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Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced his decision to retire from the Senate rather than seek re-election in 2018, citing the new tone and political values that President Donald Trump brought to Washington, DC, as the reason. “When the next generation asks us, ‘Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up?’ What are we going to say?” Flake said sorrowfully as he stood up in the Senate for his announcement. “Mr. President, I rise today to say, enough.” Flake said that he no longer could serve as a conservative in a party that no longer valued free trade or...

*snip* McCain, whose status as a war hero Trump publicly and controversially doubted as a 2016 presidential candidate, appeared to retaliate in kind against the president in a C-SPAN interview about the Vietnam War airing Sunday night. In the interview, McCain pointed to wealthy Americans who were able to get out of being drafted into service in the conflict in which he spent years as a prisoner of war. And he pointed to a very specific type of deferment which Trump just happened to use. “One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is...

Arizona Republican Senator John McCain has branded himself as a “maverick” of Republican politics. For those who pay attention, such coy euphemisms as “maverick” betray a more-sinister label: turncoat. Though he represents one of the most-conservative states in the union in the Senate, McCain consistently works against conservative issues. Though a supporter of defense spending, McCain continues to undermine America’s safety on the most-basic of issues. What good is an extra F-18 or two if we’re consistently leaving the Southern border unsecured for the convenience of any illegal immigrant or Islamic terrorists who wish to enter the country without going...

Arizona Republicans say GOP Sen. John McCain’s recent staff shake-up is an acknowledgment of the seriousness of his Aug. 24 primary challenge — a contest in which he remains a clear — but nervous — front-runner. While recent polls have shown McCain with a double-digit lead over former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, in an election year in which one Senate incumbent has already been taken down and several others are facing stiff primary opposition, the departure of two top campaign officials — campaign manager Shiree Verdone and deputy manager Mike Hellon — is being viewed as proof that McCain recognizes that...

Campaign staff and volunteers of Sen. John McCain and his former vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin are preparing for the pair’s appearance at Mesa’s Dobson High School on Saturday. A spokesman for the camp offered a bit of advice for those wanting to get in: “Folks should get there early,” said Brian Rogers, McCain’s communications director.The event is free, on a first-come, first-served basis and does not require a ticket. (snip) Also speaking at a rally in Tucson on Friday, the appearances are McCain and Palin’s first ones together at a public event since their concession speech in the...

Until last night, when I watched the Republican debate, I had no idea how much John McCain dislikes me and just about everybody else but Rudy Giuliani, who if you believe The New York Times is a pretty good hater himself. As I watched McCain and Governor Romney go at it during the debate at the Reagan Library I was struck by the huge gap that separates McCain -- whose contempt for his fellow humans is patently obvious -- and my dad, Ronald Reagan, who had nothing but the deepest affection and respect for the American people. The feeling is...

It is nothing short of incredible that a combat veteran who has claimed to be a conservative Senator has led the fight to reward with amnesty, the millions of Mexican and Central American nationals who have entered this nation illegally. While the betrayal of the American people on behalf of foreign invaders by Sen. John McCain may be puzzling to most, the former POW actually has somewhat of a history of betraying his fellow citizens in favor of a foreign enemy. The question of McCain's true motives should be examined. On October 26, 1967, U.S. Navy Lt. John McCain was...

Enclosed are some excerpts from Senator John McCain's letter that he E-Mailed to his followers today. I'm pleased to see someone on Capital Hill who is standing up to Obama and the Democrats and their outrageous wasteful spending..... "My Friend, I have spent much of my career fighting against wasteful spending in Washington. I'm not afraid to speak out when I see taxpayer dollars wasted. And in all my years in public office, I have never seen spending as out of control as it is under the current Democratic leadership. Our national debt has reached an all-time high of $12.4...

Presidential nominee in 2008 faces GOP primary fight. BY JOSEPH WEBER Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Arizona Republican, said in an interview Monday that his planned primary challenge to Sen. John McCain will portray the four-term incumbent as a not-so-conservative Republican who has "enabled" President Obama and his failed economic and security policies. "I'm giving Arizona Republicans a clear choice between a consistent, common-sense conservative . . . or someone who describes himself as a maverick but is a moderate," the outspoken Mr. Hayworth told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show. Mr. Hayworth, 51, quit his job Friday as...

In the wake of a political setback for national health care legislation, Senator John McCain, the losing candidate in the last presidential election, advised his victorious 2008 adversary on Sunday that the way to get meaningful changes passed is to “start from the beginning” by meeting with Republicans. Mr. McCain, a Republican from Arizona, said on the CBS news program “Face the Nation” that President Obama should sit down with Republican leaders and begin adopting some of their ideas for improving the nation’s health care system such as overhauling medical malpractice lawsuits, allowing residents of one state to buy health...

