly fundamentalist Christians, who felt McCain was too "moderate" for their liking.Fast forward 6 years, and a duly chastened McCain is running once again for President. Probably for the last time, too, since McCain is now almost 70 years old. Come election day 2008, if McCain is the Republican nominee, he will be 72 years old. In other words, this is McCain's last realistic shot to be President of the United States, and apparently he is willing to do whatever it takes to get there before it's too late.
How else to explain McCain's embrace of the very man - George W. Bush - whose minions slandered him in the most vile terms in South Carolina, 2000? How else to explain McCain's endorsement of South Dakota draconian, extremist ban on abortion - even in the case of rape or incest? And, how else to explain McCain's rapprochement with Jerry Falwell, one of the most extreme right-wingers around? Here are a few classics by Jerry Falwell:
*"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being."
*"The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews."
*"The Jews are returning to their land of unbelief. They are spiritually blind and desperately in need of their Messiah and Savior."
*"Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan."
*"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. "
*"There is no separation of church and state. "
*"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"
*"I think Muhammad was a terrorist."
*"God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve." (Falwell blaming civil libertarians, feminists, homosexuals, and abortion rights supporters for the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001).
Now, here's Paul Krugman's take on the budding McCain friendship with the fanatic Falwell:
Just to be clear: this is a free country, and Mr. Falwell has a right to say what he thinks, even if his views include the belief that other people, by saying what they think, brought down God's wrath on America. By the same token, any political party has a right to include Mr. Falwell and his supporters, just as any politician has a right to make a political alliance with Mr. Falwell.But if you choose to make common cause with religious extremists, you are accepting some responsibility for their extremism. By welcoming Mr. Falwell and people like him as members of their party, Republicans are saying that it's O.K. ? not necessarily correct, but O.K. ? to declare that 9/11 was America's punishment for its tolerance of abortion and homosexuality, that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jews can't go to heaven. And voters should judge the Republican Party accordingly.
As for Mr. McCain: his denunciation of Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson six years ago helped give him a reputation as a moderate on social issues. Now that he has made up with Mr. Falwell and endorsed South Dakota's ban on abortion even in the case of rape or incest, only two conclusions are possible: either he isn't a social moderate after all, or he's a cynical political opportunist.
So what is it, Senator McCain? Are you the "straight talk" moderate maverick of 2000 or a born-again right-wing extremist? Are you a cynical political opportunis desperate to be President at all costs? I don't know for sure, but if you stick with people like Jerry Falwell, the answer will be obvious to all of us who once supported you.