I’m sad that John McCain is dying, because death sucks, and his family deserves our sympathy. What McCain does not deserve is the coming tributes about his bipartisanship. This man could have helped hold Trump accountable, and again and again he chose not to. 1/
Had McCain resigned his seat before May 30th, it would have triggered a November special election in Arizona, increasing the chances of a Dem takeover. By keeping his seat until the end, he demonstrated again that loyalty to the GOP > any real concern about Trump. 2/
Not resigning means that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey gets to appoint a Republican to replace McCain through 2020. Up until the bitter end, McCain still wanted this group of Republicans wielding power in Washington. 3/
Also, since the beginning of this presidency, McCain could have switched parties. Doing so might have convinced Collins, Flake and Corker to come with him and handed control of the chamber to Democrats. 4/
They could have set the terms of this arrangement. For instance, they could’ve demanded a vote on Gorsuch if that was so important to them, and threatened to head back over into the waiting arms of McConnell if Schumer didn’t follow through. 5/
They could have demanded a vote on the tax law, holding out the same threat. Schumer would have had no choice but to capitulate and allow the vote to move forward. 6/
At any moment throughout this endless nightmare, McCain and his colleagues could have handed critical investigatory and oversight power to Democrats who would actually use it, while simultaneously protecting the GOP legislative agenda. 7/
Switching parties would have given McCain et. al. a genuinely special place in history, as people who sacrificed their political careers for the greater good of the country. Staying put means that none of them deserve any such status. 8/
Not switching parties has given Trump license to act with impunity, doing incalculable damage to the norms of the executive branch and to the country, and enriching himself and his fellow gangsters without having to worry that a committee will start asking the wrong questions. 9/
Weirdly, everyone in this group of senators seems to believe that giving indignant speeches is somehow going to make us forget that when push came to shove, they didn’t do a damn thing to meaningfully restrain the president. 10/
Not switching parties doesn’t make McCain worse than any other elected Republican. He has done very admirable things in the past. But it also means that at the end of the day, history will judge his behavior -during this period- to have been no better than Ted Cruz’s. 11/
Ultimately I am at a loss to explain this behavior. Nearing the end of his life, with no more elections to fight, McCain chose to die as a member and enabler of Trump’s Republican Party. The end. 12/
