John McCain "gave a speech" 5/6 in NC that was "clearly aimed at those in his party skeptical about his conservative credentials, particularly with regard to possible appointments" he would make to the SCOTUS (Garber, Winston-Salem Journal, 5/7).
McCain's speech "was a clear embrace of the judicial philosophy" of Pres. Bush and other recent GOP POTUSes, "who sought judges who generally construed laws as narrowly as possible, who for the most part favored government authority in criminal matters and who were opposed to the expansion of abortion rights." McCain cited CJ John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito "as models of the kind of jurists he would nominate." He also sharply criticized Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "for voting against their nominations" (see 5/6 Hotline).
And "confronting the concerns of conservatives," McCain "also defended his central role" in the Gang of 14, which "protected the rights of the minority party," Dems at the time, "to continue to filibuster judicial nominees." McCain: "It showed that serious differences can be handled in a serious way, without allowing Senate business to unravel in a chaos of partisan anger" (Bumiller, New York Times, 5/7).
Meanwhile, McCain also named the members of his Justice Advisory Committee on 5/6. The cmte will be chaired by ex-Solicitor Gen. Ted Olson and Sam Brownback (release, 5/6).
Judgment Day
Conservatives and cong. GOPers "reacted positively" to McCain's speech:
• Family Research Council pres. Tony Perkins said McCain's speech will be "well-received by millions of Americans alarmed by activist judges who undermine the rule of law by legislating from the bench."
• House Min. Leader John Boehner: "John McCain's belief that judges should be judges -- not policymakers -- is shared by every American who believes in a limited, more accountable government" (Youngman, The Hill, 5/6).
• Ex-Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed: "This is an outstanding speech. ... Politically, it's a home run" (Bravin/Holmes, Wall Street Journal, 5/7).
Meanwhile, the reaction among Dems was swift and negative:
• Clinton policy dir. Neera Tanden, on McCain's speech: "We won't take lectures on the right way to approach the Constitution from Senator McCain, who voted for extreme conservative judges like Justice Thomas. In an effort to pander to conservative voters, Senator McCain has signaled his intention to appoint right-wing judges who are committed to rolling back women's rights and civil rights, elevating the interests of big business over the rights of workers and consumers, affirming executive branch power grabs, and undermining our common core freedoms" (release, 5/6).
• Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor: "The Straight Talk Express took another sharp right turn today as John McCain promised his conservative base four more years of out-of-touch judges that would threaten a woman's right to choose, gut the campaign finance reform that bears his own name, and trample the rights and interests of the American people" (Oliphant, "The Swamp," ChicagoTribune.com, 5/6).
• DNC Chair Howard Dean: "No matter how far they have gone to restrict our fundamental rights or their clear records of gutting the reforms John McCain claims to care about, he has put loyalty to his party and a radical agenda ahead of the American people" (The Hill, 5/7).
• Obama adviser/Univ. of Chicago prof. Geoffrey Stone writes in the Chicago Tribune, McCain "is apparently blissfully unaware that the vast majority of current federal judges were appointed" by GOP POTUSes "and that seven of the nine" sitting SCOTUS justices and 12 of the last 14 SCOTUS justices were appointed by GOPers. "As Pogo once said, 'We have met the enemy, and he is us'" (5/7).
• New York Times editorializes, McCain "is determined to move a far too conservative and far too activist Supreme Court and federal judiciary even further and more actively to the right" (5/7).
Attempts To Score Some Actual Media Attention By Talking About Porn
McCain "called for a crackdown on human trafficking, child pornography and the sex slave trade in the U.S. and across the globe" this a.m. in a town hall meeting at MI's Oakland Univ.
In his prepared remarks, McCain said that 15K-18K people, mostly women and children, are brought into the U.S. every year and forced into sex slavery. McCain: "Human trafficking -- slavery, by another name -- exists not just in places like Thailand, Kuwait and Venezuela. It is a serious problem here in the United States."
McCain "called for an inter-agency task force to prosecute human traffickers and rescue their victims. He also pledged to destroy the criminal networks that trade in teenage girls and evade national boundaries."
Meanwhile, last night, McCain attended a $2,300/person fundraiser at the home of Peter and Danialle Karmanos in West Bloomfield Township (Hornbeck, DetNews.com, 5/7). The tally from the event was $2M (Ambinder, TheAtlantic.com, 5/7).
Michigan Seems Like A Dream To Me Now
Meanwhile, the MI AFL-CIO is using McCain's two-day visit "to remind voters of his economic record."
MI AFL-CIO pres. Mark Gaffney said 5/6 "that McCain supports right-to-work laws and international trade agreements." He says McCain is not likely to have an admin. "that does enough or cares enough about creating good-paying manufacturing jobs here in America" (Hoffman, AP, 5/6).
