Arianna: McCain told me he didn’t vote for Bush in 2000 (Maverick double-standard...?)

Hot Air ^ | 05/05/2008 | Allahpundit

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Neither did Glenn, neither did I. (I didn’t vote.) Granted, she’s a buffoon and a completely unreliable witness, but … do we maybe want to force ourselves to believe this one?

"At a dinner party in Los Angeles not long after the 2000 election, I was talking to a man and his wife, both prominent Republicans. The conversation soon turned to the new president. “I didn’t vote for George Bush” the man confessed. “I didn’t either,” his wife added. Their names: John and Cindy McCain (Cindy told me she had cast a write-in vote for her husband).

"The fact that this man was so angry at what George Bush had done to him, and at what Bush represented for their party, that he did not even vote for him in 2000 shows just how far he has fallen since then in his hunger for the presidency."

That our nominee is, shall we say, less than a fully devout Republican is something already well known to the base. A new tale of party betrayal will hurt him — but a tale of Bush betrayal, specifically? Dubya’s approval rating is 28%; according to the new Gallup, he’s a bigger liability for McCain than Wright is for Obama (although, surprisingly, only slightly). Conservatives who don’t want to believe the story can simply discard it based on the source and independents who do want to believe it can accept it as proof that McCain’s not the Bush clone the left wants him to be. Thanks, Arianna! Exit question: What did she hope to accomplish by mentioning this? Anything coherent? Bear in mind, this is a woman who convinced herself last summer that the conservative outcry against McCain had to do with his support for the war, not that little immigration matter you might have heard about. It fell to Glenn Greenwald, of all people, to set her straight

Update (Ed): I’m as mystified as Allahpundit about this story. McCain and Bush had hard feelings following the primary in 2000, so McCain’s reluctance to vote for Bush doesn’t surprise me at all. Arizona wasn’t exactly a battleground state in 2000, so McCain’s abstention hardly put the election at risk. The only takeaway from this anecdote is that McCain and Bush have two different approaches to politics, which undermines the McSame argument the DNC wants to sell this year.

And the “how much he has fallen” spin doesn’t work, either. McCain and Bush worked together on some issues and in opposition on others. McCain isn’t exactly running around the country on the Bush bandwagon. And doesn’t their rapprochement also negate the “McCain holds grudges forever” meme that Democrats pushed along as part of their focus on anger management?

Allow me to thank Arianna, too.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

A few quick comments, in order to head off the more predictable knee-jerk objections to any/all of this:

1.) This story comes from Hot Air, which is as unreservedly "in the tank" for John McCain as any RW site out there... period. So, plainly: NOT a "hit" piece," by any stretch of the imagination.

2.) Assuming that the core accusation at the heart of this story is true -- and, really: we already know that McCain openly flirted once (and possibly twice) with switching political parties altogether; it certainly isn't any great stretch of the imagination, therefore, to credibly imagine him withholding his vote during that same period -- then it does logically beg the question:

If we non-supporters of McCain are continually hectored and browbeaten by increasingly shrill declarations that "you owe the Republican party your vote, if only for the sake of our troops!"... then: why shouldn't be "Maverick" McCain be held to precisely that same standard?

... and, if he did vote for someone other than Bush, in 2000: then why would it be any less "honorable" or "conscientious" or "maverick" for any other conservative to follow suit, in turn?

Discuss. ;)

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Ping!

[SoConPubbie]

Well, if it is good enough for McCain, I guess it is good enough for me.

I won’t be voting for McCain since he has set the example.

I will write in the name of a Real Republican instead.

[psjones]

If you’d rather see hillary or obama be president, then by all means don’t vote for Mccain and go vote for the dem. That’s what it’s going to come down to, while I am no big fan of mccain, I find the dems to be even worse.

[AliVeritas]

Well gee, that means the left can step lumping McCain in with Bush now.

Works for me.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

If you’d rather see hillary or obama be president

Either find where I stated any such thing, or else cram it. Sideways.

