The New John McCain Denies Ever Being a Maverick

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:02 pm

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We need leadership like McCain, like we need a hole in the head.

How desperate is John McCain to hold off primary challenger J.D. Hayworth and hang on to his Senate seat? On Fox News Sunday today McCain denied that he ever was a maverick. Now McCain claims that he is not a maverick, but, “what I was saying was that I have considered myself a person who’s a fighter.” It is so mavericky to deny ever being a maverick.

Here is the video courtesy of Think Progress:

Host Chris Wallace asked McCain about running away from the maverick label that he once embraced. McCain answered, “Well, look, when I was fighting against my own president, whether we needed more troops in Iraq, or whether we — spending was completely out of control, then I was a maverick. Now that I’m fighting against this spending administration and this out-of-control and reckless health care plan, then I’m a partisan. I’ve been called a lot of things, and I’ll be glad to be called anything. But I’m a fighter, and that’s what I am. And I fought against my own administration when I wanted to, when I thought it was necessary to do so, and I will fight against this administration when I think it’s necessary to do so.”

He continued, “Well, all I — what I was saying was that I have considered myself a person who’s a fighter. I wouldn’t be around today if I wasn’t a fighter. I fight for the things that I believe in, and sometimes that’s called a maverick. Sometimes that’s called a partisan. And people can draw their own conclusions. I prefer great American myself, but…” Wallace asked McCain if he is running away from the maverick title, and he answered, “No, of course not.”

McCain tried to rebrand himself as a fighter and delivered the hard sell to voters in Arizona, No, my title is that I fight for the things I believe in. I fight for people of Arizona who are hurting very badly right now. Half the homes in Arizona are under water. We have real unemployment of some 17 percent. And I’m continuing to fight for them as I have ever since I was fortunate enough to serve the people of Arizona.”

The spineless nature of McCain should make every America feel fortunate that he lost to Obama. McCain is not only running away from what he had previously embraced, but he is also engaging in act of political self survival by doing some image shape shifting. A real leader and maverick would stay true to his principles when his party is on a path to political self destruction, not try to squeeze into the bus as it is heading for the cliff. McCain’s true character was revealed when he desperately launched the political Ebola known as Sarah Palin on us all, and this man doesn’t deserve to be in the Senate, much less in the White House.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association