Damn You, Alan Keyes!
In the 5/6 NC primary, GOPers also voted, and, "as expected, they voted overwhelmingly for" McCain. With 60% of precincts reporting, McCain had 74% of the vote. He was followed by Mike Huckabee with 12%, Ron Paul with 8% and Alan Keyes with 3% (Barrett, Raleigh News & Observer, 5/7).
Meanwhile, "incomplete returns" last night showed that more than 20% of those who voted in the IN GOP primary "voted for someone other than" McCain. With 74% of the state reporting, McCain was winning with 77.3% of the vote, according to the AP. Huckabee received 10.3%, Mitt Romney won 4.8%, and Paul received 7.6% (Cooper, New York Times, 5/7).
Funky Divas
The fallout from Arianna Huffington's report that McCain didn't vote for Bush in '00 continued (see 5/6 Hotline).
McCain adviser Mark Salter "ripped into" Huffington when asked 5/6 why she would make up her story about McCain. Salter: "Why would she make something up? Because she's a flake and a poser and an attention-seeking diva. And that's on the record" (Kurtz/Eilperin, "The Trail," WashingtonPost.com, 5/6).
The Bellevue Of The Ball
McCain has sent out invitations for a 5/9 fundraiser in Columbia, SC, to be held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convo Center (Orangeburg Times and Democrat blog, 5/7).
McCain will be in Bellevue, WA for a high-priced fundraiser on 5/13 (Cornfield, Everett Herald blog, 5/6).
He's Not Big On Thwarting
An analysis of McCain's Senate votes "on the most divided issues in the past decade" shows that he "almost never thwarted his party's objectives."
McCain "arguably cast the decisive vote 14 times" since '99 "to ensure" GOPers "got their way, and he had five other close cases where his vote may have made a difference, Senate records show." By comparison, McCain "effectively handed" Dems "a win on roll-call votes four times in the same period." The numbers are based on a review of Senate roll-call votes since '99 "that ended in a tie or were settled by one vote."
McCain spokesperson Crystal Benton: "Senator McCain puts the interests of Arizonans first and supports the principles of the Republican Party. ... He also has the courage and the integrity to do what is right" (Hansen, Arizona Republic, 5/7).
As My Grandpappy, Old Reliable, Used To Say...
New York Observer's Kornacki writes, "even with his considerable personal appeal and maverick image, there are fresh signs that the country's fatigue" with the GOP label "will be too much even for" McCain "to overcome this fall."
The "latest evidence" is the special election in LA-06, "in which, for the third time in as many months, a normally reliable" GOP CD has opted for the Dem candidate in a special election. Meanwhile, "even on his best days," McCain "can't seem to break out of a statistical tie" with Obama, or Clinton, for that matter. "Just like those House elections, it's a trend that can't be ignored" (5/6).
Doesn't It Feel Good To Pay More?
Dem pollster Mark Mellman writes, McCain's "'solution' to the problem of rising healthcare costs is for Americans to pay even more and get less."
"By ending employer-sponsored health insurance and replacing it with an individual market in which everyone buys their own policy, McCain's plan will drive up costs for families. Ending employer-sponsored coverage is itself playing with fire." Apparently, McCain "failed to learn from earlier battles that most people like their own current healthcare arrangements and resist changing them" (The Hill, 5/7).
It's Up To You, New York, New York
McCain fundraiser Robert Wood Johnson IV writes in the New York Sun, "most important for New Yorkers is the way" McCain "carries himself. Much has been said about 'post-partisanship' in this race," but in McCain, "New Yorkers can see the genuine article. He reminds us of the days when one would 'vote the candidate' and not just the party line." McCain, "in how he treats his colleagues across the aisle, brings that possibility back to American politics" (5/7).
The White Zone Is For Immediate Loading And Unloading Of Passengers Only, There Is No Stopping In The Red Zone
Jet-setters going to Aspen, CO, "may no longer hear" McCain's "recorded voice welcoming them to town, at least for a while."
McCain "is among list of notable visitors who have recorded messages" for the Pitkin Co. Airport. In separate recordings, he "warns travelers about security regulations and welcomes them to 'one of the most beautiful places on Earth.'" But "someone complained to airport officials that McCain's message may give him an unfair boost" in the WH campaign, "so airport officials may pull him from the rotation until after the election" (AP, 5/6).
TiVo Tip
McCain will make his 13th appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" tonight at 11 pm on Comedy Central.
Want to stay ahead of the curve? Sign up for National Journal’s AM & PM Must Reads. News and analysis to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Join the Discussion