To great fanfare, the McCain campaign rolled out an ad today featuring a former Clinton delegate who urges Democrats to vote for Maverick E. McSame.
"It's okay," Debra Bartoshevich says, "really!"
In the ad, Bartoshevich describes herself as a "proud Hillary Clinton Democrat" who is voting for McCain because she likes his "maverick and independent streak."
But Bartoshevich might have done herself a favor by glancing at the Human Dignity & Life page of McCain's website before she spoke at an RNC political event today. If she had, she might have noticed the Overturning Roe v. Wade section right up there at the top.
Then, she might have spared herself the embarrassment of asserting McCain's non-existent commitment to preserving Roe v. Wade.
Midway through the event, Bartoschevich was asked if she was concerned about McCain's pro-life voting record. At a podium paid for by the Republican National Committee, with McCain aide Carly Fiorina standing nearby, Bartoschevich said this:This episode raises once more the obvious question for embittered supporters of Hillary Clinton: which part of Clinton's agenda do you think McCain supports?Going back to 1999, John McCain did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle saying that overturning Roe v. Wade would not make any sense, because then women would have to have illegal abortions.
Was she going off message? Or are Republicans engaging in some cagey multi-messaging? After the event, an RNC spokesman reiterated that McCain has been very clear about his position on abortion this campaign cycle. And he has. He speaks about the life issue at almost every campaign event, and his campaign has aggressively courted evangelical voters by highlighting McCain's consistent pro-life voting record, and his stated determination to appoint Supreme Court justices like Alito and Roberts. Just last week, in his weekly radio address, McCain hammered Obama on abortion. "I can assure you that if I am president, advancing the cause of life will not be above my pay grade," he said.
Hillary Clinton is a pro-choice Democrat who supports Roe v. Wade. Barack Obama is a pro-choice Democrat who supports Roe v. Wade. John McCain is an anti-abortion extremist who has vowed to appoint Supreme Court justices who will strike down Roe v. Wade.
What possible rationale could there be for any pro-choice Democrat to support John McCain? The only explanation is if you are convinced that McCain is a cynical liar whose word simply cannot be trusted on this issue. But then, why would you want such a person to be president?
And reproductive rights is only one of a multitude of issues on which McCain holds literally the opposite position of Clinton, Obama, and most of the rest of the Democratic Party.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Debra Bartoshevich has to say in the wake of the McCain campaign's furious walk-back from her Roe v. Wade comments. And the rest of the dead-end Clinton cultists might want to take a breath and reflect on this moment as well.
When you volunteer to be a tool don't be surprised when you get used.
