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October 6, 2008 10:48:40 PM CDT

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McCain 'Wobbling' Leftward Again on Immigration

Posted Jul 10, 08 7:10 PM CDT in Opinion,  Politics 

(Newser) – By John McCain’s own admission, his embrace of immigration reform nearly sunk his candidacy in the early primaries, writes Byron York in the Hill. But after saving his hide with a swing to the right and a pledge to "secure the border first" (a “legitimate flip-flop,” York specifies), the pendulum is moving leftward again. McCain recently told a Latino audience that comprehensive reform “will be my top priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

This is Mac “at his most incorrigible,” argues York, who says the candidate is reneging on a critical promise and “wobbling or slipping into the old McCain.” The candidate even told a newspaper that he’s “glad” he fought (unsuccessfully) for reform. Ed Kilgore says on Salon that conservatives who hoped “immigrant-bashing would be the great wedge issue of 2008” are set to be disappointed.

Sources The Hill, Salon

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Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., greets supporters after speaking to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Washington, Saturday, June 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks during a campaign stop at the Bayloff Stamped Products facility in Belleville, Mich., Thursday, July 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Washington, Saturday, June 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., reacts to a protester shouting during his speech to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Washington.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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John McCain  • immigration reform  • Latino voters  • flip flop  • border security


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