I agree with everything his statement has said, but unfortunately McCain’s words ring hollow for me.
He has done this time and time again: says something progressive sounding that riles up the right, and gets those of us on the left excited that he may actually do something to cement his reputation as a so-called “maverick”. But, whenever it comes time to actually vote on an issue that’s important to the left, he ends up being just another partisan Trump/GOP flunky. Remember, when he was the dramatic deciding vote that defeated the ACA repeal last year, it was over procedural quibbles, not over the substance of the bill.
So, while I agree with the words in his statement, I don’t expect him to actually do anything to follow through with these words.
This is my theory on the “anti-Trump” GOPers, which has held true so far:
I believe if legislation was proposed (which it hasn’t been given a vote yet) to protect Mueller he would vote for it – in June 2017 he said firing Mueller would be “explosive” and in November 2017 when asked about the potentially firing of Mueller, he said “I would oppose…and so would the American people”. (ThinkProgress)
He also hasn’t been in Washington the past several weeks, he’s been in AZ for his cancer treatment. So he hasn’t been asked to go on the record about his stance recently. Megan McCain was on Colbert the other night and mentioned that she hopes her “dad is better soon, so he can get back to Washington to stand up to Trump”.
Lindsay Graham (who is BFF with McCain and less of a Russia hawk than McCain is) went on record the other day saying he’d be “glad to pass it tomorrow” referring to the legislation he co-sponsored with Cory Booker to protect Mueller; in addition to saying that firing Mueller “it would be the end of President Trump’s presidency if he fired Mr. Mueller” (Vox). There’s also Graham’s infamous qoute: “there will be holy hell to pay (if Trump fires Mueller)”
Both seem to allude to the fact many of us know: if Trump fires Mueller the public outcry would be astronomical and we’ll likely be in a constitutional crisis.
Nunes, who heads the powerful House Intelligence panel, put together the four-page memo based on intelligence the FBI showed him and a few of his staff, as well as Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee. More than 150 members of the House have seen Nunes’ memo. Scores are calling for its release, while Democrats say it is “a misleading set of talking points attacking the FBI.” (Daily Beast)
