At Time yesterday, Ana Marie Cox offered a hint of what’s to come if John McCain and Barack Obama face off in the general election.
In a general, Obama won’t be running against Clinton, he’ll be running against McCain, a politician that has actually taken political risks and endured the wrath of party hacks in order to make progress on real issues: “What has Obama done? Show me a single issue or piece of legislation where Obama has done something politically unpopular in order to move forward toward a greater goal.” I pointed out that this argument hasn’t made much of a difference so far. Ah, replied the adviser, “That’s because Clinton can’t show that she’s done it, either.”
It’s a curious argument. Obama and Clinton, the McCain staffer argued, are at a disadvantage because they haven’t taken more unpopular positions in advance of their presidential campaigns. If you say so.
But I think the underlying argument is that neither Obama nor Clinton have passed sweeping, landmark pieces of legislation. Matt Yglesias mentioned the problem with this argument: McCain’s list of legislative accomplishments is surprisingly thin.
In terms of getting things done, what’s John McCain ever accomplished? Beyond a minor, years-old procedural reform to the campaign finance system — nothing. And he’s had much more time in Washington in which to get something done. But in McCain’s past 25 years in congress he’s managed to author not a single piece of legislation that’s been signed into law that helps any real people with any real problems. He’s spent a lot of time posturing on the Sunday shows, and affiliated himself with a few pieces of modestly progressive legislation that didn’t get passed, and then disavowed all those bills.
Everything I’ve seen from McCain suggests this is absolutely right, but it got me to wondering: what would McCain say his greatest legislative accomplishments were?
I took a look at the “About” page on McCain’s website, looking for accomplishments. It touts his “record of leadership,” but doesn’t include a single reference to an accomplishment from McCain’s quarter-century as a member of Congress.
Well, “About” pages tend to be kind of vague, so perhaps I was looking in the wrong place. There’s also a timeline of the important milestones in McCain’s life on his website. (It skips over some of the personal details, such as his adultery and divorce.) It’s a lengthy review of McCain’s awards and key moments, but it lists just one piece of legislation: “May 20, 2002 – Final passage of John McCain’s trademark McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation, which reformed the influence of money in political campaigns.”
This, in and of itself, is kind of interesting. After more than 25 years in Washington, McCain mentions just one landmark bill — which he now no longer wants to talk about, because the Republican base hates the legislation. Indeed, it’s also worth considering the fact that McCain no longer stands by his only landmark legislation, and has flip-flopped on some of the provisions of his own bill.
It’s a particular oddity, given the length of his career. It’d be fascinating if a campaign reporter were to simply ask McCain, “Senator, after 25 years on the Hill, what would you say are your top five biggest legislative accomplishments.” My hunch is, he would struggle to come up with a list.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “OK, wise guy, what about the legislative accomplishments from Obama and Clinton?” Fair enough. I went by their “About” pages to see if they’re any better than McCain. As it turns out, unlike the Arizona senator, they actually list legislative accomplishments. Go figure.
From Obama’s site:
In the Illinois State Senate, this meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In the U.S. Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent. He has also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform that would root out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress.
As a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing the terrorist threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, he traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world.
…and from Clinton’s site.
She was instrumental in designing and championing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. She battled the big drug companies to force them to test their drugs for children and to make sure all kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. Immunization rates dramatically improved after the program launched. […]
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hillary worked with her colleagues to secure the funds New York needed to recover and rebuild. She fought to provide compensation to the families of the victims, grants for hard-hit small businesses, and health care for front line workers at Ground Zero. […]
Hillary passed legislation to track the health status of our troops so that conditions like Gulf War Syndrome would no longer be misdiagnosed. She is an original sponsor of legislation that expanded health benefits to members of the National Guard and Reserves and has been a strong critic of the Administration’s handling of Iraq…. She helped pass legislation that encouraged investment to create jobs in struggling communities through the Renewal Communities program…. She authored legislation that has been enacted to improve quality and lower the cost of prescription drugs and to protect our food supply from bioterrorism…. Her strong advocacy for children continues in the Senate. Some of Hillary’s proudest achievements have been her work to ensure the safety of prescription drugs for children, with legislation now included in the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, and her legislation to help schools address environmental hazards.
And I only included legislation that actually passed, as opposed to bills they sponsored that didn’t become law.
If the race comes down to legislative accomplishments, I think McCain’s in trouble.
