McCain Said What?
Floppin Aces
Posted by: Curt @ 11:23 am in Politics, SCOTUS
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If this quote is true then McCain is in for some deep trouble. But remember, we’re talking about the MSM here who almost never quote someone accurately:
Then there is the issue of judicial nominations, a top priority with conservatives. Nothing would improve Mr. McCain’s standing with conservatives more than a forthright restatement of his previously stated view that “one of our greatest problems in America today is justices that legislate from the bench.” Mr. McCain bruised his standing with conservatives on the issue when in 2005 he became a key player in the so-called gang of 14, which derailed an effort to end Democratic filibusters of Bush judicial nominees. More recently, Mr. McCain has told conservatives he would be happy to appoint the likes of Chief Justice John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But he indicated he might draw the line on a Samuel Alito, because “he wore his conservatism on his sleeve.”
If this is true it’s just one more example why the man can’t be trusted.
Sadly, I would still work to ensure he gets elected if he does become the nominee because we all know, with absolute certainty, that Hillary/Obama would not put up anyone like a Roberts, more like a John Paul Stevens, and that CANNOT be allowed to happen.
UPDATE
Via Hot Air comes McCain’s response to this from Byron York:
“Let me just look you in the eye,” McCain told me. “I’ve said a thousand times on this campaign trail, I’ve said as often as I can, that I want to find clones of Alito and Roberts. I worked as hard as anybody to get them confirmed. I look you in the eye and tell you I’ve said a thousand times that I wanted Alito and Roberts. I have told anybody who will listen. I flat-out tell you I will have people as close to Roberts and Alito [as possible], and I am proud of my record of working to get them confirmed, and people who worked to get them confirmed will tell you how hard I worked.”
“I don’t get it,” McCain continued. “I have a clear record of that. All I can tell you is my record is clear: I’ve supported these guys. I went to the floor of the Senate and spoke in favor of them. It’s in the record, saying, ‘You’ve got to confirm these people.’”
I asked whether McCain had ever drawn any distinction between Roberts and Alito. “No, no, of course not,” McCain said.
A reporter misquoting a candidate? Naw, never happens. I agree with Bryan here, this now shifts to John Fund who wrote the offending article.
UPDATE II
Based on this from nine months ago:
He told his audience in Columbia Thursday how happy he was that the Supreme Court last week upheld the law to “outlaw the terrible and odious practice that’s called partial birth abortion. I am proud that happened; I am proud of the Congress and proud of the president. But I’m also proud of the fact that (Republican senator) Lindsey Graham and I –- with five other Republicans joined with seven Democrats” to design an anti-filibuster deal that allowed Bush nominees John Roberts and Sam Alito to win confirmation.
McCain called them “two of the finest justices ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court.”
As McCain made a point of telling the audience in Columbia, “there may be as many as three vacancies on the United States Supreme Court” in the next presidential term. “It’s going to be a very, very important responsibility of the next president.”
His judges, he implied would be in the mold of Thomas, Alito and Roberts and, he vowed, “would strictly interpret the Constitution.”
I think Fund has some explaining to do.
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From the comments to the original post:
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John Fund was on Levin’s show today and says that he stands by the story and that he has multiple sources on this. K-lo at NRO says she has sources of her own that tell her that the quote is accurate.
Realise that he could have worked really hard for Alito’s confirmation, and STILL said that he wouldn’t have picked the guy if HE was in charge.
As a Senator, McCain had to work with what he was given. He in fact probably loved Alito. I don’t think the quote was about not liking Alito.
But look what he said here about him — how he had to work so hard, how he only got 57 votes.
To McCain, that’s a bad thing. He likes the Senate to be able to confirm with wide margins, to “get along”.
His quote indicates that he saw Alito as being so obviously conservative that it made it really hard to get him through the Senate. And that becuase of that, he might not pick such an obvious conservative.
That is perfectly in line with what we know about McCain, AND still perfectly in line with his personal feelings about Alito and how hard he worked to get him through.
But it plays to MY fears — that on judges it won’t matter what McCain wants, he’ll work with the senate democrats to find candidates that will get wide bipartisan support.
Did McCain ever utter the "conservatism on their sleeve" quote in public? I'm no McCain fan, but if no one can point to any public speech or writing in which he said it, or name a source willing to cofirm it on the record, Fund should retract his story. Without proof, it's nothing more than a campaign season smear, no matter what Fund or K-Lo's unnamed sources say.