Free Republic

Could the long-icy relationship between President Obama and his 2008 presidential opponent, Sen. John McCain, be thawing? McCain (R-Ariz.) took a significant step toward reconciling with the president in a graceful op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post. If that article marks a genuine fresh beginning, it would be one positive thing to come out of the horrific shooting spree in Tucson eight days ago. McCain and Obama will never be comrades in arms. They have too much history, too much mutual ill will and too many philosophical differences for that. In the two years since McCain went down in defeat against...

(snip) I disagree with many of the president's policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country's cause. I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals.(snip)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday he would work to help implement the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, despite his opposition to that legislation. McCain signaled he had made peace with the lame-duck bill to do away with the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian service members, which he had sharply criticized. "I think I have to do everything I can to make sure that the impact on the morale, retention, recruitment and battle effectiveness of the military is minimized as much as possible," McCain said on Fox Business. "It is a law and I...

What does he want? Revenge. For what? Being born. This is the way famous gunslinger Doc Holliday answers equally famous lawman and good friend Wyatt Earp’s inquiry - in their depiction in the movie Tombstone - into why their sworn enemy, Johnny Ringo, is such a misanthrope. Sadly, this description would be equally accurate in explaining the actions of another Arizona transplant filled with endless rage: Senator John McCain. I first encountered the seething side of McCain when I was writing my 2008 book, The Real McCain, which was critical of him while pointing out a then-controversial fact, one no...

...my nutshell case for why McCain was functionally a Democrat: As a war hero who's hawkish on foreign policy, he more than matches Bush on the military front. As a reform-minded foe of corporate welfare, Big Tobacco, and the Republican right, he is peerless. McCain is Bush's most vociferous critic, voted against the president's tax cut, forced his hand on campaign finance reform, and federalized airport security in the face of White House opposition. He has co-sponsored numerous bills with Democrats--many of them in the presidential-aspirant class--requiring background checks at gun shows (Lieberman), a patients' bill of rights (Edwards), better...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that the Tea Party needs to commit to being problem-solvers in the new Congress. On "Face the Nation," Graham was asked about the prospects for bipartisanship come January. "The House is in revolt," he said of the difficulty of extending the Bush-era tax cuts. "People are pissed off in the House at the estate tax. That's going to carry over a bit." Graham said that big government and spending is on the "run and retreat," but that the coming months will test the grass-roots movement that helped turn the tide in the midterm election. "The...

(snip) Saturday's debate on the repeal of the "don't-ask-don't-tell" policy was only half an hour old when the Arizona Republican burst onto the floor from the cloakroom, hiked up his pants and stalked over to his friend Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Ignoring Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who had the floor, McCain hectored the men noisily for a few moments, waving his arms for emphasis. When McCain finally stormed off, Durbin shook his head in exasperation and Lieberman smiled. A minute later, McCain returned - he had apparently remembered another element of his grievance -...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Saturday that the failed Democratic effort to pass the DREAM Act in the lame duck session dealt a blow to future talks on a wider immigration bill. “It was an exercise to try and taint Republicans with Hispanic voters, knowing that the DREAM Act under these circumstances could never pass,” Graham told reporters in the Capitol after the bill sputtered on the floor. “What they have done on the DREAM Act is hurt overall comprehensive immigration reform,” he said. The DREAM Act, which would give legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the country...

Republicans could relinquish a significant portion of the gains they made in the midterm elections if they "allow" the omnibus spending bill to pass, Sen. John McCain said Wednesday. The Arizona Republican said that Tea Party activists who helped the GOP make large inroads on Democrats are "enraged" about the $1.1 trillion measure to fund the government that contains nearly $8 billion in earmarks. "They gave us a second chance last November ... And if we Republicans allow this thing to go through, then I'm not sure they're going to give us another chance," McCain said during an interview with...

