The Maverick, The Moderate

Crooks and Liars:

Over the years, Sen. John McCain has publicly condemned Republican Party leaders and occasionally voted against the GOP on selected issues.

But an Arizona Republic analysis of his Senate votes on the most divided issues in the past decade shows that McCain almost never thwarted his party’s objectives.

...

In the article, Keith Poole, a political scientist at the University of California-San Diego, added, “He is a conservative who votes conservative on most issues. By no means is he a liberal or even a moderate.”

Now, as noted, he has gone against his party. But he has stayed consistent in his conservative cred. He is not a moderate, but a conservative with a few deviant positions that he has built into a brand image, especially since he was hip deep during Keating Five. In a list of Rep's that I see as being in any way moderate, McCain is not going to be found. He may be a vote to curry occasionally, but relied on? How many of his own joint bills has he turned on?