The Maverick's in a vice
by digby
If the Republican base voters remain as nihilistic as they currently are --- not giving a damn about actual governance and just wanting to send their usual "message" of crazy --- John McCain may actually lose his seat:
At the same time, Arizona’s Senior Senator John McCain, who will turn 80 this summer
and who has been in the Senate since 1986, is now in a tight contest with Democrat Ann
Kirkpatrick (42% to 42%). As recently as 2005, Senator McCain enjoyed favorable job ratings
from 73 percent of Arizonans but his current ratings are down to 32 percent favorable with 25
percent saying he is doing a “poor” job in Washington.
McCain’s positive job ratings have totaled under 40 percent since 2010 and while he has
always proven himself to be a formidable campaigner in past elections, the negative mood in the
nation and perhaps in Arizona as well toward “the establishment” may turn 2016 into a major
challenge for the storied Senator.
What seems most unusual about the Senior Senator’s job ratings is that they have become
largely non-partisan. While Independents are the most favorable toward the Senator, Democrats
and Republicans hold amazingly similar views. Thus 25 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of
Republicans applaud his performance in Washington… but 32 percent of Democrats and 30
percent of Republicans rate his performance as “poor.”
He's recently said h's not going to the convention apparently hoping that distance from the circus will somehow save him. And maybe the wacko birds will come around by November and help him out once again. But he's got a unique problem. They love mavericks but he's the wrong kind --- he's a RINO maverick who bucks his own party to work with the other side once in a blue moon. Let's just say that isn't a winning message among the party faithful these days. Trump can get away with sort of saying it but that's just because he speaks in gibberish and nobody really knows what the hell he's saying.
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