John McCain R.I.P. - Part I

I'd planned on not writing anything about the death of one of my least favorite politicians,  but given so many awful editorials ( like National Review's),  I changed my mind.

McCain the Media Creation
I don't think there's ever been a Senator who did less and was more famous than John McCain. People forget that McCain was NEVER in the Senate leadership and only headed one Senate Committee - Armed Services - for 2 years.

 His actual power in the Senate, as 1 out of 100 Senators,  was quite limited, and was primarily devoted to stopping the Republicans from doing things.  He helped defeat the Bush Tax cuts, saved the "Nuclear option", and prevented Trump from repealing Obamacare. When the Democrats were in power from 2008-2014, he faded into the background, except to talk about foreign policy

His positive accomplishments were few.  There's "Campaign Finance Reform" which helped the Democrats and little else.  But he never got Amnesty passed (because of the Republican House) and couldn't stop Gays in the military.

His primary focus was foreign policy. He was constantly rattling on about foreign policy and going to Iraq and meeting foreign leaders (who all loved him).  But there's no evidence that Bush or Obama gave a damn what he said.  Certainly Trump didn't care.

But Man - Could he Talk
But no one was quoted more, or racked up more TV time than John McCain. For almost 20 years, from 1998-2017, it seemed like Johnny McCain was on a Sunday Talk show every week.  His constant attacks on his fellow Republicans, his support for Globalization, Wars in the Middle East, Open Borders, Amnesty, and Bad Trade deals made him a favorite of the New York Times and Washington Post.  And therefore, all the TV networks. If the press ever wanted a Republican with a bad opinion of Trump or Bush, or some praise of Ted Kennedy or Amnesty for Illegals,  Johnny McCain was there.

But his actual political accomplishments were almost nil. Ultimately, he was a talker - not a doer. Its fair to say, that Mitch McConnell - in 4 years - had more *real* impact on the country as Senate Majority leader - then McCain has had in 30 years in the Senate.