Re-read Point #1, in Comment #1.

[NormsRevenge]

All’s fair since the dems crossed over and voted for McCain to get him the slot.

What a miserable situation the GoP has created. Even clothespins may not help some do as you said you will.

[Saundra Duffy]

I voted for George W. Bush TWICE and FReeped for him during the hanging chad fiasco and FReeped in support of the troops.

If it’s true that John McCain is such a small man that he refused to vote for the Republican nominee, that is REALLY disgraceful.

I won’t vote for McCain unless MItt Romney is the VP pick but I very seriously doubt McCain will pick Romney for VP because standing next to Romney, McCain would look old, ugly and stupid.

[Hildy]

Have you seen the email going around?

On one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.

On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with huge boobs who owns a beer distributorship.

Is there a contest here?"

[HAL9000]

Has McCain answered this yet? If not, he will have to.

[Hildy]

Are you really going to take Arianna Huffington’s word? She’s a complete nut.

[Enchante]

"This story comes from Hot Air, which is as unreservedly "in the tank" for John McCain as any RW site out there... period. So, plainly: NOT a "hit" piece," by any stretch of the imagination."

NO, NO, NO, wrong! The "story" comes from the execrable Arianna Huffington, and it is simply repeated on Hot Air with a link to the unmentionable Huffington Post.

I don't have trouble believing it, knowing what we know of John McCain and considering the bad blood over the 2000 campaign, but Arianna is NEVER a reliable source so it has to be considered unreliable even if plausible.

[KoRn]

McCain needs to be replaced at the Republican national convention.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

NO, NO, NO, wrong!

Go back and re-read, please. The story most assuredly does come from Hot Air; a link has been thoughtfully provided for your convenience, should you feel like checking that out for yourself.

Arianna Huffington is Hot Air's source for said story.

The terminology used is correct. You are not.

And calm down, for pity's sake. ;)

[discipler]

McCain's a maverick jerk. I can't believe I'm saying that about the Republican. I've voted Republican since Reagan. McCain irks me almost as much as the two Democrats. He's supposedly conservative in some areas I am, but I don't think he is trustworthy. I'm going 'green' to save the planet. The symbolism is powerful.

[SoConPubbie]

If you’d rather see hillary or obama be president, then by all means don’t vote for Mccain and go vote for the dem. That’s what it’s going to come down to, while I am no big fan of mccain, I find the dems to be even worse.

Actually, I am hoping for the scenario that provides the most amount of gridlock possible in DC.

I know if McCain gets the nod, he will do everything possible to not offend his Democrat Buddies and remain in the favor of the MSM, thereby pushing many of the issues of the Left. I also know that the Republicans in Congress will go pretty much along with him just like they did with Bush. There will be, however, less of them because McCain has zero coattails.

Now, on the other hand, if one of the Marxists gets the nod, the Republicans in Congress will suddenly remember who they represent and grow a spine and will fight like wildcats everything that the Marxist tries to push through. This scenario is the best for the GOP.

Furthermore, as shown by his comments today, If McCain is elected, he will grant Amnesty to 20-40 million+ Hispanic illegal aliens. A voting block that votes reliably 70% Democrat.

This huge influx of Democrat voters into the electorate will wipe out the razor-thin margins between Democrat and Republican voters, the same razor-thin margins that the Republicans have been winning by in the last several election cycles.

Additionally, this will be the last straw for millions of conservative and small 'l' libertarians who have called the GOP home for decades. They will leave the party or simply check out of the process because the GOP stabbed them in the back for the last time.

[HAL9000]

Washington Post - McCain Denies Huffington Vote Claim

[taxesareforever]

Then McCain shouldn’t complain when voters, such as I, write-in their vote.

[SoConPubbie]

Washington Post - McCain Denies Huffington Vote Claim

I'll believe him when he admits that McCain-Kennedy was Amnesty.