General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWho is included in the 'right wing'? Is McCain right wing? I say not.
I'm having a discussion with someone.
SCantiGOP
(13,855 posts)He is certainly right wing.
Moderate, even centrist in some subjects.
JMHO
applegrove
(118,006 posts)brush
(53,467 posts)He postures on the senate floor as a reasonable sounding statesman often on topical issues but gets in lockstep and votes the right wing party line 99% of the time with few exceptions.
demosincebirth
(12,518 posts)NRaleighLiberal
(59,940 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)If you describe it as arch conservative and militaristic, then McCain is part of it. If you describe it as antagonistic toward the idea of racial and gender equality, and having significant totalitarian tendencies, then neither McCain, nor either Bush - with all their faults, are part of it.
BlueTsunami2018
(3,461 posts)That hes not a full on teabagging fascist doesnt change that.
His voting record tells the tale.
JI7
(89,172 posts)he might have been right wing in the 80s .
but these days right wing means full on bigotry like the KKK .
Zambero
(8,954 posts)Another AZ senator who could have been accurately described as being right-wing in the 50's & 60's and then moved toward the center as his party continued to veer right.
brush
(53,467 posts)Garrett78
(10,721 posts)Because John McCain is pretty damn far to the right if you ask me.
LostOne4Ever
(9,267 posts)Laffy Kat
(16,354 posts)Yes, he's RW.
JHB
(37,128 posts)As to that likely difference in perspective, consider how far the Overton window -- the range of what viewpoints counts as "reasonable" vs "extreme" -- has been pushed rightward over the past several decades.
Just about every conservative these days holds positions that were considered right-wing in the not too distant past.
Also, don't discount the environment he has to operate in, as it affects is actions. For instance, Nixon was a conservative, but did liberal things like start the EPA because the political environment he had to operate in made that a reasonable move, rather than the ideological treason current conservatives would consider such an action.
Conservatives have been miring the Republicans deeper and deeper in guano for several decades now, encouraging it to provide their margin of victory. That's the pool McCain swims in, and he acts accordingly, even if he isn't a full-time foamer.
There isn't a sharp boundary between them, there's a blur.