McCain promises "no cooperation" from GOP this year

Arizona Republican says that in passing healthcare reform Democrats "poisoned the well"

Published March 22, 2010 4:20PM (EDT)

The Senate Armed Services Committee Republican ranking Republican Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., questions witnesses Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010, during the committee's hearing on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP)
The Senate Armed Services Committee Republican ranking Republican Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., questions witnesses Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010, during the committee's hearing on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is angry. So, too, are his fellow Republicans. And, McCain says, there will be consequences.

"There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year," McCain said during a radio interview Monday. "They have poisoned the well in what they've done and how they've done it."

"They," of course, is congressional Democrats. But whatever objections McCain has to the procedural strategies the Democrats used to pass healthcare reform -- and whether he believes those objections or not -- there was going to be a total lack of cooperation from the Republicans anyway. And everyone knows it. It's a long-standing strategy, authored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But that strategy also involves convincing the American people that it's Democrats who are refusing to work in a bipartisan fashion, and so that's why we see comments like this from McCain and his colleagues.

Of course, it might be nice to see a little more honesty than this from someone who used to ride the "Straight Talk Express." But he's currently facing a primary challenge from his right, so this sort of thing is, sadly, to be expected.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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Healthcare Reform John Mccain R-ariz. U.s. Senate