An Open Letter to John McCain: Consider Your Legacy, Senator

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Dear Senator McCain:

As the Senate vote on the House-Senate conference committee tax bill approaches, we urge you to consider your legacy and ask yourself this very basic question:

Do you want your last political act – your final legacy — to be one of rank hypocrisy, by all appearances motivated by the selfish desire to pad your own family’s already overstuffed pockets?

Because if you cast a “yes” vote before the time Senator-elect Doug Jones is seated, that is precisely what it will be.

The facts are clear. In a directly analogous situation, the election of Senator Scott Brown prior to the vote on the Affordable Care Act, you led the charge to demand that Senator Brown be seated before a final vote was taken. Here’s what you said in 2010:

So here we are, and now the rumors are that [Democrats will] jam this bill through the House of Representatives, and then bypass what has always been the normal legislative process. They should not do that. The American people have spoken. The people of Massachusetts have spoken for the rest of America. Stop this process, sit down in open and transparent negotiations, and let’s begin from the beginning.

You also have spoken, eloquently, about the importance of respecting the process.

At the same time, Senator, we’re all aware of the financial benefit the Republican tax plan would provide to your family.

So, the choice is yours. You can act with integrity and refuse to vote until Doug Jones takes his rightful seat as the next Senator from Alabama.

Or you can cast a rushed vote for a deeply flawed tax plan, in violation of your own stated principles, reeking of hypocrisy in light of your statements at the time Senator Brown was elected, and obviously bettering your family’s financial position.

It’s up to you. Nothing less than your legacy is at stake.

Sincerely,

Blog for Arizona

32 thoughts on “An Open Letter to John McCain: Consider Your Legacy, Senator”

    • If you read through the tax bill it’s clear that the GOP is 100% corrupt.

      Every time the GOP gets power they overreach, the deregulate and cut taxes, and they act shocked when it causes a massive recession shortly thereafter.

      We will soon be leaving the Obama economy and moving into the Trump economy. When the shit hits the fan he gets all the credit.

  2. Sen. John McCain returns to Arizona, will miss vote on GOP tax bill
    Last Updated Dec 17, 2017 3:27 PM EST

    Republican Sen. John McCain is returning to Arizona after spending several days in a Maryland hospital recovering from side effects from chemotherapy treatment for brain cancer, CBS News has learned.

    McCain left Washington Sunday and is heading back to his home state to spend the holidays with his family. He will not be on hand for the final vote on the GOP tax passage expected for early this week. It is unclear when McCain might return to Washington.

    Despite a razor-thin margin needed to pass the measure, McCain’s presence will not likely be the determining factor in the vote. Two critical senators — Bob Corker of Tennessee and Marco Rubio of Florida — announced their support for the bill last week after initially saying they would oppose earlier versions.
    …
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-john-mccain-returns-to-arizona-will-miss-vote-on-gop-tax-bill/

  4. The Latest: Corker to vote for GOP tax package
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Dec 15, 2017, 3:42 PM ET

    Republican Sen. Bob Corker says he will vote for the sweeping GOP tax package.

    The Tennessee senator, who opposed the original Senate bill, said in a statement Friday that although the bill is far from perfect, the once-in-a-generation opportunity “to make U.S. businesses domestically more productive and internationally more competitive is one we should not miss.”

    Corker had complained about adding to the nation’s $20 trillion debt with deep tax cuts.

    In his statement, Corker said, “I realize this is a bet on our country’s enterprising spirit, and that is a bet I am willing to make.”

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/latest-trump-predicts-monumental-tax-bill-pass-51812926

      • The moral of the story is the GOP has no morals.

        Next up, using the self induced debt/deficit to justify putting millions of people on the street.

        • Precisely. It’s next up in their playbook.

          I can’t describe the contempt I have for these people. There are no words.

    • Just goes to show that Bill Clinton was right. “Republicans don’t fall in love, they fall in line.” And these (insert derogatory term of choice) will go on to cushy corporate jobs, very comfortable retirements & pay no price for betraying their flesh & blood constituents.

      Makes one think of becoming a Pagan:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Y9pBlvkXI

  5. Very well written and nothing but truth in it. Don’t think McCain (or Flake for that matter) will pay attention. For all his squawking about process McCain cast the position to the wind on the Senate vote. And will probably do the same again. Senators, please prove me wrong!

  6. Topher Spiro‏Verified account
    @TopherSpiro

    THIS IS NOT OVER. Corker is a no. Rubio leans no; Lee is undecided. Collins is undecided—and she’s the deciding vote. #mepolitics

    1:33 PM – 14 Dec 2017

  7. I agree with the sentiments of this piece, but I think referring to any of Senator’s McCain’s votes as his “last act” or “final legacy” is inappropriate and, frankly, a bit ghoulish. We all know the Senator is very ill. We all know his time in the Senate is limited. But, to refer to or try to persuade him to vote a certain way– in the context of his waning health is extremely thoughtless. Senator McCain is fighting for his life right now and from what I read in the news, he is going downhill pretty quickly. Politically, we should continue to contact his office to express our views on the current tax bill– as we would with any other Senator. But personally, we should NOT be referring to any of actions as his “final” or his “last.” This is just plain wrong. I hope you will consider the above and perhaps even retract your article.

    • Facts are facts. Glioblastoma in an 80 year old patient is not survivable. To pretend that his diagnosis points to anything but the end of his life – and soon- is whistling past the graveyard. McCain knows he’s dying and has no illusions about the matter. Neither should we.

    • You came to the wrong place for civility, as witnessed by Mr. Bryan’s doubling down on cold.

      I would also take issue with characterizing a yes vote as self-serving hypocrisy. Amazing how AzBM can read hearts and minds.

    • Are you serious? This tax bill will inflict untold misery, including death in the case of people who are priced out of health insurance by the elimination of the mandate. What you consider appropriate for a post like this ignores reality. For some reason you think that even though McCain’s undoubtedly considering his legacy, politeness dictates that we not mention it in an effort to influence him. In my mind, and I suspect my colleagues, if a statement to the Senator would have a .00001% chance of influencing him to reject this awful piece of legislation, I’ll say it.

      So, you go ahead and live your life nice and politely. Make sure you don’t offend anyone, as you watch your friends and family members suffer.

      • bob the kleons say it best “revenge is a dish best eaten cold”! when the latinos take over the politics in arizona in the 2020’s they will “deal” with kavenaugh and fountain hills, east mesa, sun city and the outlying bastions of fascism. are job is to preserve a record of who has been naughty and nice so the young latinos who take over will know who to “deal” with and who to drag back from idaho. as count blucher said at the battle of waterloo ” I will shoot the first man who shows them mercy!” the democrats motto should be no quarter for you either republican!

      • And, furthermore, elected representatives are supposedly elected to serve the people, not corporations and not the oligarchy.

        The people have a right to speak. And John McCain has chosen to be a senator until his last dying breath or very close to it. So, this is his choice, that he should hear the opinions of his constituency. He could have chosen to resign and die peacefully, freed from the demands of being a senator but he didn’t.

        We can’t hold back while these people loot the country, decimate the social safety net, and destroy what is left of our democracy because one or our representatives is dying. We have to speak up, we are obligated to do so by any moral standard we hope we have.

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