Maverick Is His Name?

Past Democratic Party leaders tell The Hill that John McCain negotiated for two months with them to abandon the Republican Party at around the same time that Jim Jeffords crossed the aisle. Tom Daschle and Tom Downey told Bob Cusack that unlike their efforts with Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee, McCain’s top aide came to them:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.
In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.
Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them. …
Daschle said that throughout April and May of 2001, he and McCain “had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority … [A lot of issues] were on the table.”

John McCain denies this charge, saying that he never considered leaving the GOP. John Weaver also refutes the notion that he proposed a switch in allegiance to Downey, saying that their chats amounted to nothing more than idle gossip about the Democrats’ efforts to find a turncoat. Mark Salter, McCain’s chief of staff then and a key member of his campaign staff now, also categorically and emphatically denies it.
This story sounds a bit strange, even if McCain has done his best to look like a Democrat at times. If McCain came to Daschle, one would have to imagine that Daschle would have closed the deal immediately. The once and future Senate Majority Leader would have offered a senior Republican like McCain almost anything he wanted to jump ship – even after Jeffords bailed. With the kind of interest reported by The Hill, McCain sounds as if the right deal would have cinched it for the Democrats.
McCain had his opportunity later as well. Recall the flirtation from John Kerry and the Democrats in 2004 about McCain serving as his running mate? If he had that kind of inclination in 2001, he would have found that sotto voce offer too tempting to refuse. Instead, McCain scotched the rumors and campaigned for George Bush and many other Republican candidates in the 2004 election.
However, there is another independent, if indirect, corroboration. Cusack reports that Chafee was another live target of this recruiting effort at the time — and Chafee confirmed it to Cusack. Also, John Edwards reportedly played a key role in the negotiations with McCain, and The Hill confirmed it with an anonymous source “close to Edwards”.
If true, this would effectively end McCain’s presidential bid. He already has trust issues with Republicans, and this will do nothing but cause them to reject him entirely. However, the people who sourced this story have plenty of motivation to derail McCain, including Edwards, who thinks he may run against McCain in the general election. The principals tell completely conflicting stories, and the nature of the issue almost ensures that no independent proof one way or the other could exist. I’m betting this is nonsense.
UPDATE: Allahpundit puts more credence in it than I do, making the good point that if it were just a smear, they would have waited until the general election to use it. However, the same would be true if the story is on the level. Why talk about this now in either case? It almost seems like someone couldn’t wait to spill the beans — and that does give some weight to the story.

22 thoughts on “Maverick Is His Name?”

  1. I believe it. Dems have nothing to gain from pushing this NOW, as opposed to later.
    Dropping that bombshell (McCain doesn’t really want to be a Republican) if McCain is the nominee is shattering. It undermines his entire credibility.
    Now? For Dems it makes McCain dead as a nominee and IMHO they fear McCain more than the other candidates (due to the Media being in love with the guy).
    I completely believe it. It also fits McCain.

  2. John McCain Watch: Democrats Say McCain Nearly Abandoned GOP

    Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., laughs after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., happened to get into the same elevator after they both left the Senate after Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline of Iraq troop withdrawal failed on a vote…

  3. I think you have to be quite foolish to accept anything Democrats say at face value. They have proved over and over again to be duplicidous, far less that honest and down riget deceiptful. Their infection and submission to the wishes of the radical left has left them a party without a moral compass, devoid of ethics. Trust what they say at your own peril

  4. I said this on Free Republic at least a year ago. John McCain will be the Ross Perot of 2008. He will be enough of a third party-candidate to hand the election to Clinton. It is the oldest trick in the book, so basic. The Clintons understand the math, and they understand the man. No one can prove it, true. But just as Perot had his agreement with the Clintons, so does McCain. And so does Obama, for those who have been tricked by that dog and pony show. Rodham is the next president, and it is disgusting and frightening. But that is the way leftists and their rope-sellers like Perot and McCain operate.

  5. Democrats say McCain nearly abandoned GOP

    Maverick Is His Name? Ed Morrissey Past Democratic Party leaders tell The Hill that John McCain negotiated for two months with them to abandon the Republican Party at around the same time that Jim Jeffords crossed the aisle. Tom Daschle

  6. Somebody’s Lying

    That’s what it comes down to in a twisted tale of intrigue surrounding John McCain’s near decision to leave the GOP:
    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously ann…

  7. McCain may not be the ultimate target of what could be a democratic disinformation campaign. Get McCain out of the way now and then focus on Giuliani. Romney and whatever else is left, Thompson?, maybe considered by the Dems as weaker and not worth a more immediate effort.

