In polarized times, praise for McCain becomes grounds for partisan sniping
| Washington
When Arizona Sen. John McCain died聽on Saturday, his friend and fellow Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, tweeted out some words of respect and praise for a 鈥済reat American,鈥� a terrific senator, friend, and mentor. 鈥淢ay God be with this hero who has earned his rest.鈥�
She was 鈥渁mazed鈥� by some of the responses she got 鈥� and not in a good way.
鈥淚 made the mistake of reading some of the comments,鈥澛爏he told reporters earlier this week. 鈥淭hey were just horrible.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Remembering and celebrating a prominent senator with a storied career would not long ago have been entirely uncontroversial. But in today鈥檚 hyperpartisan environment, even eulogies have been weaponized.
鈥淭raitor,鈥� 鈥渨armonger,鈥� and 鈥渋mperialist鈥� are some of the sharp criticisms of the late senator flying around social media, from partisans on both sides. On the conservative news site Breitbart, comments about the senator and his parting letter to Americans are bitingly negative. In response to the Monitor鈥檚聽appreciation of Senator McCain, one reader emailed:聽鈥淗e was a disgrace to this country and a聽traitor. He should be buried in an聽unmarked聽grave.鈥�
Senator Collins even speculated that some of the negativity may have been generated by foreign adversaries or bots: 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 a Russian troll in St. Petersburg and not a real person in the United States who would say such a hateful thing.鈥�
Certainly if the Russians 鈥� or other agitators 鈥� wanted to seize on an event to gin up division in America, they鈥檝e had plenty to amplify this week. In a marked departure from past tradition, the president had to be pressured into keeping the White House flag at half-staff and issuing a statement of respect after a veteran senator鈥檚 death. And that senator will be celebrated at a memorial service this weekend by two former presidents and other luminaries 鈥� but not the current president, who was not invited.
To many, it鈥檚 just one more sign of the tribalization of American politics 鈥� that even a 鈥渓ion鈥� of the Senate can鈥檛 be eulogized without noisy criticism and controversy.
聽鈥淥ur country has become so tribal now, that you have to have blind loyalty to your party as opposed to your country, and that鈥檚 just incredibly sad,鈥� says Sen. Doug Jones (D) of Alabama, talking about the anti-McCain vitriol punctuating the internet.
He sees the half-staff flag issue, as well as speculation about veiled digs at President Trump in McCain鈥檚 final statement, somewhat differently. That鈥檚 a 鈥減ersonal dispute on both ends 鈥� and that鈥檚 also unfortunate, because the bigger message of John McCain鈥檚 service gets lost.鈥�
That bigger message was repeated on the Senate floor this week as a succession of senators lauded McCain for putting country above self and party 鈥� as a prisoner of war tortured during the Vietnam War; as a presidential nominee magnanimous in defeat; as a global advocate for American exceptionalism, military strength, and human rights; as someone willing to buck his own party and work across the aisle on tough problems like immigration, which remains unresolved despite the bipartisan bill McCain helped push through the Senate in 2013.
鈥淗e taught me that immigration, as hard as it is to solve, somebody鈥檚 got to do it,鈥� said an emotional Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina, on the Senate floor. He was standing next to his best friend鈥檚 wooden desk, which had been draped in black, a vase of white roses on the desk top. 鈥淗e said to me with Ted Kennedy, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to learn, Lindsey, that the other side has got to get something, too.鈥� 鈥�
Tearful, Senator Graham said, 鈥淚 do not cry for a perfect man. I cry for a man who had honor and was willing to admit his imperfections.鈥�
Former Senate historian Don Ritchie describes McCain as an 鈥渋nstitutionalist鈥� who understood that the only way to get legislation done is through compromise 鈥� that鈥檚 the way the Founders set up America鈥檚 government.
Mr. Ritchie adds, though, that McCain has always been controversial. He remembered a time when he got a phone call from a reporter in Arizona, McCain鈥檚 home state, asking about an organized effort to recall the senator. He answered that that鈥檚 not a possibility under the Constitution.
But McCain鈥檚 bipartisan approach to governing became more of a mismatch in today鈥檚 polarized America. Nowhere is this more clear than in Arizona, where he lay in state at the Capitol in Phoenix聽on Wednesday. Among Republicans there, McCain enjoyed only a 20 percent approval rating.聽Tuesday鈥檚聽GOP Senate primary was fought among three candidates who largely battled to prove which one was closest to Mr. Trump, with Rep. Martha McSally 鈥� a moderate who lurched right 鈥� emerging the winner.
鈥淚t鈥檚 Donald Trump鈥檚 party鈥� now, retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R) of Arizona told reporters聽on Tuesday, as voting was underway. In the long term, however, he believes McCain鈥檚 more bipartisan approach will win out. 鈥淚t has to,鈥� he explains. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just continue to drill down on the base. You can only go so far, and anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy.鈥�
Like McCain, Senator Flake has been a strong critic of Trump. He has co-sponsored, along with Democratic minority leader Charles Schumer (D) of New York, a resolution to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain, but that has already met resistance among Republican senators. Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky says he will appoint a small bipartisan 鈥済ang鈥� to find a way to honor their colleague.
Constantin Querard, a conservative GOP consultant in Arizona, attributes McCain鈥檚 unpopularity among Republicans to the difference between McCain the candidate and McCain the senator. As a candidate facing a primary challenge in 2010, he argued for completion of that 鈥渄anged fence鈥� on the border, and in his last campaign he promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
But McCain the senator was an 鈥渁mnesty guy,鈥� as Mr. Querard puts it, advocating a path to citizenship in the Senate鈥檚 comprehensive immigration bill and going against Trump by voting against the Obamacare repeal last summer. Both positions are viewed as betrayals by Trump supporters.
鈥淚 wish the discourse was more polite,鈥� says Querard, who consulted for one of McCain鈥檚 primary opponents. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a certain part of the population that鈥檚 going to behave badly, and it鈥檚 not restricted to the right. I鈥檝e seen from liberals, 鈥榃hy are you lionizing a guy who was a war monger?鈥� 鈥� In his recent memoir, McCain admits that the Iraq War was a 鈥渕istake, a very serious one, and I have to accept my fair share of the blame for it.鈥�
Historian Ritchie says this week鈥檚 eulogies are an opportunity to get out the larger message that McCain himself pushed 鈥� the need for unity. After a memorial in Phoenix聽on Thursday, McCain will lie in state in the US Capitol聽on Friday, be eulogized by former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama at the National Cathedral聽on Saturday, and be buried at the US Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Md.
鈥淭his funeral will get a lot of national attention,鈥� says Ritchie. 鈥淓very local news program will have senators talking to their home states, eulogizing McCain. If anybody鈥檚 listening and if anybody cares, the message is going out.鈥�
