The Many Faces of John McCain

Julianne Hing writes for Colorlines:

It’s primary day in Arizona, and John McCain will likely defend his Senate seat against his opponent, talk radio host and former congressman J.D. Hayworth, with a comfortable double-digit lead. But it hasn’t been an easy road to election day for McCain, who faced ridicule from Hayworth over his past leadership on immigration reform and then decided to run to the right on the issue to reclaim Arizona voters’ confidence. It’s been an even more uncomfortable election season for people who often appreciated McCain as a voice of restraint and principle. How did we, or rather, McCain, arrive here?

In the last ten years McCain has gone from being one of the most visible Republican leaders advocating humane and comprehensive immigration reform to one of its most aggressive hawks. Listen to the core policy proposals McCain has pushed over the years, and there are three main pillars he’s always kept in steady rotation: legalization for the undocumented population currently in the country; some kind of guest worker program; and strict border enforcement. For immigration rights advocates these reforms are not interchangeable, but they are nevertheless cornerstones of McCain’s immigration platform. The policies he chooses to elevate, or discard, depend a lot on the political moment. McCain was a cosponsor in 2003, 2005 and 2007 of the DREAM Act. McCain once defended undocumented immigrants’ right to adjust their status and claim Social Security. It’d be unthinkable for McCain to publicly defend any of these today.. . .

What has shifted more than anything is the tone of McCain’s speech. McCain of the comprehensive immigration reform era spoke of immigrants with humanity and respect. McCain on the 2008 campaign trail was much less interested in embracing the topic so bravely, which led to the newer, uglier McCain of 2010, who regularly casts all border crossers as smugglers, drug dealers, murderers. McCain of 2010 praised Arizona’s SB 1070 and is singlemindedly focused on ramping up militarization of the border by flooding the region with National Guard officers, Border Patrol agents and surveillance equipment. He willingly vilifies immigrants where once he defended and included the population. Click here for the rest of the piece.

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