  8. McCain may not be the ultimate target of what could be a democratic disinformation campaign. Get McCain out of the way now and then focus on Giuliani. Romney and whatever else is left, Thompson?, may be considered by the Dems as weaker and not worth a more immediate effort.

  9. Come on guys – McCain has already killed himself with his continual modifications to his stated positions –
    Anyway, I’m very glad he did not switch sides – I don’t think the dems should have anyone like McCain on their side – Lieberman was enough – The letter before the name means nothing – The way they handle themselves means everything –
    Let the republicans have a guy like McCain and it just makes them look worse –

  10. I think if you go back and check the real news at the very end of 2000, and the first 6 months of 2001, you’d find this is most likely TRUE.
    The PURE VENOM that McCain displayed towards the GOP and towards BUSH at that time is indisputeable.
    He was LIVID at being spurned, and when Bush swept in with a steamroller for his policies, McCain HALTED EVERY THING on the GOP AGENDA, until they threw him the McCain Feingold passage, to ACCEDE that HE held the “TRUE REINS” to power in Congress.
    He wasn’t letting ANYTHING of Bush’s come to the table until he got satisfaction – REVENGE for being SCORNED by the VOTERS.
    And he played it like a bitter schoolgirl.
    The line-up it looked like a CINCH for Bush to pass through Congress in January ’01 was far better than anything Bush was able to do, after the McCain monkey wrench was thrown into his steamroller.
    I wondered at the time why nobody threw McCain under the bus THEN instead of bowing down to him and McCain Feingold!
    McCain is a j###a## on the INSIDE, whether he ever “becomes one” on the outside. Another kind of “Oreo Cookie” – made out of pure hydrogenated fats.

  11. Did McCain consider bolting GOP?

    There are grave reasons to doubt this story. Daschle and Downey are on the outside now, and would like a way back into the spotlight. Edwards thinks he can win. Derailing one of the Republican frontrunners would serve all their interests.

  12. Did McCain consider bolting GOP?

    There are grave reasons to doubt this story. Daschle and Downey are on the outside now, and would like a way back into the spotlight. Edwards thinks he can win. Derailing one of the Republican frontrunners would serve all their interests.

  13. Moonzoo
    I won’t dismiss your thoughts out of hand. It may be a bit far fetched but it’s an old trick played by both parties. The most recent episode that I believe it was used was the Alaska Governor’s election. I believe the Republicans used it to cache protesting Republican voters who might have swallowed their bile and voted for the Democrat (I was proud to see such a fine example of oldboy politics as was displayed during that election).

  14. I don’t like McCain, and wouldn’t vote for him anyway — so whether this is true or not doesn’t amount to much one way or the other in my opinion. Nor do I really think it’s a significant issue. People don’t tend to be “on the fence” about McCain.
    Besides, I don’t trust Daschle.

  15. Who to believe: the filthy democrats (a pack of liars, every damned one of them), or McCain?
    Decisions, decisions…

  16. If the choice is between the folks who stole Mike Steele’s credit report and McCain, I have to go with McCain.
    He won’t be the nominee. He is wrong on the First Amendment and McCain-Feingold is a disaster. He is, however, a genuine hero who refused preferential treatment at the hands of our enemy. Contrast that to the prevaricating senior Senator from NY.
    Absent proof, who do you believe?

  17. Was McCain looking to bolt from the GOP?

    The Hill reports that he has serious discussions with the Democratic Senate leadership back in 2001 before Jeffords switched, throwing the balance of power into Democratic hands. As Captain Ed notes, chances are that this is a hoax, although if it wasn…

  18. Just think, as much of a flip-flopper that McCain has become, he is still a piker to Matinee Mitt!

  19. Look at McCain’s self centered behaviour after losing the 2000 nomination. If I sold my soul and worked for Hillary I’d be doing everything I could to manipulate events such that mcCain feels bitter about not being selected for 2008. Then through those oh so compliant ever willing Clinton surrogates, I’d encourage McCain to run as a 3rd party candidate. Result, Hillary wins in a squeaker with under 50% of the votes. Sound familiar?

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