Is this actually winning him votes?
Sen. John McCain has endorsed a tough Arizona anti-immigration bill that will let police arrest people who aren’t carrying identification, the latest move in McCain’s rightward shift in advance of a tough Republican Senate primary this summer.
“I think it’s a very important step forward,” McCain said Monday. “I can fully understand why the legislature would want to act.”…
Under the Arizona law, which passed the state House last week and is expected to be signed by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), police can arrest anyone on “reasonable suspicion” that they are an illegal immigrant. If they’re not carrying a valid driver’s license or identity papers, police can arrest them…
“The lesson is clear: First we have to secure the border,” McCain said. “If you want to enact some other reforms, how can that be effective when you have a porous border?”
Is there a single Republican in Arizona to whom this pitch would otherwise appeal who believes it represents McCain’s true feelings? Is there a single one who thinks he’d vote in favor of a law like this once he’s been safely reelected? He’s been a senator for decades and a presidential nominee as recently as two years ago. His views on immigration have been, shall we say, thoroughly vetted. Reading stuff like this makes me more annoyed than I’d be if he simply resorted to his maverick-y ways and slammed the law for being “nativist” or whatever. I can tolerate a RINO, but I can’t tolerate a guy who’ll tell me whatever he thinks I want to hear to get reelected. The more he pulls this nonsense, the more I wonder: If the choice is between Hayworth and a McCain pretending to be Hayworth, why not vote for the authentic one? Points for honesty!
Let’s poll it.
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