John McCain is Starting to Lose Independents

In the 2000 Republican Presidential Primary, I was rooting for John McCain. He was campaigning as someone who would not just follow the Republican line, but would do what was best for the country. Unfortunately it ultimately cost him the election because he was not "conservative enough" for many Republicans. In a speech given in Virginia just before their primary, he lambasted the religious right and individuals like Jerry Falwell. The results from the Primary were conclusive in that conservatives came out in droves to support George W. Bush. It appeared that history was going to repeat itself in 2008 when Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses over Mitt Romney and John McCain. It looked like McCain was going to win the independent vote, much as he did in 2000, but loose eventually to the more conservative candidate. However, McCain has been trying his best to gain the support of the conservatives and ease their fears that he would vote against them too often. This may be a strategy to gain conservative votes, but in the process, he is losing the support of independents that he will need to win the general election.

Looking at a few issues where McCain has changed his positions will show clearly that he is moving too much to the right for independents. The issues we will look at will be the Terrorism Debate, Abortion, Gay Marriage, Stem Cell research and tax cuts.

When looking at the issue of terrorism, McCain has been a strong advocate against the use of torture. However, according to a Boston Globe report, McCain is beginning to shift his position on this issue. According to the article, he has started to "aligned himself with conservative supporters of the White House on key votes related to the interrogation of prisoners and warrantless surveillance." The article points to various votes in the Senate that McCain has begun to shift towards the right when he was originally opposed to them. The warrentless searches was an area that McCain had been vocally opposed to, but now seems to be in support of them the article explains. This is a key issue for independents who feel that torture should not be used and that our civil liberties should not be infringed upon for the sake of a supposed security increases. The article also points out that his move was hailed by conservatives including articles writen in the National Review, a very conservative on-line magazine.

When looking at the issue of abortion we can see another shift to the right. While McCain has always been personally opposed to Abortion, he has changed how the states should deal with the issue. According to a Daily Princetonian article, in 1999, McCain expressed his support of Roe v. Wade and said that it was key to protect women. However, the article points out that in 2006 "he reveresed course, claiming that states should be free to ban abortions."

The article also points out where McCain has changed his position on gay marriage as well. The article states that in 2004 he actually voted against a proposed bill that would have created a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. However, as the article points out "two years later, he won praise from Jerry Falwell for changing his position to support such an amendment." It is these types of changes that are troubling to an independent voter. McCain has always campaigned as someone who would not just fall in line with the Christian Conservatives and as I stated above, ripped apart Falwell in 2000. Then, to try and shore up more conservative votes, he changes his position on the issue.

When looking at another conservative sticking point, federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, McCain has shifted positions here as well. In fact, according to a National Review post, even conservatives are not sure where he stands on this issue because he has changed so much.

One area that the article is supportive of McCain is on the tax cuts issue. As the article points out, McCain was strongly opposed to the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and in 2003. However, he has now in support of those tax cuts and says that we cannot let those cuts expire. In fact, his recent support for those tax cuts was cited by Jack Kemp as a major reason for supporting him.

In everyone of these issues, McCain has changed his position away from a moderate position to try and gain the support of the conservative wing of his party so he can win the nomination. Unfortunately, because of that decision he is losing the independent vote. According to a Seattle Times article, embracing these type of views will cost him dearly, especially if Obama is the Democratic nominee. I will say this, I liked John McCain. I liked him so much in 2000, that I wrote my Master's Thesis by analyzing the speech that he gave in Virginia and even had Senator McCain sign a copy for me. Unfortunately, he has lost my support because he has gone far off to the right, and I will not be the only one he loses.

Charlie Savage, "McCain seems to shift right in terror debate", The Boston Globe

Jason Sheltzer, "How to beat 'Weathervane McCain'", The Daily Princetonian

Mark Levin, "The Corner: Changing Positions", National Review Online

Floyd McKay, "McCain's sounding a long like Bush", The Seattle Times