John McCain on the Issues

The presidential candidates spent a lot of time in the debate on Friday talking about what they stand for, and what they want to do. Since both men are senators, their positions on issues are public record. Project Vote Smart  keeps a record of key votes by all members of congress. The results of his mammoth undertaking is freely available the voters of the United States, and includes many offices besides congress. I am indebted to them for the information I present here.

This is the first of two columns in which I examine the voting records of Senators Barak Obama and John McCain.


John McCain presents himself as a pro-life candidate, and his votes in the senate bear him out. However, he is much more than a pro-life candidate. He opposes funding not only for abortion but also for all kinds of birth control and reproductive education and services. He has voted to prevent women in the U.S. military from obtaining abortions in military medical facilities abroad, even if they pay for them with their own money, and even if the pregnancy is the result of rape. He voted to make it a crime to transport a minor across state lines to get an abortion if her home state has a parental notification law. He voted against requiring health insurers to pay for contraceptives as they would for any other drug.

In short, he is not only against abortion; he is against family planning of any stripe. Between them, he and his running mate have 12 children. His attitude about family planning seems to be "cross your legs and hope for the best."

While he defends the right of every egg to become a human being, he brooks no restriction on destroying those human beings in warfare. He votes against all restrictions on the amount of money spent on the current wars. He votes against resolutions requiring the president to report to congress about the progress of those wars, and he votes against resolutions calling for a reduction of troops. When it comes to killing, he clearly prefers killing 18 to 24 year olds to the unborn.

McCain comes from a military family, and he has some interesting views about running the military. He voted against a measure that would require separate housing for men and women in basic training. Another notable position, McCain opposes mandatory minimum rest periods for troops between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. During the debate, he mentioned the need to take care of veterans. His past votes raise the question of how many veterans can actually survive a McCain administration.

McCain has changed his position on energy policy. In the past, he has voted repeatedly against drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and in the Great Lakes. He has also voted against unified energy policies that would have promoted U.S. self-sufficiency. Now, suddenly, he claims that it is time to drill and do all kinds of things to turn the ship around.

On consumer protection and the environment McCain sides with business. He voted against allowing people to sue health insurers if insurers harm them by denying benefits. He voted against requiring background checks for those wishing to buy guns at gun shows, and to protect gun and ammunition makers from product liability lawsuits by people killed or injured in crimes involving firearms.

He voted to prevent the EPA from enforcing mercury rules in the Clean Air Act, and against a law that would make price gouging during a declared state of emergency a crime.

McCain votes pro-business most of the time, but he is more likely to vote pro-huge-business than he is to vote pro-small business. For example, he voted against a law that would subject U.S. businesses that do business with foreign businesses tied to terrorism to prosecution, and he voted to compensate insurance companies against losses due to terrorism at 80% up to $10 billion and more beyond that. However, he voted to require employers to verify the immigration status of their employees, a measure that probably has a greater impact on small businesses than on large ones. Again, his view that people should not sue their health insurers is a pro-big-business stance. This is unsurprising, considering that six of his top seven corporate campaign contributors are blue-chip investment bankers like Merril Lynch, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley (Open Secrets.Org).

When it comes to helping the poor, McCain has some ideas about where to pinch a penny that reveal much about him. He voted against funding the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps people pay their heat bills. Proponents planned to pay for the program by closing loopholes in the corporate income tax code. He also voted against the Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization. The crowning glory of his congressional record, however, may be when he voted to kick families when they were already down, by denying Aid for Families with Dependent Children to any family of a fugitive felon, parole violator, or probationer.

These and many other of his votes are available at Project Vote Smart.