Arizona Republicans Seek Distance from 'Out of Step' John McCain

Arizona Republicans Seek Distance from 'Out of Step' John McCain

As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) continues to support amnesty for America’s illegal immigrants and President Barack Obama’s proposed plan to militarily strike Syria, Republicans in the state are condemning his actions as inconsistent with GOP principles.

The Maricopa County GOP’s latest electronic news briefs, published on Saturday, Sept. 7, is chock full of anti-McCain stories and full of examples of how McCain has abandoned GOP principles. “There Is Lots Of Chatter Regarding The Short Notice The Public Had On Sen John McCain’s sudden, overnight called Town Halls in Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott this past week,” the Maricopa County GOP wrote on its website. “Briefs has confirmed reports that that McCain’s office didn’t bother to notify AZGOP Robert Graham, nor Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman AJ LaFaro. Now if that isn’t a slap in the face of two top Arizona GOP elected officials.”

Filling the clips section of the Maricopa County GOP newsletter are a batch of negative news stories about McCain’s activities pushing military intervention in Syria’s civil war. Headlines range from how much money McCain makes off defense contractors to someone at one his town hall meetings calling for him to be “arrested and tried for treason.” It is one thing for some constituents to feel that way, but for an official body of the GOP–the Maricopa County GOP–to seemingly endorse the comments indicates McCain is drifting further and further away from mainstream political views.

Maricopa County GOP is not the only place condemning McCain’s activities in the U.S. Senate. A high-ranking Republican source close to the state’s U.S. congressional delegation told Breitbart News that the state’s Republicans believe McCain is abandoning both conservative and centrist Republicans to support policies that are out of line with the GOP. “There is a growing concern among Arizona republicans that McCain is increasingly out of touch, and out of step, with conservatives and moderates,” the AZ GOP source claimed. “His constant war mongering, demand for amnesty, praise for Obama and Napolitano, demands for higher spending while attacking conservatives has convinced many he lacks core principles.”

With the exception of freshman Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who was elected last year with great hope from the conservative movement but stumped for the Senate’s controversial immigration bill, the entire GOP congressional delegation stands against McCain and with the majority of voters in the state on immigration, Syria, and other issues. Reps. Matt Salmon, David Schweikert, Paul Gosar, and Trent Franks each oppose the Senate amnesty bill and want border security first. Salmon, Schweikert and Gosar are on record against using U.S. military force in Syria, whereas it is fairly safe to predict Franks will be against it. Breitbart News has reached out to Franks’ office to confirm but has yet to hear back by press time.

Even Democrats in Arizona’s U.S. congressional delegation appear to oppose going into Syria and will likely stand with voters of Arizona over the wishes of President Obama. The Arizona Republic reported last week that Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is likely to vote no, and fellow Democratic Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick, Ron Barber, Ed Pastor, and Kyrsten Sinema “were undecided as of Wednesday.”

Constituents have blistered McCain at town hall events across Arizona over the past few weeks. At one event last Friday, a black woman rose up and said

Senator McCain, given the fact that wars cost billions of dollars and kill people, and the fact that there is a two-digit unemployment rate in America’s inner cities among black-skinned people like President Obama, an increasing use of food stamps strongly encouraged by the president, government-run schools that are more concerned with promoting anti-Christian beliefs and values, and the brainwashing of our precious children to have slave-like mentality, the aborting of millions of helpless babies by Planned Parenthood, why don’t you and the Gang of Eight apply the same war-like vengeance and effort to dismantle the Department of Education, remove government regulations that inhibit economical progress, stop giving illegal aliens citizenship so they can vote for a dictator in America and stop the crimes perpetrated by often skill-less invaders and let my people and all American citizens thrive?

As she started her question, McCain joked that he was not “easily intimidated” by anyone. When she finished, McCain only replied that she made “many valid points” and that if he were elected president in 2008 instead of Obama, things would be better. “In fact, some of those would have happened if you have voted for me for president of the United States,” McCain said with a laugh.

This event took place in September 2013. McCain lost the election more than five years ago.

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