Photo via Gage Skidmore
Longtime Republican Senator John McCain passed away on Saturday, leaving behind a polarizing legacy that has lead to outpourings of both well-wishes and posthumous criticism — immediately contrasting the former prisoner of war’s pro-combat posturing with his celebrated patriotism.
A military man his whole life, McCain made a name for himself after his fighter jet was shot down and he was captured during the Vietnam War. Returning home with the goal of entering politics, McCain won a congressional seat representing Arizona in 1982, before graduating to the Senate in 1986. In 2008, McCain won the Republican nomination for president, but was defeated in the general election by fellow Senator Barack Obama.
In the past year since McCain’s cancer diagnosis was made public, the senator has become a key figure in Donald Trump’s Republican Congress, frequently quarrelling with the president while simultaneously using his critical vote to support a majority of Trump’s policies.
Since Saturday, publications including the New York Times and the Washington Post have eulogized McCain as a great patriot and a “maverick” who fought for American freedom. In the Times, McCain was described as a war hero who “possessed the rugged independence of a natural leader.”
But thanks to the ubiquity of social media, a number of differing viewpoints have shined light on some of the senator’s less savory actions and ideals, questioning America’s tendency to use death as an opportunity to cleanse a dubious reputation. Over his decades of public service, McCain voted multiple times to support protracted conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, voted against the creation of a national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, opposed same-sex marriage, and openly used the racist slur “gook” into the early aughts.
On Twitter, McCain’s decision to voluntarily cease cancer treatment was met by hordes of criticism bemoaning the thousands of Americans who have been forced to stop treatment unwillingly, thanks to policies put in place by Republican legislators including McCain himself.
Remember that time a woman wrote John McCain for help when she couldn't get coverage for her husband's brain cancer treatment? How he told her she might want to move and that he didn't think health care was a human right? I have zero tears.
— Puff the Magic Hater (@MsKellyMHayes) August 24, 2018
John McCain had access to the best health care at the end of his life. Here is a what it was like when one of his constituents got brain cancer: https://t.co/S4UnThKddV pic.twitter.com/TDcDHCgRTL
— allison (@allisongeroi) August 26, 2018
In the days since McCain’s death, President Trump has continued to feud with the now deceased senator, refusing to answer any questions about his passing at a press conference, and prematurely returning White House flags from half mast to their standard height.
McCain’s Senate seat will be filled at the will of Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey, with his appointment due to serve until 2020.
