By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--October 14, 2017
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It’s a specter that should stalk the nightmares of Republican leaders: a Senate chamber, packed on Christmas Eve, as lawmakers gather to decide the fate of a tax package that will shape the GOP’s political fortunes. The bill remains one vote shy, and then Sen. John McCain walks in, pauses before the desk, and delivers his second thumbs-down dagger of the year. For that reason, the Arizona Republican, who is fighting a public battle with brain cancer, will be among his party’s most closely watched as the year winds down and the tax debate gears up. Yet over his decades in public life, McCain has traced a zigzagging line on the subject, leaving little clear indication of how he’ll approach a potentially decisive vote. A look at the senator's record on taxes shows that three things seem most important to him: public debate, some help for the middle class, and not exploding the deficit. ...So far, McCain’s potential objections sound familiar. The senator helped tank the GOP's Obamacare rewrite by arguing in part that it hadn't followed regular order -- that is, there were no actual hearings on the measure before it was pushed to the floor.Normally, "no actual hearings" is John McCain speak for "I didn't get to be on TV enough." If there's one thing we know about Arizona's favorite pseudo-Republican it's that he loves to hear himself talk, loves publicity, and adores cameras. Lately however, I'd argue a different pattern is emerging - though it's not altogether unfamiliar.
Doubtless nursing a grudge from the vicious campaign in South Carolina, McCain spent much of the first Bush term taking well-timed jabs at the new president. He voted for an initial Senate version of the $1.35 trillion Bush tax cuts, but when the bill came up for final passage, McCain voted no. Echoing Democratic denunciations of a giveaway to the rich, McCain told his Senate colleagues, "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief."Fast forward 16 years, and we have another President that McCain despises and, again, we're looking at a situation where he could be a critical vote regarding - wait for it - tax cuts.
The senator's vote matters because with a 52-seat majority, Republicans can't afford more than two defections (Vice President Pence could push the package over the line in the event if a tie).
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