(snip) ALAN MURRAY: Sen. McCain, I wonder if you could tell us, from where you sit, what the message of this election in the United States is. JOHN MCCAIN: It was a revolt. It was not a revolution. Revolutions take a long time. It was revolt on the part of the American people who believe that their government has lost touch with them and they have lost touch with their government. And any Republican who thinks that it was a vote in favor of Republicans should look at our approval ratings. Last time I checked, it's around 17%. When you...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Senator John McCain said Monday that he worried about eroding Republican support for the war in Afghanistan and "the rise of protectionism and isolationism" in his party. "I worry a lot about the rise of protectionism and isolationism in the Republican Party," McCain, President Barack Obama's Republican rival for the White House in 2008, told a foreign policy forum. (snip) The Arizona lawmaker cited incoming Republican senator Rand Paul, stressing "already he has talked about withdrawals from, or cuts in defense, et cetera, And a number of others are." "There's no doubt that this new group...

(snip) ...Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential contender in 2008, said he could fathom a short-term extension of all the tax cuts. McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts, saying they disproportionately benefited wealthy Americans and did not rein spending. "They should be extended until we are out of this recession," McCain said. "At such time we can look at other tax hikes. But when we're in a serious recession I cannot believe that raising taxes is a good thing on anybody." In fact, the recession officially ended in June 2009, but the recovery has been markedly slow,...

Cindy McCain announced that she is against the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" one day after she appeared in a video where she lends her support to end the ban on gays openly serving in the military. Earlier this week, the former Presidential candidate's wife appeared in a video campaign for the group NOH8 railing on the United States' controversial military policy – a policy that her husband supports. "Our political and religious leaders tell LGBT youth that they have no future ... They can't serve our country openly," she said on the video. (snip) But on Friday night,...

Republican presidential nominee John McCain cornered President George W. Bush into convening a White House summit on the financial crisis – one that top administration officials thought could hurt the administration’s response to the crisis, Mr. Bush says in a new memoir. Mr. Bush writes that Mr. McCain, trailing in the polls and seeking to appear on top of the crisis, asked him to convene a special meeting to discuss a rescue package for the financial markets. Mr. Bush says he told the Arizona senator that he would first check with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to make sure a meeting...

<p>PHOENIX (AP) - U.S. Sen. John McCain says it's up to President Barack Obama to decide whether he wants to work with Republicans to solve America's financial woes and other problems.</p> <p>He maintains that he has been willing to work with Obama all along, but that the president hasn't shown the same cooperation.</p>

John McCain said Tuesday that tea party supporters are "the messengers" — and the message they're sending at the ballot boxes today is not an "affirmation" of Republicans but rather a rejection of the president. McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee, who is expected to handily win a fifth Senate term today, said his party must deliver on cutting spending, repealing health care reform and eliminating earmarks if it is to continue its political upswing in 2012. Though tea party activists have drawn much media attention, he said their complaints are the same held by the "majority of Americans." "That...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona Sen. John McCain is coming to Nevada to stump for Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers confirmed the 2008 GOP presidential nominee will attended a rally for the tea party favorite at a Las Vegas casino on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain says he shares Sarah Palin's opinion that Republican congressional candidates could suffer at the polls if they stray from the tea party's anti-spending, anti-tax message. (snip) The Arizona Republican said that when Republicans gained majorities in Congress in 1994, "they betrayed our base, particularly in the area of fiscal responsibility" and were repudiated in the next two elections. McCain said, "What Sarah is saying is, 'We've got to get fiscally responsible Republicans in.' "

Sen. Lindsey Graham says Obamacare will be a disaster for South Carolina if it’s allowed to be completely implemented in 2014, so he’s going to introduce legislation to repeal and replace the health care law. (snip) Instead of the Obama health care plan, Graham says under his plan, "The government would buy policies for every Medicaid recipient and their family in the private sector to give them better access to health care." (snip) Graham says his replacement plan would include parts of the Obama health care law. He likes that it allows parents to keep a child on their health...

(snip) ...as McCain again said he supported his former running mate former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin. "I haven't seen anyone since Ronald Reagan that with certain individuals and large groups of individuals who really have this passionate belief and support for her," he said, "It's really a remarkable thing to observe." (snip) "I couldn't be more proud of the campaign she waged," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of her or her performance and her continued performance. So, I think, you begin to think about legacy and I think that Sarah Palin will play a very big role in...