This morning, in an interview with CNN's State of the Union, Sen. John McCain (RINO-Ariz.) apparently used some rather choice language to describe the fairly evident future political aspirations of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Ak.): "Will Sarah and I - did we always agree on everything in the past? Will we in the future? No. But let's let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's come up with a winning combination next time."—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2360310/posts With only a cursory glance, it appears from McCain's language that he is merely asking for a second chance -- in 2012? -- with Palin. [And, at first...

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is taking the opposite route of most defeated presidential candidates: rather than quickly bow out of national politics, McCain is working to become a transformative force in the Republican Party, Politico reported Friday. Concerned about the GOP's direction, McCain has been recruiting and raising money for candidates who share his pragmatic center-right style. McCain has been a particularly generous advisor to Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who he encouraged to run for Senate and threw a $500,000 fundraiser to support.

(snip) Listening to Sen. McCain's elegy, however, I found myself increasingly bothered. "We disagreed on most issues," McCain said at one point, "but I admired his passion for his convictions ... ." Really? Kennedy was the farthest-left liberal during nearly five decades in the U.S. Senate. McCain, just one year ago, campaigned for president, proclaiming his conservative convictions. And without doubt, Kennedy's wholehearted support of Barack Obama helped to torpedo McCain's campaign. Perhaps one moment disturbed me most: "When we worked together on the immigration issue," McCain recalled, "we had a daily morning meeting with other interested senators. He and...

Says Abuse of Detainees Helped al Qaeda Recruit Terrorists, But Opposes Investigation into "Enhanced" Interrogations. BY MICHELLE LEVI Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he thinks it is a "serious mistake" for the administration to focus on the past when investigating the interrogation techniques of the CIA under President Bush on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "For us now to go back, I think, would be a serious mistake. "I believe that the president was right when he said we ought to go forward and not back. I worry about the morale and effectiveness of the CIA. I worry about this thing...

Senator McCain Poised to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory August 24, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Try this, ladies and gentlemen. State-controlled Associated Press: "Senator John McCain says that President Obama will have to drop proposals for a government-run health insurance option if he hopes to reach congressional agreement on health care reform." So far, so good. I'm still reminded of last week. I was laughing myself silly when news came out and how big news it was that McCain was voting with Republicans. (laughing)Our nominee, our presidential nominee, and there was a huge story, about it: "Ah,...

Somewhere, in his new life as a political hermit, Sen. John McCain must be grinding his teeth. Facing a primary challenge from the right in his campaign for reelection, McCain (R-Ariz.) has gone from spending nearly a decade as a hyper-exposed, perennial presidential candidate to being someone you can only find on Twitter. But with a tough decision to make any day now, McCain will reluctantly do what he has avoided for so long: make news. This will happen when McCain announces his vote for or against the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Either choice...

10:49 a.m., April 24, 2009----While their political opinions may differ, University of Delaware alumni David Plouffe and Steve Schmidt, the two men who helped run the opposing campaigns for the 2008 presidential election, agree that President Barack Obama was a once-in-a-generation candidate and that young people have become an important part of the American political process. Schmidt, who led the Republican campaign of U.S. Sen. John McCain, and Plouffe, who led the Democratic campaign of Obama, discussed their experiences with candor and humor before an audience of about 500 people on Thursday, April 23, in Clayton Hall. The discussion was...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Of course it hurts to lose. And John McCain also says that after losing the election to Barack Obama, the easiest thing to do would have been to feel sorry for himself. But the Arizona Republican is back in the Senate, part of what he calls the loyal opposition to Democrats in power, and ready to work with Obama.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, said Sunday he had few regrets about his White House campaign and no second thoughts about picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. “I don’t have a lot of regrets about it. I think we ran an honorable campaign,” McCain said on “Fox News Sunday.” The Arizona senator added that he was proud of things he had accomplished during the campaign and the people he surrounded himself with. In addition, he argued, the campaign may have made him “more effective here in Washington in these very difficult times.” Asked...

BY SHAILAGH MURRAYThe Washington Post WASHINGTON - A joke made its way around the Capitol Thursday: How do you know the 2008 election is really over? Because John McCain is causing trouble for Republicans again. Two and a half months removed from his defeat in the race for the presidency, colleagues say, McCain bears more resemblance to the unpredictable and frequently bipartisan colleague they have served with for decades then the man who ran an often scathing campaign against Barack Obama. In some instances, he's even carrying water for his former rival. . . . . . Sen. Lindsey Graham,...