“McCain respects the process and the three branches of government, which Bambi does not.”
You betcha! NOT
“[Conservatives are] going to destroy the f*cking [Republican] party...
Why would I want to be the leader of a party of such a**holes?”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, UNKNOWN
“I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have
no problems with it, in their views and their philosophy.”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 02 APR. 2004
“I have to tell you, [Obama] is a decent person, a person that you
do not have to be scared [of] as president of the United States.”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 10 OCT. 2008
I would rather have a clean government
than one whose — quote — First Amendment rights
are being respected that has become corrupt.
If I had my choice, I’d rather have a clean government.
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 2006
“I believe climate change is real.”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 2010-02-23
“I have great respect for Al Gore.”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, 2008-10-02
“The fence is the least effective but I’ll build
the G****mned fence if they want it!”
U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, UNKNOWN
Not to be seen as a defense of John McCain, but for the better part of 230 years, this was the language of the US Senate. Senators would always preface criticism of their fellow Senators - if they were critical at all - with "I have great respect for..."
It is only in the last several years, with the election of people like ALFRANKEN, have we seen almost complete erosion of the comity that has prevailed for so many years.
I wouldn't, and don't, get too bent out of shape when one Senator says something nice about another. As a practical matter, they're probably lying.
As it stands, with this Reconciliation mess, the Senate will become indistinguishable from the House - a kind of bare-knuckles brawl that never ends - and that is precisely NOT what the framers intended.